NylAF – Agroforestry i Nyland

Agroforestry in Nyland is a three year development project (2024-2026) organized by Novia and funded by the European Union, Novia UAS, Svenska kulturfonden, and Stiftelsen Finlandssvenska Jordfonden.

After successfully initiating a next generation agroforestry system at Lill-Nägels in Kirkkonummi, we have expanded our scope for this next project to include other farms and the agricultural community as a whole.

We have three work packages in this project –

4b Illustrated Agroforestry Typology. 75pc. 10.03.2023. Joshua Finch. EN

Work Package 1: Agroforestry Exploration Program & Nyland Agroforestry Design Team

We will be inviting farmers to join together in an effort to produce design briefs of agroforestry for their farms the Agroforestry Exploration Program.
- Farmers located in Nyland/Uusimaa will have the opportunity to join the Nyland Agroforestry Design Team, which provides additional resources and workshop opportunities
Our team will be providing resources and training for farmers to learn how to bring together their current knowledge of their farm with planning tools for agroforestry, so that they can be confident in their ability to assess, compare, and plan these complex systems
By the end of the project, we wish to publish at least 10 design briefs of agroforestry systems designed for real farms by real people in Uusimaa (and around Finland!)
These design briefs will hopefully cover a range of different agroforestry systems and provide the basis for understanding the motivations to incorporate agroforestry into working farms, the design challenges and opportunities, and a simple business case for each system
Interested to learn more? Click here for the Agroforestry Exploration Program.

2026 Public Events and Workshops

Over the course of 2026, we are also hosting a number of public events and workshops, covering everything from tree grafting, pruning, and planting to "On-Farm Design Days." On Farm Design Days are a chance for people who do not wish to create their own design brief to see how the initial stages of planning go, live, in the field of real farms.

Work Package 2: Agroforestry for Advisors and Consultants

- Farmers in Finland have access to quality advisory and consultancy services, especially through the Neuvo 2030 program
- Our goal is to invite agricultural professionals who offer these kinds of services to learn more about agroforestry and participate in the Agroforestry Exploration Program as well as the Nyland Agroforestry Design Team to help round out our knowledge base and provide additional insight
- Advisors and consultants who participate in our program will have a better understanding of the nuance and application of agroforestry systems
- Interested to learn more? Contact us directly for more information!

Work Package 3: The Lill-Nägels Agroforestry Pilot Project

We will continue to monitor, manage, and farm at the Lill-Nägels project in Kirkkonummi to gather information about this novel system, gaining valuable insights into how agroforestry works in practice
As before, our primary goal is to facilitate the regeneration of degraded agricultural soil through supporting the diverse plant communities we have planted or will plant in the future
Once the soil is on a trajectory towards fertility, we will implement strip cropping with novel and tested regenerative farming practices in the alleys between the crops
Full information is provided in our dedicated website

Photo credit: Johan Ljungqvist, Multifoto Ab Oy, June 14th, 2024

Project Funding

The project is funded by Uusimaa's Centre for Economic Development, Transport, and the Environment (ELY-Keskus), Svenska kulturfonden, Stiftelsen Finlandssvenska Jordfonden, and Novia UAS for the project period of 2024-2026.