Dirk van Apeldoorn is affiliated to the chair group Farming Systems Ecology, and the Field Crops applied research department. He studied Tropical Land use in Wageningen and obtained his PhD researching the resilience of farming systems in 2014. As a researcher and teacher, he advocates biodiversity in agriculture.
‘My work is very varied, from theoretical to interacting with farmers. It is wonderful that I am able to help generate change through my research. You can really see the landscape change. And once farmers start, their enthusiasm grows.’
Large farm fields harbour few insects and birds, as a result of single-crop farming. Wageningen researchers collaborate with farmers to conduct tests with a variety of crops in narrow strips, which attracts more insects that combat pest insects and slows the spread of disease. The yield is of a similar…