Circular Voices is a project funded under a call of the CFS network that aimed to investigate the real impact of circularity: showcasing benefits beyond metrics. The project explores how circular food practices in Spain and Bulgaria generate often invisible yet significant benefits—strengthening local economic resilience, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and supporting more sustainable food systems. Moving beyond purely technical indicators, the project highlights the human dimension of circular agriculture, capturing lived experience, decision-making, and context-specific trade-offs across diverse farming systems.

Farmers across Europe are already innovating, but often lack effective ways to communicate the “why” behind their practices. Circular Voices addresses this gap by translating on-farm experience into accessible narratives that explain not only what works, but also why it works and what impact it delivers in terms of emissions reduction, economic performance, and market positioning.

Through participatory workshops, farmer-led storytelling, visual media, and a practical learning toolkit, Circular Voices makes circularity more visible, relatable, and actionable for farmers, advisors, and policymakers. The project documents real-world practices across key agri-sectors, including olive groves, pork production, citrus, wine, oilseeds, lavender, cereals, and controlled environment agriculture.

Grounded in EU and FAO frameworks on circular economy and climate-smart agriculture, the project also integrates a comparative perspective across regions and production systems, strengthening the transferability of insights. By connecting storytelling with evidence and practice, Circular Voices supports more informed decisions, stronger rural networks, and broader adoption of circular agriculture across Europe.