On 26-27th June, OrganicClimateNET had the chance to attend an event organized by the European Research Executive Agency & DG AGRI with the objective of bringing together experts and stakeholders coordinating AKIS-related Horizon-funded projects to share best practices and drive innovation for effective knowledge dissemination and exploitation in agriculture.
The event opened with a keynote by DG AGRI, highlighting the core role of the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) within the 2023-2025 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The presentation emphasised the importance of EIP-AGRI in driving sustainable agricultural productivity and the value of both the EU CAP Network and national CAP networks in supporting knowledge flow across Europe.
Placing research, innovation, and knowledge at the core of Europe’s agri-food sector is essential for transformative change. – Sabine Reinecke, FiBL CH.
AKIS-related projects, particularly those focused on thematic and advisory networks, play a vital role in linking stakeholders, sharing experiences, and co-creating practical solutions to common challenges. A key takeaway was the importance of connecting directly with farmers, making knowledge and innovation more easily accessible through on-farm and on-site applications. Co-creation with farmers and stakeholders emerged as a powerful approach to develop impactful, user-driven solutions coming directly from the core users.
All presented projects collectively recommended expanding on-site testing through Living Labs, environments that allow continued innovation that will remain beyond the project lifetime. Projects need to consider the need to respect farmers’ time, tailor training to the needs of different actors, and introduce compensation measures to reward farmers’ participation. Targeted, need-based training increases engagement and amplifies impact across networks.
Collaboration among AKIS-related projects is essential to achieving tangible results. Cross-border cooperation, peer-to-peer learning, and cross-visits were highlighted as highly effective ways to share knowledge and build awareness, particularly in the organic agri-food sector.
OrganicClimateNET is proud to be part of this knowledge sharing journey and is committed to fostering collaboration across projects to strengthen innovation and sustainability in agriculture. – Giulia Moretto, FiBL EU.
Economic and knowledge gaps, institutional and language barriers, and difficulties in stakeholder engagement are cross-cutting barriers encountered among all projects that hinder the full exploitation of project results. A recurring concern is actor fatigue, as many stakeholders are repeatedly involved in multiple initiatives, particularly advisors. Moreover, information overload, especially the one made available through short-lived project websites, limits the long-term usability of project outputs. To address this, EU-FarmBook was introduced as a unified, long-term repository for storing and accessing project outputs, ensuring visibility and continuity beyond individual project websites.
The event concluded with the last project presentations, a dynamic panel discussion on enhancing AKIS collaboration, and an interactive workshop where participants shared feedback and proposed solutions to improve output quality, streamline efforts, and manage information overload. Strategies such as targeted engagement and joint policy recommendations were recognized as effective tools for future collaboration.
