(Presentation and details of the event : Project presentation and WP 5 Workshops )

NEWSLETTER #1

Brief of the first stakeholder engagement session on the codesign of IPM guidelines

EXPERTS AND NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES FIRST ENGAGEMENT MEETING

September 24-25, 2024 in Brussels

The Agrowise project event of the 24^th and 25^th September centred on the activities and objectives of the Agrowise project, which focuses on developing guidelines to promote Integrated Pest Management (IPM) across European Union member states. As part of the LIFE program, the project aims to reduce the use and risks of chemical pesticides, aligning with the Sustainable Use Directive (SUD) 2009/128/CE and the Farm to Fork strategy. Led by Maud BLANCK from INRAE (National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment), the project involves 10 research institutes from 8 European countries.

The objective of the event was to gather SUD WG representatives and national experts. This provided an opportunity to assert Agrowise Consortium’s expectation concerning this project. The second half day was devoted to a discussion on the current definition of IPM and its 8 principles, as specified by the European Commission and by each member state. Finally, the third half day consisted of workshops where, in small groups, experts on one side and SUD WG representatives on the other, tried to determine who are the actors involved in IPM implementation. This produced a series of ideas to explore during the next meeting, during which the future recommendations will be first drafted.

Below is the program of this event:

• 50 attendees: experts, national representatives, members of the European Commission
• 5 expert groups: research; input suppliers; farm advisors; national administrations; NGO
• 15 countries represented
• 9 hours of discussions
• Over 20 potential stakeholders identified

A more detailed report of this event is available here: https://eng-agrowise.hub.inrae.fr/news/project-presentation-and-wp-5-workshops

24/09: Agrowise presentation

Each Agrowise work package (WP) was presented:

1. WP2 (led by Riccardo BOMMARCO from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences – Sweden) focuses on creating an IPM "toolbox" that consolidates innovative pest management practices and provides a taxonomy to better navigate IPM strategies.
2. WP3 (led by Profs. Giovanni DINELLI and Francesco SPINELLI from the University of Bologna – Italy) assesses current IPM practices across Europe, developing tailored recommendations for different regions and evaluating their economic feasibility for farmers.
3. WP4 (led by Fiona THORNE, Ewen MULLINS and Steven KILDEA from Teagasc – Ireland) develops crop-specific IPM rules based on existing policies in each member state.
4. WP5 (led by Christian HUYGHE from INRAE – France) strengthens the link between research and public policy to integrate IPM into agricultural regulations.
5. WP6 (led by Maud BLANCK from INRAE – France) ensures the validation and dissemination of tools and guidelines across the EU, ensuring broad applicability.

Additionally, Johan BREMMER (COO) introduced the SUPPORT project which is part of the Horizon Europe initiative. The project aims to promote the adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices and reduce pesticide use. It involves 20 partners from nine EU countries and Switzerland, working through a collaborative, multi-actor framework. The project’s key goals include building a stakeholder ecosystem, collecting and assessing IPM tools, and understanding farmers' decision-making processes. Insights gained will be used to propose policies and strategies that support IPM adoption. SUPPORT and Agrowise share similar missions, both focused on enhancing IPM adoption. While SUPPORT emphasises research, innovation and farmers’ decision-making process, Agrowise is focused on drafting actionable recommendations for member states. Both projects will collaborate closely, sharing information, attending meetings, and coordinating joint dissemination activities to achieve their shared goals.

25/09: Collaborative workshops

Following the Agrowise presentation from the previous day, participants had gained a clear understanding of the project's objectives and the strategies in place to achieve them. This laid the groundwork for the first co-construction workshops that took place throughout the day on the 25th of September.

The Interactive Workshop on Integrated Pest Management, which took place in the morning of the 25th, concentrated on enhancing the implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) through the utilisation of polls and discussions. Participants delved into their comprehension of IPM concepts and principles, its application throughout the European Union, and potential avenues for improvement. Under the guidance of Christian Huyghe, the Scientific Director for Agriculture at INRAE, the workshop incorporated a blend of scientific presentations and interactive sessions. These sessions involved responding to poll questions (you can still answer these questions and we encourage you to share the questionnaire with your co-workers. You can access that questionnaire through that link: IPM Poll)and engaging in structured debates regarding the results. The workshop proved to be highly productive, stimulating in-depth discussions concerning prospective policy enhancements and adaptations

We will share a comprehensive analysis of this poll in the next newsletter.

As mentioned in the program above, the afternoon workshop focused on sharing vision and discussion on key stakeholders for the expansion of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in UE countries. Participants were divided into two groups: experts and national representatives from the SUD working group. The workshop enables us to set stakeholder maps, one for each group, later presented jointly, Below are the maps resulting of these workshops:

The participation of stakeholders and field practitioners in research projects is proved to be an important issue for impact achievement. But at the same time the real involvement and contribution of stakeholders and field practitioners to research projects in not easy to reach and can't be extemporized.

These stakeholders’ maps consist on a preliminary result, a shared vision among SUD representatives and experts, that will enable us to fit the key actions and strategies for on how to work with stakeholders (Farmers, cooperatives….) and how to ensure to successfully reach them.

The detailed analysis of these maps will be published in the next newsletter.

Finally, during the final conclusion of this two-day workshop, participants expressed a strong interest in continuing the productive exchanges initiated during the event. A request emerged from attendees for organizers to share with the participants a participant directory, including contact details, names, and photos of all attendees.

The meeting ended with an overview of the schedule for upcoming stakeholder engagement sessions for the remainder of the project.

Our team remains at our disposal, feel free to contact us at: agrowise@inrae.fr