Keynote speakers
Alexandra Köves European Society of Ecological Economics
Alexandra Köves is an ecological economist, associate professor at the Corvinus University of Budapest in the Department of Decision Sciences within the Institute of Operations and Decision Sciences. She is also vice-president of the European Society of Ecological Economics.
Ibolya Sáfián Lászlóné shepherd, Hungarian Women Herders group
Ibolya was born into a shepherd family, but started active shepherding with her husband in 1989. She is founding leader of the Hungarian Women Herders group.
Attila Szőcs Boruss, Eco Ruralis, Romania
Szőcs is a passionate advocate for agroecology and improved legislation in support of peasants’ rights and access to land. As a leading campaigner for raising awareness of land grabbing in Romania, he has served as President of the Eco Ruralis Association
Pablo Tittonell, Groningen University, CIRAD
Pablo Tittonell is an agronomist by training who worked both in the private sector and in academic/research organisations. He holds a PhD in Production Ecology and Resource Conservation from Wageningen University and his areas of expertise include agroecology, soil fertility, biodiversity and systems analysis.
WORKSHOP ORGANISErs
WORKSHOP 1: 2024 European elections: how can agroecology become the next paradigm of European agricultural and food policies?
The outcome of the 2024 European elections will pave the way to the next European Commission and future 5-year policy plans of the European Union. What is the political process that will shape the next CAP? Where and how can agroecological voices be heard throughout this year of political and institutional changes? The 2019 elections led to the EU Green Deal and subsequently to the EU Farm to Fork strategy. What more can we hope and dream for so agroecology becomes the new paradigm for European agricultural and food policies ?
laurence modrego
Carolina Modena
Carolina Modena is focal point for biodiversity projects at Slow Food International. “After a Degree in Law at the University of Turin with a dissertation on the right to food, I attended a Master’s on Food Culture and Communitcation at the University of Gastronomic Sciences (Pollenzo, Italy). I joined the Slow Food Headquartiers in the early 2017, with a focus on supporting producers involved in the international food movement. Currently, I am the director of the Biodiversity Office, committed to promoting good, clean, and fair food for all as a tool to guarantee our food sovereignty.”
Henriette Christensen
Henriette Christensen is Executive Director of Agroecology Europe. Henriette holds a master degree in Agricultural Economic from the University of Copenhagen, having also studied development economics at the University of la Sapienza in Rome. Henriette has worked in Brussels for over 25 years having worked among others for the European Commission, the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA) and Pesticide Action Network Europe Brussels (PAN Europe).
WORKSHOP 2: Valuing underutilised crops and wild plants for agroecological transitions
In this workshop, we create space for discussing the potential roles played by underutilised crops and wild gathered plants for agroecological transitions towards diverse and resilient agroecosystems. We first show the contributions of underutilised crops and wild species to the diversification and preservation of agrobiodiversity, provision of ecosystem services, valorisation of biocultural diversity, diversification of diets, enhancement of social sustainability, resilience of local communities and development of alternative food networks. Moreover, we highlight the agronomic, social, political and economic challenges and lock-ins that characterise the cultivation of underutilised crops, the gathering of wild plants and the development of related practices. In the second part of the workshop small group discussions address local best practices and distill recommendations to overcome existing challenges.
Chiara Flora Bassignana
Chiara Flora Bassignana is a researcher fellow at the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, in the Agroecology group. Her research interests revolve around agroecology, biocultural diversity with a particular focus on mountainous areas, new ruralisms and commons. She holds a PhD in Ecogastronomy, Education and Society from the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo.
Christoph Schunko
Christoph Schunko is assistant professor at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna. His research focuses on local knowledge about wild plant gathering in organic farming and beyond. This includes research about the biocultural diversity of wild plant uses, value chains of (organic) wild plant products, ecological and socio-political sustainability of (organic) wild plant gathering, cultivation and domestication of wild plants.
workshop 3: Past, present, and future of soil health by applying agroecological practices
Four PhD students and researchers in agroecology, soil sciences, and water management are going to discuss agroecological practices that improve soil health such as soil inoculation (applying microbes), good practices to avoid soil degradation and erosion, soil management, no-tillage practices, water management and agroecology, animal and human health, social aspect and climate change mitigation.
Jana Marjanović
Jana Marjanović is an Environmental researcher with a specialization in applied Ecology. She is currently a PhD Student at the Doctoral School of Environmental Sciences at MATE University. She is currently working in energy procurement and sustainability business. Her research areas of interest are renewable energy and the application of sustainable practices in agriculture and agroecology.
workshop 4: Challenges and opportunities in self-organized local food provisioning systems: investigating scaling, balance, energy, and solidarity in food communities
Together we will discuss the processes for establishing and maintaining local food system offerings, the pros and cons of different models, and building trust which nurtures enthusiastic consumers while remaining viable for farmers. Central questions on the theme are: what are the practices which have drawn in consumers? What are the realistic capacities for farmers to serve as producers, educators and advocates? What are the challenges associated with maintain enthusiasm within local food schemes? What is the optimal balance of solidarity and/or transactional relationships with food consumers, and how much is it possible to build mutually supporting communities?
José Luis Vicente-Vicente
Logan Strenchock
Matthew Hayes
Dr. José Luis Vicente-Vicente is a postdoctoral researcher focused on assessing social-ecological impacts in alternative food networks. He has been focused on integrating agroecology and spatial food modelling, currently working on the development of agroecology-based local agri-food systems.
Logan Strenchock has been a garden team member at Zsámboki Biokert since 2012, is a Co-Founder of Cargonomia, and the Environmental and Sustainability Officer at Central European University (CEU). He is the president of the Open Garden Foundation and helps coordinate educational outreach programs in coordination with Cargonomia and Zsamboki Biokert team members. He is a member of the Hungarian Agroecology Network and enjoys getting his hands dirty in mixing research and practice in degrowth-inspired experimentation.
Matthew Hayes started out in organic farming in 1984, on a large biodynamic farm in England. He has worked in several countries as an organic vegetable grower, and since 1995 settled in Hungary. For many years he was the farm manager of the organic student farm at Szent István Universtiy, Gödöllő, and was the founding director of Nyitott Kert Alapítvány (Open Garden Foundation), an early promoter of local organic food systems in the CEE region. Matthew, together with friends, set up Zsámboki Biokert in 2011, where he is the overall manager. Matthew tries to promote farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing.
WORKSHOP 5: Commons, commoners, and food sovereignty: land governance to scale agroecology out and up
The competition for land in Europe is tight, the entrenched cultural norms around resource distribution places private property at the heart of legal systems, obscuring if not directly contradicting human rights values. Against this backdrop, historical land commons particular for Eastern European countries and emerging commoning strategies in Western European countries offer practical approaches to realise land sovereignty. The objectives of this workshop are to highlight diversity of land commons institutions and pre-socialist legacies, discuss contemporary challenges in governing the commons, discuss the importance of land commons for an agroecological transition in Europe, starting from the Romanian case and to explore how land commons and commoning strategies contribute to the democratisation of land in Europe. The underlying assumption that private property is an obstacle in the realisation of an agroecological future opens the discussion on possible alternative property regimes and as a prerequisite for alternative food systems to emerge.
The aim of the workshop is to explore how land commons and commoning strategies contribute to the democratization of land in the European context. In order to do so, we plan
- to share stories from the Romanian context and to find similarities and connect in differences from other territories
- to gather insights from researchers, practitioners and activists on the processes of land commoning and the social and economic implications on the ground in different European countries and
- to discuss strategies that challenge lock-ins for a common agroecological food system at the European level.
Ana-Maria Gătejel
Ana-Maria Gătejel is a researcher in the Rights to Land working group at EcoRuralis. “As an active member of the Rights to Land working group, I am working on mapping the possibilities of land commons in the Romanian context. In parallel to my activist work, I am conducting research on food-sharing networks in urban and peri-urban settings at the Rural Sociology Group at Wageningen University. Previously, I obtained a BA degree in European Studies at The Hague University and a MSc degree in Governance of Sustainability at Leiden University.”
Workshop 6: Living Labs
Diverse stakeholders including academics, governmental researchers, policy makers and practitioners, among others, are invited to submit outlines for short impulse on the proposed theme. We would to establish state-of-the-art of LL in EU, share lessons learned from case studies and address challenges facing the european agroecological living lab community. The aim is to generate dialogue among stakeholders, provide a platform for sharing innovative ideas, and create an inspiring space for collaboration and action.
PAOLA MIGLIORINI
Paola Migliorini is an agroecologist expert and activist. She is convenor of the Master in Agroecology and Food Sovereignty, Course Leader in Agroecology, Sustainable and Organic Agriculture, Coordinator of Agroecology research group with 13 projects. She is the former President of Agroecology Europe (2018-2022) and scientific referent of H2020 AGROMIX project. She is author of 100 technical and scientific publications.
Miloš Rajković
Miloš Rajković is a Research associate at the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, National institute of the Republic of Serbia.
Korinna Varga
Korinna Varga is Head of Agricultural Policy Research Group at the Hungarian Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (ÖMKi), specialized in agricultural and bioeconomy policy. Her area of expertise involves organic farming and agroecology relevant national policy analysis, research, and advisory for achieving the sustainable transition of the agri-food sector. Besides, she also manages ÖMKi’s On-Farm Living Lab; her research work focuses on co-creating experiences in agroecological living labs and upscaling multistakeholders networks, while she works toward the wider adoption of the “living lab” approach and methodology in national agricultural research.
WORKSHOP 7: Territorial approaches to the agroecological transition
In this collaborative workshop, the audience will learn about different territorial approaches to the agroecological transition and explore some of the most pressing challenges that emerge while steering agroecologic initiatives on the ground, as well as discuss potential solutions.
María Ramos García
Verónica Rebollo Díaz
Perrine Vandenbroucke
Agronomist specialised in biodiversity and agroecology, linked to the spanish agroecological movement for over 20 years. She is currently working as a researcher at the Center for Organic and Mountain Agriculture in CICYTEX (Regional Farming Research Center in Extremadura, Spain) and collaborates with Alimentta as founding member since 2019.
Verónica Rebollo Díaz’s role is Projects and Strategic Alliances at Alimentta, Think Tank for the Sustainable Food Transition. She has a BSc in Biology, MSc in Sustainable Management of the Environment and MA in Social and Cultural Anthropology. In Alimentta, she works in project acquisition and coordination, stakeholder engagement and cooperation, and she coordinates Alimentta’s Living Lab strategy.
Dr Perrine Vandenbroucke is Associate professor of Geography at ISARA. Her study focuses onrRelationships between agriculture and territories, agricultural and rural policies.
WORKSHOP 8: Agroecological approaches to the use of nutrients and the maintenance of soil health, with contrasting experiences from Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, incorporating results of recent metanalyses
The recent aggression from Russia on Ukraine disrupted the crops nutrient supply. On one hand, it can potentially induce a crisis of reducing the supply of nutrients and therefore the yields. On the other hand, it opens the possibility to use different approaches for nutrient management in agriculture – organic sources, recycling, use of legumes, etc. How are farmers, organizations and regions are reacting on this needs to be better explored. The roundtable wants to bring together colleagues that can report from different regions about what is happening, and which are the agroecological strategies that ere being used.
Matthias S. Geck
Dr. Matthias S. Geck is
Agroecological Systems Scientist at CIFOR-ICRAF, Nairobi. He is Coordinator of the Transformative Partnership Platform on Agroecology, Work Package 2 Co-lead for the CGIAR Agroecology Initiative, and Project Lead for the Agroecological Transitions Programme.
MARCOS LANA
Marcos Lana is Secretary General of Agroecology Europe and Associate Professor at SLU. His work focuses on the use of crop models to assess the impact of climate change and agronomic management on crop performance, so as to propose suitable adaptation strategies concerning crop production systems and other ecosystem services. He is also involved with the development and adoption of agroecology as a tool to support sustainable farming systems.
Fergus Sinclair
Fergus Sinclair is Chief Scientist at CIFOR-ICRAF (Center for International Forest Research – World Agroforestry) based in Nairobi through collaboration with Bangor University, UK and Co-convenor of the Transformative Partnership Platform on Agroecology. He is Honorary Professor at CATIE (Centre for Agricultural Research and Higher Education) in Costa Rica and Honorary Editor of Agroforestry Systems and was project team leader for the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS), High-Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) report on agroecology published 2019. His transdisciplinary research is focused on combining local agroecological knowledge with formal science, measuring and modelling the performance of complex social-ecological systems, and the development of practical methods for supporting local agricultural innovation over large land areas and numbers of people while addressing fine scale variation in farmer context.
Amelie Steu
Amelie Steu is Associate Coordinator at the Agroecology Coalition, whose role is to build strategic alliances and networks to scale out Agroecology. “I am a young professional driven by the shift towards organic and agroecological food systems in order to address some current challenges such biodiversity loss, climate change, social inequities and food insecurity. I worked for 3 years at IFOAM Organics Europe in the Policy and Partnerships Units. I also undertook an internship at IFAD during my Masters’ Degree in Governance of International Relations at Sciences Po Toulouse.”
WORKSHOP 9: Walking the agroecological path through feminism
Agroecology inherently encompasses a commitment to rethink unequal power dynamics in food systems, therefore the agroecological approaches cannot be discussed without addressing the power (im)balances based on gender and other axes of marginalisation that embed food systems and their actors and stakeholders. This workshop aims at creating a space for sharing perspectives, challenges and methods of studies in agroecology with a strong focus on gender and feminist dynamics involved in the research topic, methods and approaches. Contributions on how taking a feminist approach to agroecological transformation addresses the myriad ways in which gender intersects with all aspects of food systems, not just their social dimensions are welcomed. This workshop will also try to share answers and experiences on how agroecological perspectives meet feminist ones in building a research itself, regardless of the specific research questions and on how research materials and methods, structure, organisation reconfigure with a feminist and agroecological research approach.
Chiara Flora Bassignana
Chiara Flora Bassignana is a researcher fellow at the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, in the Agroecology group. Her research interests revolve around agroecology, biocultural diversity with a particular focus on mountainous areas, new ruralisms and commons. She holds a PhD in Ecogastronomy, Education and Society from the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo.
Jesse Donham
Jesse Donham is a research fellow at the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo. Jesse earned a BA in Political Science and Environmental Science from the University of California Berkeley and a Master’s Degree in International Relations with a focus on agriculture and food security from the University of Melbourne. Before UNISG, she was a researcher at Agroecology Europe, worked in government bodies, at NGOs such as the Food Sovereignty Alliance in Australia, for a magazine on environmental and agricultural issues, and on the field.
Perrine Bulgheroni
International business lawyer Perrine Bulgheroni started a farm in the Normandy village of Le Bec-Hellouin that slowly became a profitable 20 hectares organic farm. Perrine has now left the farm and helps other farmers. She gives advice in France and abroad as to how to secure food production in a multiple crisis context and is looking forward to creating a new cooperative project. She also teaches and gives conferences. Perrine was an elected member of the Normandy parliament from 2010 to 2016.
WORKSHOP 10: Connecting local agroecological initiatives with scientific research in Europe
This workshop will discuss how to effectively organize innovation-oriented research projects as interventions in complex socio-technical change processes. Agroecology-TRANSECT Horizon Europe project aims to unfold the full potential of agroecology for European agriculture. To do so, it is teaming up knowledge and expertise in 11 multi-actor Innovation Hubs (IHs) that have been engaged in agroecological transitions for multiple years, with engaged analysis-oriented scientists using a complexity-aware co-innovation approach for its governance. The IHs cover a diversity of farming systems and agroecological practices and principles; the scientists come from various areas of the natural and social sciences.
Adrien Swartebroeckx
As a young bioengineer in agronomic field, Adrien Swartebroeckx began his career working on a local cereal network for a brewery. He then jumped on the Agroecology-TRANSECT project and is now coordinator of the CRA-W (Belgian research center) team for this project.
Darleen van Dam
Darleen van Dam holds a Bachelor’s degree in Plant Science and a Master’s degree in Rural Innovation, which have equipped her with interdisciplinary knowledge and social science methods to explore agricultural transitions. As an action researcher at Wageningen Research she has been involved in various national and international projects. Her engagement in the Agroecology-TRANSECT project focuses on supporting the learning platform and its diverse agroecology initiatives.
Workshop 11:
Practical applications of One Health: Ecosystem building through engaging local communities, citizens, and authorities
During this workshop we are going to explore the practical applications of One Health. We’ll learn how having One Health as a pillar we can build a resilient ecosystem through the engagement of local communities, citizens, and authorities.
Cristina Laurenti
Cristina Laurenti is researcher on sustainable food consumption at FiBL and co-founder of the Coalition of Health Profesionnals for Regenerative Agriculture (CHPRA), a movement of health professionals aiming to accelerate regenerative healthcare. She is a Board member of Agroecology Europe and Coordinator of theAgroecology Europe Youth Network. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Dietietcis and Master degree in Agroecology and Food Sovereignty at UNISG. With passion, unique perspective and knowledge she embodies the link between agroecology and nutrition.
Eirini Tsirimokou
Eirini boasts a diverse background in both Life Sciences and Business, and has recently gained expertise as an Integrative Nutritionist. Her extensive experience in various aspects of the food system has provided her with a comprehensive and multidimensional understanding. Presently, Eirini holds the position of Comms & Insights Officer at the NGO, Sustainable Food Destination Organisation (SFDO), and is proud to be one of the co-founders of CHPRA.
Workshop 12: Climate action as a driver for agroecology in Central Eastern Europe: exchanging experiences and building alliances
This workshop aims at presenting and discussing the results of a research project analysing Common Agricultural Policy Stategic Plans in 11 CEE countries, along with a needs assessment for capacity building. The workshop will strengthen the collaboration and exchange of experiences among stakeholders in order to support strategic planning for climate neutral and resilient agri-food systems and improved exchange and capacity building for nature-based climate action in Central Eastern Europe.
Ana frelih-larsen
Dr. Ana Frelih-Larsen is a Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, where she coordinates activities on agriculture and soils. She has worked extensively on the evaluation and development of policy instruments for soil health, carbon farming, and more broadly mitigation and adaptation in agriculture. Her work in particular focuses on policies that support the implementation of nature-based solutions in agriculture. A native of Slovenia and fluent in German and English, she has a strong geographic interest in Central Eastern Europe.
Currently, she leads a project on Capacity Building for Ambitious Climate Action in the Agri-food Sector in Central Eastern Europe, funded by the Robert Bosch Foundation.
Workshop 13: Agroecology "Schools Without Walls": trust, feeling, territory, and the education of eco-political concern
Agroecology Schools have become strategic spaces of social movements for scaling up agroecology, strengthening the work for food sovereignty and engaging people, especially youth, back in local food system work. An Agroecology School is a self-organised safe space where farmers share knowledge and wisdom on a peer-to-peer principle. The School’s methodology is rooted in years of experience of the work done by La via Campesina in the methodology campesino-a-campesino. Being autonomous of governments or formal adult education institutions, Agroecology Schools bridge the gap between practical and theoretical knowledge, as well as technical and political skills and provide a platform to unite learning and knowledge-sharing with action research and civic engagement. They are holistic and empowering, including two-way learning processes between policy makers, researchers and farmers to build strategic networks and prioritising peasant knowledge at the heart of food system transformation. In this workshop we will explore three critical dimensions of Agroecology Schools’ learning process dialogue of diverse knowledges: trust, feeling and territory. These three aspects of popular education in agroecology are critical for shaping and reflecting about shared eco-political concerns. We will review strategies in which each, trust, feeling and the connection to territory can be strengthened and mutually connected in a learning process to deepen the bonds of reciprocity between learners and their land and activate political vision for collective action.
Andrea Ferrante
Andrea Ferrante is an agroecologist and freelance consultant on agricultural policies and agroecology. Mr Ferrante has over 20 years’ experience in international food and agriculture policy development and rural development. He has extensive experience in working with and supporting small-scale food producing organizations globally, including in policy processes at national, regional and international level. Additionally, Mr Ferrante has 20 years’ experience in running an organic family farm and actually member of a Bio social coop running a farm in Viterbo province (Italy). He is the Coordinator of the Schola Campesina Aps, International agroecology school based in the Biodistretto della Via Amerina e delle Forre (Civita Castellana, Viterbo, Italy).
session presenters
session 1: Multi-level policy initiatives to reshape the CAP
Scaling agroecology in East Europe—how to start the transition process
In Eastern Europe agroecology can have great potential for agricultural transformation. Designing and guiding the transition process, starting from local value chains, with different sets of agroecological principles (HLPE, FAO) can enable agroecology to provide key elements for transforming food production systems that can be the cornerstone of development schemes to improve food security and nutrition in the future.
Srdjan Šeremešić
Prof. Dr Srđan Šeremešić has received basic training in agronomy and is currently a full professor at the University of Novi Sad. “My research focuses on sustainable agriculture, organic agriculture, cropping systems and soil management. Since the beginning of my research career, I have been working with different ecological approaches to archive tangible improvements in the field of safe food production and agroecology.”
Environmental attitudes and motivations of farmers: behavioural and economic drivers and barriers to green change in agriculture
In addition to the development of the right policy incentives, the willingness of farmers to participate is a crucial prerequisite for the successful implementation of policy objectives. My presentation will share the results of a comprehensive research on Hungarian farmers’ environmental knowledge and attitudes about green agricultural reforms and their intentions as well as barriers to act, with the aim of supporting a more environmentally effective implementation of the future CAP.
Eszter Takács
Mrs. Eszter Takács is a Researcher (Climate and Environmental Research Department) at the Institute of Agricultural Economics Nonprofit Kft. (AKI). She graduated in 2003 as an agricultural engineer in environmental management at the University of Agriculture and Life Sciences in Hungary and is also a biology teacher. She started her career in the field of environmental education, later she gained experience in the management and professional implementation of nature conservation and agricultural research projects. Working at AKI for the last 8 years, she is involved among others in the environmental analyses of the CAP implementation, as well as in national and international research on sustainable agricultural production methods.
Fostering cooperative agroecological approaches to restore biodiverse, resilient cultural heritage landscapes and improve food security in Europe
The roundtable will discuss views/perspectives from different stakeholders on well-functioning agri-environmental measures and incentives that foster cooperative approaches and agroecology practices. Participants will then be invited to collect suggestions for improving current EU agri-environmental regulations and financing schemes that could feed into the next CAP negotiations with EU MS.
Zsolt Szilvacsku
Dr. Zsolt Miklós Szilvácsku is Assistant professor Department of Landscape Planning and Regional Development at the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE). He has worked on the development and regulation of environmental impact assessments, led the nature conservation work of Birdlife Hungary, relaunched the Association of Hungarian Nature Parks and established and managed the Land Stewardship Advisory Service, which helps to conserve and manage agricultural lands, forests and wetlands. As a small-scale farmer himself he brings together the environmentally friendly farmers of the nature parks and to strengthen and disseminate their knowledge and experience in the Carpathian Basin. He teaches at universities, works as a consultant on agri-environmental and other environmental topics and serves as a Board Member of Landcare Europe.
Carbon farming credits—Stakes for the agroecological transition in Europe
Recent policy developments have again raised the profile of agricultural carbon markets and carbon credits as a climate solution and a tool to finance the transformation of the agriculture sector. But the EU proposal for a Caron Removal Certification Framework, threatens to undermine climate objectives and an agroecological transition in Europe, rather than being part of the solution.
Sophie Scherger
Sophie Scherger is Climate and Agriculture Policy Officer at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). As policy officer at IATP’s European office, Sophie examines the links between agriculture and the climate crisis and advocates for a holistic just transition towards a food system that takes the multiple challenges of the climate crisis into account and debunks false solutions. Her recent work spotlights the developments and risks posed by EU and international policies related to carbon markets for agriculture.
Potential of eco-schemes for the agroecological transformation in northern Italy
The presentation is about the potential application of the five echo-schemes mentioned in the Italian Strategic Plan by farmers in Piedmont (Italy). The study analyses connections between farmers’ demographic factors and their interest and willingness to apply the eco-schemes.
Natalia Rastorgueva
Natalia Rastorgueva, PhD, is a research fellow of the AE4EU project at the University of Gastronomic Sciences, Pollenzo, Italy. Her research focuses on the agroecological living labs and the international agricultural policies.
MODERATOR
During Session 1 the speakers will present their knowlege related to the eco-schemes, farmer’s motivations, national and international experiences to scale up agroecology, and risks and benefits from carbon farming. They will explore opportunities and bottlenecks for farmers to accompany the European process of scaling up agroecology at the political level.
Caterina Batello
Caterina Batello is an Agroecology Expert, Board Member of Agroecology Europe (AEEU) and Vice President of Agroecology Italy (AIDA), and the former Team Leader, Agroecology and Ecosystem Management of FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations). She spent most of her career in international agricultural development and she is author of a number of books and papers related to the management of biodiversity, livestock and ecosystem services, capitalizing on natural biological processes in different ecologies (tropical, temperate arid and mountain zones). Under her leadership a “Scaling up Agroecology Initiative” was developed and launched with UN agencies and National Research Institutions, and an important political consensus on Agroecology was approved by 147 countries in 2019 by the FAO Council.
session 2: Innovative farming practices
Restoring and valuing traditional agricultural knowledge and crop varieties
How can we improve organic farming by looking at the past? By using faba bean and pea intercropping as an example, I will share my experience of how I created a research project inspired by a historical farming practice in Sweden.
Dylan Wallman
Dylan Wallman is a horticultural scientist from Sweden specialised in organic plant breeding and agrobiodiversity facilitation. He is currently pursuing a PhD at the Dept. of Biosystems and Technology at Swedish Agricultural University (SLU), where he is intercropping peas with faba beans and/or cereals in organic farming systems.
Mycorrhizal fungi: from natural diversity to inoculation and beyond
Diversity of mycorrhizal fungal species are one of the main prerequisites of a healthy soil, as they are the most important connection of plant roots and the soil. Results on natural diversities and the possible role of commercial mycorrhizal inocula will be discussed.
István Parádi
István Parádi is an assistant professor at the Department of Plant Biology and Molecular Plant Biology at ELTE, where he has been researching and teaching plant biology for 25 years and spent several years in research institutions abroad (Netherlands, Switzerland, France). His main areas of interest are plant-microbe symbioses and plant stress biology. In 2022, he co-founded ExperiPlant Ltd. that aims to combine rigorous scientific approaches with agricultural practice, in particular in the development of sustainable and bio-based solutions.