Towards a smart plant protection in European farms: An integrated living farm lab approach

ongoing

bioconfarm will use a holistic approach in which all stakeholders along the entire value chain of agriculture and plant production will be considered, especially the farmers, SMEs, cooperatives and scientists. The bioconfarm consortium will establish an international “living” network of experts and stakeholders in the field of alternative plant protection and plant strengthening research & innovation, paving the way to reduce the application of chemical and synthetic pesticide products in agriculture and forestry. The bioconfarm thematic network focuses on the topic of smart plant protection research findings and innovation fulfilling the needs of farmers and plant breeders. bioconfarm will apply a user-centred approach (the bioconfarm living farm labs), which will act as a kind of open-innovation ecosystem, operating in a territorial context (certain region) and integrates concurrent research and innovation results and processes. A sustainable and long-lasting network of living farm labs will be established and take-up of research findings by farmers increased. Knowledge exchange in rural areas is mainly based on physical meetings and direct relationship between people and can be organized in a way that facilitates the mutual learning process. For example, demonstration farms are an effective means for knowledge exchange as farmers and researchers directly meet each other and build long-term relationships. The living farm lab approach of bioconfarm applies a multi-actor approach in order to integrate all relevant actors and stakeholders along the several value chains concerning plant health in agriculture. bioconfarm structure consists of five comprehensive and inter-related Work Packages with key outputs as deliverables, as well as major milestones plotted along the workplan. bioconfarm comprises 13 project partners (11 main beneficiaries, 1 affiliated entity and 1 associated partner) representing expertises in agriculture, plant protection, biocontrol, digital tools, producers, farms, cluster and cooperatives.