As agroecology is all about co-creation, the Forum Organising Committee 2023 opened up the contribution space and invited our members and partner organisations to send us their proposals to organise sessions and workshops. We thank the members and partners who sent in over 100 proposals and make this Forum a platform for exchange, learning and dialogue on the most relevant and timely issues on agroecology.
We are delighted to share this programme that is the result of a participatory process!
On day 3, Saturday, 18 November, morning sessions will be dedicated to field visits. You can choose one from a varied selection of 4 options.
On day 2, Agroecology initiatives and Living Labs in Europe from AE4EU Horizon project will be presented.
A poster exhibitions will be displayed in the Library throughout the AEEU Forum 2023.
Click on the links to access the presentations or videos!
Day 1: Thursday, 16 November
10:00 Agroecological breakfast and registration
10:00-11:30 Agroecology Europe General Assembly— Members of AEEU
- open to all participants
- only AEEU members have voting rights
11:30-12:30 Registration and lunch
12:45-13:00 Welcome address and opening
- Lili Balogh, President, Agroecology Europe and Hungarian Agroecology Network
13:00-15:00 Plenary keynote session
- THE ROLE OF WOMAN HERDERS IN LIVESTOCK FARMING IN THE PAST AND THE PRESENT
- Ibolya Sáfián, Hungarian Female Shepherds Association
- THE AGROECOLOGY OF EASTERN EUROPEAN PEASANTRY: DOOMED FOR EXTINCTION OR FUNDAMENTAL FOR A JUST FOOD SYSTEM FOR EUROPE?
- Attila Szőcs-Boruss, Eco Ruralis
- AGROECOLOGY IN THE WORLD
- Pablo Tittonell, University of Groningen
- ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS: THE ONLY FRAMEWORK FOR AGROECOLOGY?
- Alexandra Köves, European Society for Ecological Economics
15:00-15:30 Coffee break
15:30-17:00 Workshops
Workshop 1: 2024 European elections: how can agroecology become the next paradigm of European agricultural and food policies?
Workshop 2: Valuing underutilised crops and wild plants for agroecological transitions
- The role of underutilised crops in agroecological transitions
- Chiara Flora Bassignana, Research Fellow, University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo (UNISG)
- Valuing local agricultural knowledge for the future of agroecology
- Christoph Schunko, Assistant Professor, University of Natural Resources and Lifes Sciences, Vienna
Workshop 3: Past, present, and future of soil health by applying agroecological practices
- Jana Marjanović, PhD student, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE)
Workshop 4: Challenges and opportunities in self-organized local food provisioning systems: investigating scaling, balance, energy, and solidarity in food communities
- Exploring challenges and opportunities in self-organized local food provisioning systems: investigating scaling, balance, energy, and solidarity in food communities
- Matthew Hayes, Garden manager, Zsámboki Biokert
- Logan Strenchock, Garden team member, Zsámboki Biokert; CoFounder, Cargonomia
- Presenting results of research on an alternative food network in Berlin-Brandenburg
- José Luis Vicente Vicente, Postdoctoral Researcher, Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF)
17:30-19:00 Workshops
- Ana-Maria Gătejel,researcher, Rights to Land working group, EcoRuralis
- Agroecological Living Lab to foster the transition, empower participation, promote innovations
- Paola Migliorini, Agroecologist expert and activist, Convenor of the Master in Agroecology and Food Sovereignty, University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo (UNISG)
- Korinna Varga, Head of Agricultural Policy Research Group, Hungarian Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (ÖMKi)
- Organic Living Labs
- Miloš Rajković, Research Associate, Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops
Workshop 7: Territorial approaches to the agroecological transition
- Territorial approaches for agroecology transitions: schemes, methods, and governance issues
- Baptiste Grard, Project manager, ISARA
- Leveraging the food transition through Agroecology-based Local Agri-food Systems (ALAs)
- Verónica Rebollo Díaz, Projects and Strategic Alliances, Alimentta
- María Ramos García, Researcher, CICYTEX; Founding Member, Alimentta
Workshop 8: Agroecological approaches to nutrient use and soil health management: results from Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America
- Dr. Matthias S. Geck, Agroecological Systems Scientist,CIFOR-ICRAF, Nairobi
- Fergus Sinclair, Chief Scientist, CIFOR-ICRAF (Center for International Forest Research – World Agroforestry)
- Marcos Lana, Secretary General, Agroecology Europe; Associate Professor, SLU
- Amelie Steu, Associate Coordinator, Agroecology Coalition
19:00 Dinner
DAY 2: Friday, 17 November
9:00-10:30 Sessions
Session 1: Multi-level policy initiatives to reshape the CAP
- Moderator: Caterina Batello, Agroecology Expert, Vice President, AIDA, Italian Agroecology Association; Board Member, Agroecology Europe
- Environmental attitudes and motivations of farmers: behavioural and economic drivers and barriers to green change in agriculture
- Eszter Takács, Researcher, Climate and Environmental Research Department, Institute of Agricultural Economics Nonprofit Kft. (AKI)
- Potential of eco-schemes for the agroecological transformation in northern Italy
- Natalia Rastorgueva, Research Fellow, University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo (UNISG)
- Fostering cooperative agroecological approaches to restore biodiverse, resilient cultural heritage landscapes and improve food security in Europe
- Zsolt Miklós Szilvácsku, Assistant Professor, Department of Landscape Planning and Regional Development, Hungarian
University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE)
- Zsolt Miklós Szilvácsku, Assistant Professor, Department of Landscape Planning and Regional Development, Hungarian
- Scaling agroecology in East Europe—how to start the transition process
- Srdjan Šeremešić, Full Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad
- Italian Agroecology Network
Session 2: Innovative farming practices
- Moderator: Márton Bruder, Farmer, Hungarian Agroecology Network Association
- Fermented forest litter (FFL)
- Ole Ostermann, Ecologist and biologist, Board Member, Agroecology Europe
- Mycorrhizal fungi: from natural diversity to inoculation and beyond
- Dr. István Parádi, Assistant Professor, Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE); Executive, ExperiPlant Kft.
- Food production and landscape value: silvopasture as a possible sustainable livestock production system
- Jacopo Goracci, Farm Manager, Tenuta di Paganico Farm, Paganico (GR), Italy
- Tomato landraces—a success story
- Orsolya Papp, Research Leader, Hungarian Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (ÖMKi)
- Restoring and valuing traditional agricultural knowledge and crop varieties
- Dylan Wallman, PhD candidate, Swedish Agricultural University (SLU)
Session 3: Transforming education and extension services: from top-down knowledge transfer to more horizontal farmer-to-farmer approaches
- Moderator: Logan Strenchock, Garden team member, Zsámboki Biokert; Co-Founder, Cargonomia
- Horticultural farmers’ views on and experience with the practical application of agroecological solutions in Latvia
- Anda Adamsone-Fiskovica, Senior Researcher, Baltic Studies Centre
- A Roadmap Towards Action Education: The Nextfood Approach
- Geir Hofgaard Lieblein, Professor, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
- Two decades of action education in agroecology: Impact of an agroecology course on alumni’s professional and personal
life- Geir Hofgaard Lieblein, Professor, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
- ERASMUS+ to create a network of farm schools in Europe (video)
- Emilie Rousselou, Founding Member, EUfarms
- Aurélie Tacquard, Founding Member, EUfarms
- Knowledge gaps as barriers in agroecological transitions: Lessons learnt from UNISECO
- George Vlahos, Assistant Professor, Agricultural University of Athens
10:30-11:00 Coffee break
11:00-12:30 Workshops
Workshop 9: Walking the agroecological path through feminism
- Chiara Flora Bassignana, Research Fellow, University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo (UNISG)
- Jesse Donham, Research Fellow, University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo (UNISG)
- Clara Lina Bader, M.Sc. Resilient Farming and Food Systems, Wageningen University & Research; Agroecology Europe
Workshop 10: Connecting local agroecological initiatives with scientific research in Europe
- Darleen van Dam, Researcher transition & innovation, Wageningen Research
- Adrien Swartebroeckx, Associate Scientist, Walloon Agricultural Research Center (CRA-W)
- Cristina Laurenti, Researcher, FiBL; Co-founder, Coalition of Health Professionals for Regenerative Agriculture (CHPRA),
Board Member of Agroecology Europe - Eirini Tsirimokou, Founder, One Health Lead, Coalition of Health Professionals for Regenerative Agriculture (CHPRA);
Sustainable Food Destination Organisation (SFDO)
- Cristina Laurenti, Researcher, FiBL; Co-founder, Coalition of Health Professionals for Regenerative Agriculture (CHPRA),
- Ana Frelih Larsen, Senior Fellow, Ecologic Institute
- Andrea Ferrante, Coordinator, Schola Campesina
12:30-13:30 Lunch
13:30-15:00 Poster session
- The Agroecology Coalition’s role in building strategic alliances and networks to scale out of Agroecology
- Amelie Steu, Associate Coordinator, Agroecology Coalition
- Private Funding for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems—The role of foundations
- Clara Lina Bader, M.Sc. Resilient Farming and Food Systems, Wageningen University & Research; Agroecology Europe
- Tailored pathways and agroecological action for reviving farmland biodiversity
- Dr. Diana Sietz, Group Leader, Thünen Institute of Biodiversity
- What’s good in Coventry? Food abundance vs. food poverty
- Georges Félix, Assistant Professor Research, Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, Coventry University
- Co-designing new business models for soil health—first insights from a case study in Germany
- Gerald Schwarz, Project Coordinator, Thünen Institute of Farm Economics
- Elke Plaas, Senior Research Fellow, Thünen Institute of Farm Economics
- Marie von Meyer-Höfer, Senior Research Fellow, Thünen Institute of Market Analysis
- Finding solutions for pushing farm transition: permaculture as a design of an agroecology system
- Jacopo Goracci, Farm manager, Tenuta di Paganico Farm, Paganico (GR), Italy
- Combination of agroecological practices for improved soil quality
- Jana Marjanović, PhD student, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE)
- Assessing the agroecological performance and sustainability of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Flanders, Belgium
- Ruben Savels, Academic Assistant, Ghent University
- Assessing soil health indicators in an organically managed grassland in Norway
- Sara Hansdotter, Advisor, Norwegian Centre for Organic Agriculture (NORSØK)
- PATH2DEA—Paving the Way towards Digitalisation Enabling Agroecology for European Farming Systems
- Dr. Stefan Pfeiffer, Business Development Manager, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH
15:00-16:30 Sessions
Session 4a: Agroecology initiatives and Living Labs in Europe: experiences from AE4EU
- Moderator: Dr. Alexander Wezel, Head of Research and Professor for Agroecology and Landscape Ecology, ISARA
- Moderator: Dr. Vasileios Gkisakis, Agronomist and researcher, Hellenic Agricultural Organisation (ELGO)—DIMITRA (Greece)
Session 5: Building strategic alliances: the role of networks in scaling agroecology
- Moderator: Carolina Rizzi Starr, Agricultural Officer, FAO
- European Network for Agroecological Food Systems (ENAF): Activating the combined potential and capabilities of existing national and European networks related to agroecology
- Dr. Margriet Goris, Researcher, Wageningen University & Research
- Leonardo van den Berg, Coordinating Committee, European Coordination Via Campesina
- Attila Szőcs-Boruss, Peasant rights advocate, Eco Ruralis
- Discourses of key European actors of civil society involved in agroecology
- Dr. Raquel Luján Soto, Natural Resources and Sustainable Management, INGENIO (CSIC-Universitat Politècnica de València)
- A framework for coordinated action towards sustainable food systems: learnings, challenges, and opportunities for collaboration
- Verónica Rebollo Díaz, Projects and Strategic Alliances, Alimentta
- The EUFarms Network: objectives, members, actions (video)
- Emilie Rousselou, Founding Member, EUfarms
- Aurélie Tacquard, Founding Member, EUfarms
Session 6: Agroecology and digitalisation
- Moderator: Almudena Garcia Sastre, EU Policy and Advocacy Officer, FIAN European sections
- Non-invasive sensors for cattle farming in agroecological conditions
- Miklós Biszkup, Programmer, Hungarian Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (ÖMKi)
- The importance of using digital technologies in pasture-based beef cattle farming
- Petra Balogh, Research Assistant, Hungarian Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (ÖMKi)
- Digital tool applied to agroecology: Poderi
- Dr. Stefano Carlesi, Researcher, Group of Agroecology—Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna
- Data collection for food security
- Andrea Ferrante, Coordinator, Schola Campesina
- Digitalisation in Swedish agroecological contexts: synergies, technology uptake, and future innovation pathways
- Aziliz Le Rouzo, Research Associate, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
- Developing a Decision Support Tool for sustainable viticulture: Insights on the agroecological assessment of
practices in Cretan vineyards- Sotirios Pilafidis, PhD student, University of the Aegean
- Issues for the Global South: Food Sovereignty or Corporate Control
- ETC Group (video presentation)
16:30-17:00 Coffee break
17:00-18:30 Sessions
Session 4b: Agroecology initiatives and Living Labs in Europe: experiences from AE4EU
- Moderator: Dr. Alexander Wezel, Head of Research and Professor for Agroecology and Landscape Ecology, ISARA
- Moderator: Dr. Vasileios Gkisakis, Agronomist and researcher, Hellenic Agricultural Organisation (ELGO)—DIMITRA (Greece)
Session 7: First steps into the agroecological transition
- Moderator: Stéphane Bellon, Researcher, INRAE; Board Member, Agroecology Europe
- The specificities of each concept (permaculture, regenerative agriculture, organic agriculture): ethics, practices, issues, training, networks, certifications
- Emilie Rousselou, Founding Member, EUfarms
- Perrine Bulgheroni (ex Hervé Gruyer), Farmer, SISTERFARMS Network
- Agroecology and the city: approaches and tools for interdisciplinary analysis of a peri-urban agrosilvopastoral system in Milan
- Alice Giulia Dal Borgo, Associate Professor, Department of Cultural and Environmental Heritage, University of Milan
- Agroecologist in action
- Tommaso Gaifami, Agronomy consultant, Marsilea group
- Stefania Caron, Agronomy consultant, Marsilea group
- GOOD-Agroecology for weeds: building an agroecological weed management network
- Dr. Alexandros Tataridas, Assistant Researcher, Centre for Functional Ecology, University of Coimbra
- Helena Freitas, Coordinator, Center for Functional Ecology, University of Coimbra
- Contributors: Alexandros Tataridas, Maria Rosa Mosquera Losada, Ilias Travlos, Maria Ramos Garcia, Jose Paulo Sousa, Spyros Fountas, Lara Agnoli, Harm Brinks, Milena Simic, Milan Brankov, Vesna Dragičević , Helena Freitas
Session 8: Long-term research for agroecology
- Moderator: Marcos Lana, Secretary General, Agroecology Europe, Associate Professor, Swedish Agricultural University
(SLU) - Integrated European long-term ecosystem, critical zone, and socio-ecological research
- Dr. Taru Sandén, Senior Expert, Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety; Lecturer, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences
- EJP SOIL : European Joint Programme on Agricultural Soil Management
- Claudia di Bene, Researcher in agronomy and soil science, CREA
- Digital twins at Rothamsted
- Paul Harris, Professor, Rothamsted Research
- Complementarity of different types of research infrastructure investigating regenerative soil management
- Koen Willekens, PhD, Senior researcher, Soil Management and Cropping Systems, ILVO, Plant Sciences Unit
- A Pipeline for Extracting Evidence of Crop Loss from Scientific Reports
- Chris Baker, Professor and Science Director, Rothamsted Research
Session 9: Agroecology for socially and environmentally just food systems: perspectives from social movements
- Moderator: Lili Balogh, President, Agroecology Europe and Hungarian Agroecology Network Association
- Judit Bari, Community development expert
- Valéria Kovács, Activist and organiser, Fridays For Future Hungary
- Attila Szőcs-Boruss, Peasant rights advocate, Eco Ruralis
- Vincent Liegey, Interdisciplinary researcher, lecturer, and freelance writer on degrowth
18:30-18:45 Closing remarks: Policy reflections at the European level
19:00 Aperitivo: local cheese, bread, and wine tasting
20:00 Concert
Day 3: Saturday, 18 November
9:00-13:00 Field visits to local farms
13:00-15:00 Lunch break
15:00-17:00 Project and work meetings
- Agroecology Europe Youth Network
- European Network for Agroecological Food systems (ENAF)
- Peasant Seed Swap
- Hungarian Agroecology Network
17:00-17:30 Coffee Break
17:30-18:00 Outlook to the future: what do we do next?
18:00 Farewell
