The “European Innovation Partnership” establishes three new Focus Groups

• The European Innovation Partnership ( EIP-Agri ) is seeking specialists in the areas of land abandonment, biodiversity and social agriculture.
• The deadline for submitting applications is September 19, 2022.

The European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI) aims to accelerate innovation in the agricultural sector to achieve competitive agriculture that produces more with fewer resources and a lower environmental impact.

To achieve this, the AEI-Agri relies on two basic instruments:

• Operational Groups : These groups are formed by stakeholders interested in solving or addressing a specific problem through knowledge and innovation, and are created on their own initiative. The group's mission is to define a specific project to work on in an attempt to resolve a problem or take advantage of a specific opportunity in the agricultural, livestock, forestry, food, or other sectors characteristic of rural areas.
• Focus Groups : These are temporary groups of approximately 20 experts who are formed around a specific aspect important to the agri-food or forestry activity, with the aim of studying and discussing the main existing problems, as well as seeking and prioritizing innovative practices for their resolution.

EIP-AGRI is currently seeking experts across Europe to form three new Focus Groups on land abandonment, biodiversity, and social agriculture . Those interested should submit their applications by September 19, 2022, at the following link . For details of the call, please visit here .

New Focus Groups

1. Improving biodiversity in farmland through highly diverse landscape elements

• First meeting : February 1-2, 2023.
• Objective : The group should contribute to achieving at least 10% of agricultural land under high-diversity landscapes in the European Union, a key objective of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. The group will compile good practices and research knowledge and identify innovative actions to be implemented by farmers.

2. Reclamation of abandoned agricultural lands

• First meeting : January 24-25, 2023.
• Objective : This focus group will promote innovative and sustainable maintenance and restoration strategies and showcase best management practices for reclaiming abandoned agricultural land. It will focus on overcoming barriers to the reuse or regeneration of abandoned land.

3. Social agriculture and innovations

• First meeting : January 25-26, 2023

Objective : This focus group will address social farming from an innovation perspective, analyzing the contributions social farming can make to agricultural enterprises and how it can benefit users and surrounding communities. Experts will explore successful practices from across Europe and identify barriers and opportunities for further development of social farming.