The first physical General Assembly of the SIMONE project took place on the campus of Munster Technological University (MTU) in Cork, Ireland. The event, hosted by MTU, was marked by a warm welcome and constructive collaboration among the diverse project partners.
Milestones
During the two-day partner meeting, several project milestones were discussed. In summary:
- 48 farmers are involved in the project and will conduct OFEs. Various types of cropping systems are represented. On-Farm Experiments are starting this year and some already started.
- 4 Living Labs (FR, BE-WA, BE-FL, CH) will use the collaborative simulator of agroecological solution sets using the Bayesian method.
- Strong collaboration to link and interconnect the different tools, Systerre (Arvalis), Smart3R (VDBorne) and Cloverfield (Hiphen) to provide a dashboard to easily track OFE in the field.
- Collective brainstorm on the OFE Factsheets to have at a glimpse the farm and OFE overview: communicating farmers’ initial status, objectives, and protocols (Inagro). What to prioritise to display, in what format? Who is the audience, and who are the users?
- A first analysis of the interviews with the 7 Living Lab leaders was presented and many interesting discussions on the potential and results of the Living Labs are foreseen.
- Data Management Plan appeared to be crucial, or how to trace and exploit data as well as guarantying privacy and monitoring.
Co-creation
Throughout the Assembly, various interactive workshops were held, where partners worked on project challenges and exchanged ideas about the agroecological transition. A key focus was the launch of the On-Farm Experiments, some of which are already well underway. The workshops and brainstorming sessions also provided a platform for interaction across different work packages, fostering the co-creation that is central to the SIMONE project.
Enthusiasm and collaboration
The meeting in Cork was an inspiring starting point on the road to a more sustainable future. The enthusiasm and collaboration of all participants underscore the potential of agroecology and innovative farming practices. We look forward to the next steps in this promising journey.
