Fostering collaboration for forest innovation

Part of this article has been translated into Slovak. Translation courtesy of the National Rural Network Slovakia. Read more EIP-AGRI inspirational ideas in Slovak on the NRN website

Across Europe, more than 2 200 EIP-AGRI Operational Group projects (update March 2022) are bringing people together to build innovative solutions that can be shared and applied on farms, in fields and increasingly also in forests. 

Healthy soils are vital for a flourishing agricultural and horticultural production. They are also better equipped to resist soil-borne diseases causing crop damage. To support European farmers, advisers and researchers, Horizon 2020 thematic network BEST4SOIL collects and shares practical knowledge to help improve, maintain and restore soil health.

While not all EU Member States have included forestry-related themes in their Rural Development Programmes, a range of Operational Groups is already exploring innovation for sustainable forest management, biodiversity, wood mobilisation, climate mitigation, precision forestry and more.

Highlights: 

• An Operational Group from Slovenia is raising awareness on the importance of forest edges.
• The German States of Bavaria and Lower Saxony will start funding forestry-related Operational Groups in the new programming period (2023-2027).
• Operational Group FERTIPINEA (Portugal) is running field trials to see how fertilisation can increase production and yield stability of stone pine.
• An Operational Group from New Aquitaine, France, develops and tests decision support tools to manage maritime pine and chestnut stands in a sustainable way. 
• Italian Operational Group ForLEAVEs is building a knowledge network to rekindle the interest of local smallholders in their forest resources.

Read more

Read the full article in the eighth edition of Agrinnovation magazine (pages 4-6)

Download a copy of Agrinnovation magazine to discover more inspirational stories, or order your printed copy on the EIP-AGRI website.