FarmBioNet Year One: Key Milestones and Early Outcomes
As the year comes to a close, we take a moment to reflect on our achievements, review our work, and look ahead to what’s next. Since its launch in January, FarmBioNet has made strong progress, and here we highlight what we have achieved so far.
Consortium Meeting in Ireland
In February, FarmBioNet officially launched in Ireland, where the project coordinator, Dr Saorla Kavanagh from Teagasc, welcomed 19 partners from across Europe to the Kick-Off Meeting. Together, we set a shared mission: to promote biodiversity-friendly farming across Europe by fostering meaningful knowledge exchange among farmers, foresters, researchers, advisors, and other key stakeholders.
Twelve National Networks Across Europe
Farming and Biodiversity National Networks have been established in twelve partner countries: Ireland, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Germany, and Switzerland. The networks bring together a diverse group of stakeholders, including farmers, agricultural organisations, researchers, NGOs, business representatives, policymakers, and government officials.
Implementation of 24 Workshops and Farm Visits Across 12 European Countries
The National Network leads organised two workshops in each partner country. The first workshops focused on reviewing 58 statements about biodiversity-friendly farming (BFF) practices collected during the National Network kick-off meetings through a Group Concept Mapping exercise. Participants removed statements that did not apply to their farms, suggested any missing practices, and then rated and grouped the statements into clusters, giving each cluster a descriptive name.
The second series of workshops focused on reflecting on the results of the first workshop and identifying farmers’ needs and knowledge gaps related to BFF practices. These workshops were followed by farm visits to provide practical insights and context.
Connecting Through Events
This year was full of events where we introduced FarmBioNet and strengthened connections with stakeholders. National Network (NN) leads attended numerous BFF events to engage with farmers, foresters, researchers, advisors, and other key stakeholders, while all partners actively promoted awareness of biodiversity-friendly farming across Europe. Some highlights include:
Signpost Series (Ireland): Dr Meritxell Grau Butinyac, Project Manager at Teagasc, presented FarmBioNet in the weekly Irish webinar and podcast series focused on sustainable agriculture and climate action. The session was hosted by Mark Gibson, Head of Teagasc Outreach & Innovation.
92nd International Agricultural Fair (Serbia): In May, Foodscale Hub presented the project at Serbia’s major agricultural fair. Emanuele Giaufret, EU Ambassador to Serbia, visited the booth and learned about our work from Mladen Radišić, CEO of Foodscale Hub.
Forum: SOIL 2025 (Bulgaria): FarmBioNet partners from UF participated in the forum, marking the 120th anniversary of organised efforts against soil erosion. Prof. Dr Petar Petrov and Chief Assist Dr Veneta Stefanova presented on the rehabilitation of spoil heaps and soil-forming processes, while PhD candidate Stanimira Ivanova highlighted agro-biodiversity as a strategy for soil protection within the FarmBioNet project.
Soil Quality in Vojvodina – Future of Soil (Serbia): Foodscale Hub partners participated in this scientific forum at the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad, where they explained the importance of biodiversity for healthy soil and sustainable agriculture, the negative effects of intensive farming and pesticide use, and how BFF practices can help restore soil health. In December, Foodscale Hub also presented FarmBioNet at the Christmas Research Innovation Green Street event, held at the same faculty.
AGROECOLOGY Partnership Webinar: Dr Meritxell Grau Butinyac was a guest speaker in a webinar hosted by the AGROECOLOGY Partnership. She introduced FarmBioNet, highlighting the project’s approach, tangible results, and practical tools and training materials designed to empower farmers and stakeholders across Europe.
National Ploughing Championships 2025 (Ireland): FarmBioNet’s project coordinator, Saorla Kavanagh, together with Dr Meritxell Grau Butinyac, Niall Oliver Walshe, and Claudia Barry from Teagasc, presented the project and introduced the Irish Farming and Biodiversity National Network.
Internal Capacity-Building Activities
Alongside our core activities, FarmBioNet partners have been enhancing their expertise through targeted training sessions provided by our partner, Foodscale Hub. These sessions focus on capacity building and intellectual property, helping partners strengthen key areas such as communication, innovation management, and project sustainability. By developing these skills, the team is better equipped to collaborate effectively, share valuable knowledge, and ensure the long-term positive impact of FarmBioNet.
The first capacity-building session, held in-person during the consortium meeting in February, focused on Guidelines for Dissemination and Communication. The second session, held online in May, covered Social Media and Newsletter Development. In November, partners participated in an inspiring Exploitation Roundtable Discussion, engaging in a dynamic exchange to review and prioritise the project’s Key Exploitable Results (KERs), the outcomes with the strongest potential for real-world uptake and long-term impact. These activities represent a significant step toward building solid exploitation pathways, ensuring that FarmBioNet’s results continue to create value well beyond the project’s duration.
Key Research Insights
Our consortium partner ZALF, together with the Landscape Conservation Association of Northwest Saxony, published a study in People and Nature showing that financial incentives alone are not sufficient to encourage farmers to participate in EU-funded biodiversity schemes. Based on data from around one quarter of all farms in the region, the research highlights the crucial role of personal contacts, peer-to-peer exchange, and guidance from non-profit organisations. The findings show that farmers who feel supported and well connected are significantly more likely to adopt biodiversity-friendly practices, helping to explain why many existing programmes have had limited impact.
FarmBioNet Year One: The First Chapter Complete
The FarmBioNet project is a three-year EU-funded initiative, and with two years still ahead, we are excited to continue supporting biodiversity-friendly farming across Europe. We sincerely thank all our supporters, especially the farmers, for their dedication and invaluable contributions so far. Your involvement makes this project possible, and we look forward to continuing this journey together. Stay connected and follow our progress on the project’s website, as well as Facebook, Linkedin, X, Instagram and YouTube, Bluesky.