EU4Advice 5th General Assembly in Ghent: planting ideas, growing impact

On 6 and 7 October, the EU4Advice consortium gathered in Ghent, Belgium, for its 5th General Assembly. The first day opened at the host’s premises, Ghent University, where partners reviewed progress across the project’s work packages and set priorities for the final 12 months. The discussions covered insights from the four Living Labs, a new training that will be piloted shortly, and the platforms and networks that can support outreach and ensure long-term impact. The day concluded with setting an initial timeline for the organisation of the final event.

The afternoon was more interactive. Partners collaborated in a workshop to identify topics and good practices for new Practice Abstracts, and to collect new ideas on stakeholder engagement, both in partner countries and in new countries.

On the second day, the consortium moved from the classroom to the field. Partners visited Bioboerderij “De Goedinge”, a community-supported farm close to Ghent, run by 3 farmers and temporary workers. One of the farmers, Maarten, welcomed EU4Advice partners by sharing his personal experience from over 15 years of farming. Despite the challenges, he moved from working in a remote area to running a sustainable short food supply chain model that includes box schemes, which mitigate the risk of farmers going unpaid, whatever the season or the amount of produce.

The visit ended with Dylan Feyaerts presenting the successful model of the ILVO Living Lab Agrifood Technology, a large collaborative network fully backed by the Flemish Minister of Agriculture. The lab brings together farmers, NGOs, industry, research, education, government and citizens, showing what can be achieved when everyone works together.

Exchanges like these show what works in practice and where advisory services can step in, setting the ground for the final 12 months of the project.