BIOFRUITNET CELEBRATED ITS 6th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Last week, the project partners gathered in AVIGNON for the 6th General Assembly of the project. During 3 days the partners shared information about the general status of the different work packages of the project that are still ongoing, the impact of the actions carried out and the next milestones and activities to be implemented.

We have 6 months of intense work ahead of us in which a multitude of materials will be made available to organic fruit producers, advisors, students, etc. Two new courses on organic fruit production will be launched soon, one dedicated to stone fruit and the other to pome fruit. In addition, a series of podcasts will be launched in which experts in organic fruit growing will talk about the main problems faced by the sector in terms of pest and disease management.

The BIOFRUITNET project continues to work on the elaboration of Practices Abstracts, we currently have 19 PA published on the web and on the OFK platform and we will continue to publish PA progressively until we reach a total of 100.

Regarding videos, we currently have 15 PA related videos published on our youtube channel which can also be accessed through the project website and the OFK platform, and 6 more videos are to come.

The content generated by the project will be available in the long term through knowledge platforms such as the Organic Farm Knowlede, EIP Agri, Open Training Platforms, YouTube channel, etc.

Regarding the dissemination of the materials at national level, all project partners continue to work on establishing contacts with the key multipliers identified at national level. Through these contacts, collaboration agreements are being established that will facilitate the dissemination of the materials generated to organic fruit producers and advisors at national level, thus achieving the project’s objective of facilitating scientific knowledge to reach end users.

There are still events to be held such as the upcoming 3rd Online Seminar, Field Day in Italy, the National Events and of course the Final Event. All partners are working to make sure that the results of the project reach the target audience in all countries.

Participation of guest organisations

The GA was attended by guest organisations from other European countries who were able to learn first-hand about the work being carried out by the BIOFRUITNET project and participated in different interactive sessions in which the questions previously proposed by the participants were addressed. In addition, during the networking moments, synergies and possible collaborations with the organisations invited to the GA were identified, which will allow the impact of the materials to be amplified and to reach a greater number of fruit producers in more European countries. All of them showed great interest in the project and in the materials generated and therefore offered to make a selection of PAs (the most interesting for their area and type of crops) and translate them to facilitate their use by producers and advisors. These actions ensure the amplification of the dissemination of the materials beyond the countries targeted by the project.

Information on the invited organisations (both in this and previous GAs) will be available soon in the collaborations section of the BIOFRUITNET website.

Farms visits

FARM NOVES 

On the third day of the GA, the participants enjoyed a visit to two farms where organic fruit crops are grown. In the first one, farm Noves, the participants visited an organic pear and apple farm, where the owner showed the main actions carried out related to soil management and the maintenance of functional biodiversity to fight against the main pests that affect it. In addition, the participants of the visit were able to taste pears of French varieties that are little known by consumers. Click here for more information on the visit to Farm Noves.

LA DURETTE

After the organic lunch break, the group of participants visited “La Durette”, a pilot farm in agroforestry (mixing fruits & vegetables) managed by GRAB where practices are developed to improve the adaptation of agricultural systems to environmental challenges through the management of cultivated diversity, functional biodiversity, soil tillage reduction, water, landscape and vertuous practices (such as low use of pesticides).  In addition to this system-scale research, the Durette carries out an important task of transferring knowledge to producers, advisors, studens & other visitors.

The aim of this experimental project is to respond to the socio-economic needs of producers, the new environmental challenges facing crops and to enhance the value of a depressed peri-urban area of Avignon.

More information (in french) : https://www.grab.fr/durette/

You can also find more information about “La Durette” in these videos:

• Agroforestry system: combined cultivation of fruit and vegetables – (project “La Durette”, Avignon)
• Agroforesterie: Associer production fruitière et élevage de volailles
• Rootstock and variety selection in organic fruit production
• Increasing functional biodiversity in the orchard (hedges, nesting boxes, flower strips)

Click here for more information on the visit to “La Durette”.

3 days of intense work, deepening connections between partners and with invited organisations, seeing on-site examples of best practice farms and also enjoying the weather, the food and the colleagues. BIOFRUITNET project keep working!