General Assembly BIOFRUITNET

Finally, the partners of the BIOFRUITNET project were able to meet physically on the 29 and 30th of March 2022 in Prague (Chez Republic).

During this meeting, a summary of the actions developed so far and the next milestones of the project were presented. The project´s next actions and outcomes were discussed in order to distribute the work and responsibilities among partners, apart from setting deadlines, etc.

A total of 100 Practice Abstracts (PAs) classified by fruit groups, 29 short videos and 5 podcasts will soon be published on the BIOFRUITNET website, providing information on specific topics of pest management, diseases, soil, biodiversity, etc., with the aim of providing relevant technical information in formats that facilitate its use and application.

The most relevant PAs for each country will be translated into the respective languages to make it easier for the information to reach end users (growers, advisors, etc.).

During the month of July, at the biggest organic fair BIOFACH, the BIOFRUITNET project will hold a workshop in which the most recent work carried out will be presented as well as the dissemination materials that are being developed with the aim of making the project´s work known and facilitating its dissemination and use.

In October, 3 e-learning courses on pome, stone and citrus growing that will bring together all the information and communication materials developed by the project will be ready. These courses will be free and open access and can be developed from any type of device: Tablet, mobile or pc. It will be available on various platforms to facilitate access by a greater number of users. Later on, information will be provided on the contents and platforms from which interested parties will be able to access the course.

An event in each country represented in the consortium of the project will take place from autumn onwards to present the results and the created materials of the project to the knowledge sharing networks of these countries

The project is contacting organizations involved in organic fruit production and related European projects in order to increase the reach the materials produced. More and more organisations are joining in and contributing to the knowledge reaching more farmers and allowing a wider audience to benefit from it.

One of the most interesting aspects of this General assembly was the participation of representatives of relevant organisations that are carrying out actions to improve the networks in organic fruit production in their respective countries. The assembly was attended by representatives of:

  • Daina Feldmane, from the Institute of Horticulture of Latvia
  • Reijo Simson, from the Polli Horticultural Research Centre Estonia
  • Geza Bujdozo, from the the HUALS Research Centre for Fruit Growing, Hungary
  • Dardan Velija from Kosovo
  • Lela Karthishvili from ELKANA (Organic farming association), Georgia

They presented the structure of the organic fruit production sector in their respective countries and the main problems they face. All showed great interest in obtaining relevant information through the BIOFRUITNET project in order to make it available to producers in their countries.

 

The next BIOFRUITNET´s General Assembly will take place at the end of October 2022 in France BIOFRUITNET will again invite representants of networks from other countries to join this meeting to widen the future European network of the knowledge sharing networks on organic fruit growing the project intend to create.

Visit the BIOFRUITNET website and social media regularly and stay informed.