All the news

• Online intercropping event attracts 150+
  

  More than 150 delegates from research and farming across Europe and beyond attended the virtual conference on ‘Intercropping for Sustainability’ in January. The event was organised by the DIVERSify and ReMIX projects, working hand in hand with the Association of Applied Biologists.

• Events calendar - check it out!
  

  After the difficulties of staging events in 2020, a slew of conferences and meetings have been rescheduled for 2021, and some events, both new and reorganised, are including the possibility of virtual attendance or even introducing back-up plans that will allow organisers to move meetings to online-only events at short notice.

• UK launches centre for tomorrow’s food experts
  

  Rothamsted Research is joining forces with eight other universities and research institutes in the United Kingdom to create a joint PhD training centre focused on “developing the next generation of interdisciplinary food systems experts”.

• DiverIMPACTS: Be inspired by success stories
  

  DiverIMPACTS, the project striving “to achieve the full diversification potential of cropping systems for improved productivity, delivery of ecosystem services and resource-efficient and sustainable value chains”, has published a series of success stories to inspire further diversification.

• IPM works and IPMWORKS will show how!
  

  A European-wide network of farms is being constructed in order to “demonstrate and promote cost-effective strategies on Integrated Pest Management (IPM)”. Called IPMWORKS, the four-year Horizon 2020 project was launched last month and brings together 31 partners from 16 countries. The project will be developing an online IPM resource toolbox for farmers, advisers and researchers to easily search, share and discuss IPM resources and you can help out by completing a short survey (see links below).

• IPPC seeks phytosanitary technical specialist
  

  The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is seeking applications for the post of phytosanitary technical specialist for an 11-month contract. The specialist will support the IPPC Secretariat in delivering its work programme to strengthen IPPC contracting parties’ national capacities and capability to implement the provisions of the IPPC, and International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) and Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) recommendations.

• Survey: Agroecology initiatives in Europe
  

  Agroecology Europe has produced its first report mapping a large number of agroecological initiatives across Europe, allowing it to identify key findings and recommendations for fostering agroecology around the continent.

• IHAR joins forces for late blight study
  

  Poland’s Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Institute (IHAR) has joined forces with the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research to broaden knowledge “on plant diseases and the factors influencing resistance or susceptibility to pathogens”. In particular, they will be focusing on potato and the economically important disease which affects crops worldwide, potato late blight (pictured right).

• Magazine gives insights into Agroscope research
  

  Agroscope, ENDURE’s Swiss partner, has launched a magazine to better share the topics it is working on. Available in English, French and German, the magazine provides concrete examples of its work, alongside interviews with key researchers and access to further sources of information such as videos and other publications.

• ReMIX: Updates from the teams
  

  The next challenge for the ReMIX project (Species mixtures for redesigning European cropping systems) has been unveiled by the team’s coordinators. Writing in the project’s third newsletter, they highlight the importance of winning the support of policy makers in increasing the adoption of intercropping.