2nd Annual workshop of ACPI & ACROPICS | Bucharest, Romania- 19-23 May, 2025

13 June 2025 | ACPI, ACROPICS, Events | 0 comments

With the objective of strengthening Collaboration and a Unified Research Agenda for Pesticide Reduction, the second consecutive co-joint annual scientific conference was held on May 19-23, 2025 at the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, Romania (USAMV). This event aimed to convene experts and stakeholders in the field of agroecology and sustainable agriculture. The event brought together approximately 80 participants from the four research communities: The European Research Alliance “Towards a Chemical Pesticide-Free Agriculture” (ERA), the European Cooperation in Science and Technology Project “T0PAGRI” (COST), the International Agroecological Crop Protection Initiative (ACPI), and the Horizon Europe-funded research project ACROPICS

The program of the scientific conference included sessions such as ERAs General Assembly, the COST Action Management Committee meeting and various workshops on the theme of agroecological evaluation, proposed by the ACP Initiative and ACROPICS project. As part of the ACP and ACROPICS workshops, a field trip to the ACROPICS case study (Sustainable Agroecological System/SAS) BioProd, about 1 h south of Bucharest, was proposed to the conference participants. During the field trip, a data collection exercise in group constellations was conducted, using the TAPE tool methodology (Tool for Agroecological Performance Evaluation) of FAO (Food & Agriculture Organization). TAPE constitute an integrative part of the ACROPICS project and is a comprehensive tool that aims to measure the multidimensional performance of agroecological systems across the different dimensions of sustainability. During the conference week, data collected from the ACROPICS project’s different SAS worldwide in addition to the data from the BioProd field trip were presented and assessed. The latest updates and improvements of the TAPE tool were also presented (see detailed program below).

Photos from the BioProd field Trip

Video from the BioProd field Trip

(Pablo Tittonell, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Moving from the farm level to a territorial level of agroecological assessment, emphasis was also given to the ASIRPA method (Analysis of the Social Impact of Research). Developed by INRAE (the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment), this method offers an integrated framework for analyzing the social impact of research at all its stages. In the ACROPICS project, the approach is co-designed with stakeholders to meet their specific needs. The objective is to enhance the societal impact of SAS.

The conference program also included sessions with a wider scientific scope, encompassing; a workshop identifying novel tracks for a white paper, a workshop brainstorming on potential approaches for future scientific outputs such as articles, books, policy briefs etc. and finally a scientific seminar with four plenary presentations by scientists from different disciplines, research institutes/universities and countries worldwide. A field trip to the Research and Development Station for Viticulture and Fruit Growing Pietroasa (about 1h30 north east of Bucharest) provided an opportunity to discover ecological practices and measure their impact on wine quality. The tour included a tasting session that was well-received by all participants.

Photos from the ASIRPA workshop

The last day of the co-joint annual scientific conference was dedicated to the Mid Term Meeting of the ACROPICS project (Agroecological Crop Protection towards international co-innovation dynamics and evidence of sustainability). ACROPICS is the first in line of projects launched by ACPI and is financed by Horizon Europe’s MSCA-Staff Exchange funding programme. The ACROPICS project addresses the need for sustainable agricultural practices that use little to no harmful crop protection inputs by reinforcing 12 place-based co-innovation initiatives involving local actors implementing agroecological crop protection (ACP). The TAPE and ASIRPA methods are applied in the projects activities of co-designing and implementing innovation strategies, producing sustainability assessments and producing knowledge enabling ACP innovations.

Photos from other sessions during the conference week

For more information…

For more information on the co-joint annual scientific conference of ERA in collaboration with COST, ACPI and ACROPICS research communities, see the links here below.