2nd European Thematic Network Meeting
7-8 June, 2022

The purpose of the 2nd European Thematic Network meeting was to discuss social innovations to improve farmers wellbeing across Europe in response to the challenges identified during the first phase of the project and allow exchange among the European Thematic Network members about the relevant examples.

Agenda of the meeting

7 June 2022, 9.00- 16.45 (CET)

 

Introduction 
Purpose and structure of the meeting – Social innovations to address farmers’ wellbeing, Edina Ocsko (E40, Project Coordinator)
The relevance of FARMWELL in the European innovation exchanges, Inge Van Oost (DG AGRI

 

Thematic Session 1 – Migrants, other disadvantaged farm workers & social farms 
Facilitated by: UNIPISA (Italy), Coldiretti ( Italy)
Irregular employment in agriculture is a huge problem throughout Italy and other European countries, affecting the wellbeing of farmers and farm workers, socially, mentally, physically and economically. The session aims to present social innovations addressing the issue with the objective to discuss the possible effects and transferability of the presented innovations and to exchange ideas and experiences among different stakeholders interested in the topic.

 

Thematic Session 2: Context-based social solutions for rural communities
Facilitated by: IRWiR PAN (Poland) , Highclere Consulting (Romania) and Hungarian Social Farm Society (Hungary)
The purpose of the session is to present and discuss social innovations addressing the health and education challenges that farmers, farming families and farming communities are facing in Poland, Hungary, Romania and beyond. In particular, this session will aim at exchanging opinions and experiences among different stakeholders about making innovations more transferable in other contexts and more accessible to farmers.

 

Thematic Session 3: New entrants to farming – “generational renewal”
Facilitated by: Institute of Agricultural Economics (Hungary) and E40 (Hungary) 
The session aims to explore the concept of the “new type of generational renewal”, with particular focus on new entrants (without previous farming background). The session aims to explore the theme and find solutions to challenges such as the stress and difficulties that new entrants are facing, tentions and collaborations between ‘old’ and new farmers, and how the new generation of famers bring new answers to climate change and positive communication about farming towards the wider society. During the session presenters, new entrants and participants will exchange and discuss their experience and possible innovative solutions.

8 June 2022, 9.30- 15.00 (CET)

 

Thematic Session 4: Mental health support
Facilitated by: ILVO( Belgium) , Boerenbond (Belgium), Ferm voor agravouwen -Ferm vzw (Belgium) 
This session aims to discuss the barriers that exist in accessing mental health support for individual farmers and farming families. This builds further on main findings that have been gathered within the framework of the FARMWELL project and have been published in the Mapping Report on Challenges: Belgium. Within this paper, different barriers have been detected that limit farmers to access mental health support and other crucial social services. With this session, we wish to discuss and exchange among European farming organisations about different social innovations that attempt to overcome these barriers, enabling improved wellbeing for farmers and farming families

 

Thematic Session 5: From crisis to Osmosis: open farms, energy communities & beyond 
Facilitated by: Stevia Hellas Coop (Greece)
As osmotic pressure is the main agent of support in many plants. We consider all these initiatives as supporting mechanisms towards wellbeing especially throught the multiple crisis that our farmers have and still are facing from economic, to climate, to covid, energy crisis etc. This session will have particular focus on energy communities and how this economically and environmentally driven collaboration can lead to social benefits
Conclusions: feedback from thematic sessions & next steps of FARMWELL