Report of the 10th Meeting of the Subgroup on Innovation and Knowledge Exchange (SoIKE)

The report describes the different sessions of the tenth meeting of the Subgroup on Innovation and Knowledge Exchange (SoIKE). This includes a Welcome and introduction, with presentations from Hugo Almeida, Deputy Head of Unit D1 'Rural areas and networks', DG AGRI, and Henri Delanghe, Head of Unit F2 ‘Research and Innovation’, DG AGRI.

During Session I: News from SoIKE members, SoIKE members shared updates on OG calls from the current programming period and other relevant activities.

In Session II: Using EIP-AGRI projects to raise awareness for innovation in agricultural vocational schools, Leonie Göbel, German CAP Network, presented the German teaching module for agricultural vocational schools to introduce students to EIP-AGRI, innovation processes and the skills needed to implement new ideas on farms.

During Session III: Sharing approaches to some of the key components of the EIP-AGRI OG call and selection process, participants had the opportunity to discuss in smaller groups one of the two topics:

1. Approaches to promoting the active involvement of farmers in OGs during the full project lifespan.
2. Methods to assess the innovative potential of OG project proposals during the selection process.

In Session IV: Following up on recent EU CAP Network Focus Groups (FG) outcomes, Remco Schreuder, EIP-AGRI Support Facility, EU CAP Network, presented the FG ‘Production of protein crops under climate change’, which explored how to increase EU self-sufficiency in protein crops. Céline Karasinski, EIP-AGRI Support Facility, presented the FG ‘Local plant genetic resources in view of climate change and biodiversity loss’. Ana Pires da Silva, EIP-AGRI Support Facility, presented the FG ‘Alternative solutions for livestock product differentiation’, exploring innovative ways to differentiate livestock products amid changing consumer expectations, environmental and animal welfare concerns. After presentations, participants shared how their Member States follow the FGs organised by the EU CAP Network.

During Session V: Horizon Europe project PREMIERE: Preparing multi-actor projects in a co-creative way, Susanne von Münchhausen, Eberswalde University, Germany, presented updates from the Horizon Europe project PREMIERE, which supports organisations in preparing multi-actor project proposals through training, mentoring and practical tools.

In Session VI: EU-AGRIN project, Riccardo Passero, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Italy, presented the EU-AGRIN project, which supports the transition to a green economy in Uzbekistan’s agri-food sector and the development of a climate-smart AKIS.

Hugo Almeida concluded the meeting by encouraging participants to vote for projects competing for the ARIA Awards this year and announced that the survey to collect topics for the 2026-27 Annual Work Programme will be available soon. The next meetings will take place in Brussels on 3 March 2026 (11th SoIKE) and 4 June 2026 (12th SoIKE).