Soil-X-Change at “Quo Vadis AKIS” in Budapest

On 22 October, our team attended the conference Quo Vadis AKIS, organised under the auspices of the Horizon Europe project modernAKIS. We were pleased to join discussions about the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post-2027  and eager to share how Soil-X-Change is contributing to that future.

The event presented a strong vision for CAP beyond 2027. A lively panel including representatives from MAGOSZ, AKI - Institute of Agricultural Economics, COPA COGECA, and EUFRAS (Pál Goda, PhD Rui Almeida) highlighted several key themes:

1. - Farmers emphasised the need for stability and clearly defined conditions for the next programming period.
2. - A major challenge identified was the uncertain financing of CAP after 2027.
3. - Another focal point was the increasing pressure on farmers to deliver better results and innovate, all while budgets become tighter—underscoring that innovation must be central in the next CAP cycle.

One particularly striking insight: “Do you feel like you are part of AKIS?” A survey conducted by modernAKIS of advisory services quietly revealed that many advisors themselves don’t fully understand AKIS and therefore don’t feel part of it.

At the conference, Sergio Ponsá (BETA Technological Center) spoke about bridging the gap between farmers and science stressing that farmers must perceive value both at the start and the end of the innovation chain. It reinforced how critical it is to build mutual understanding between farmers and policymakers.

In the break-out session on “Thematic Networks,” Soil-X-Change presented our approach: transferring knowledge and innovation via EIP-AGRI Operational Groups so that AKIS isn’t just a concept, but effectively responds to on-the-ground practice. Because we believe AKIS only works when it aligns with real-world needs, for real farmers.

It was wonderful to reconnect with our Hungarian partners Anett Gundel-Fekete and Gabor Kiraly from AKI - Institute of Agricultural Economics., Lukas Schutz from Leibniz-Institut für Agrartechnik und Bioökonomie e.V. (ATB), Tatiana Bullová from Bioeconomy Cluster (Bioeconomy Cluster), and Evgeniya Borisova from National Agricultural Advisory Service (NAAS) and turn the event into a friendly Soil-X-Change partner gathering.

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