A joint commitment to reduce pesticide use in agriculture. The final results of IPMWORKS, the H2020 project involving the Agroecology group of the Institute of Plant Sciences

IPMWORKS, a project developed under the H2020 program and the Farm to Fork strategy, has come to an end. The project involved the Agroecology Group of the Institute of Plant Sciences for over four and a half years in a journey full of stimuli, challenges, and great satisfaction. To mark the conclusion of the project, a final webinar was organized, which is now available on the IPMworks YouTube channel.
Thanks to IPMworks, the Agroecology Group has worked together with 30 partners and 250 farmers in 16 European countries to promote the adoption of integrated pest management (IPM), supporting farms in their transition to more sustainable practices that are less dependent on plant protection products. This work was shared by an entire community of actors—farmers, researchers, facilitators, and technicians—united by a common goal: to make European agriculture more resilient, aware, and innovative.

The Sant'Anna School research group

For the Sant'Anna School, Stefano Carlesi acted as scientific coordinator, while Virginia Bagnoni facilitated the working group on olive trees and Giovanni Pecchioni the one on arable crops. “Together, we tried to listen to the real needs of farms, creating opportunities for discussion and demonstration events that encouraged the direct exchange of experiences between farmers and other players in the sector,” explains Pecchioni. ”Special thanks go to the farms that opened their doors, hosted field trials, and invested time and energy to actively participate in the activities. We learned something from each of them. Thanks also to those who, in whatever role, contributed professionally to the success of the many initiatives.”

During these years, IPMworks has organized events, field visits, seminars, and public meetings, and has produced numerous resources, all available free of charge on the IPMWORKS website: videos, booklets, e-learning modules, and digital tools. In addition, a shared methodology for promoting IPM has been defined and documented, based on peer exchange and concrete collaboration between farmers and technicians. Despite the difficulties, including the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the partners have managed to achieve what they set out to do and, in many cases, even more.

Future prospects

The IPMWORKS project has formally come to an end, but there are still many ideas to develop. For this reason, the partners are working on a new project proposal to continue the work carried out and further expand the network of demonstration farms at international level. The aim is to continue supporting the agroecological transition, with the hope that reducing pesticide use will not be seen as a constraint but as a real opportunity for a more sustainable and competitive European agriculture.