The Conference was supported and introduced by the European Commission, through the introductive speech of M. Diego Canga Fano (DG AGRI), who delivered messages from the Commission regarding the sustainable use of pesticides in the EU, some weeks after the SUR proposal has been rejected by the European Parliament. The Farm to Fork Strategy remains in force, with the two non-legally binding pesticide reduction targets, namely a 50% reduction in the use and risk of chemical pesticides and a 50% reduction in the use of more hazardous pesticides. The Commission will continue to publish each year updates on progress at EU level towards these Farm to Fork pesticide reduction targets.

The session ‘IPM in action’ showed an excellent overview of holistic IPM as implemented by IPMWORKS farmers, thanks to the testimony of farmers (either present on stage – Thanks a lot Johan and Jonathan -, or showcasing their motivations and technical IPM options through nice videos), Hub Coaches, and IPMWORKS experts. Three Hub Coaches (Jonathan de Mey, Isidora Stojacic, and Barbara Castro) were invited to explain the specific IPMWORKS methodology based on peer-to-peer learning, and the daily work of Hub Coaches with farmers, to help them find IPM solutions adapted to the farm specificities, and demonstrate to a wider audience that it is indeed efficient and cost-effective. Parallel interactive workshops gave the opportunity to showcase some outcomes of the projects, including the IPM Resource Toolbox, the IPM Decisions platform, and the IPMWORKS e-learning modules, and to go deeper into some major aspects of IPM development.

This Conference was the last major Conference organised by IPMWORKS under the banner of the H2020 program. Thanks a lot to the Conference team, and to farmers and Hub Coaches who made it possible with their daily engagement in the project. The Conference material (slides, posters) will be available soon on the project website, and some short videos reporting on the event are being prepared.