HIVER

Inspiration

LIST has an excellent standing in applied research in agriculture, including the development of new digital tools to forecast plant diseases and pests, the testing of alternative methods for weeding, the support of antagonistic organisms, and the promotion of the soil microbiome. Alongside researchers, farmers play a central role in the innovation process. However, a continuous and well-structured knowledge transfer from fundamental and applied research projects to agricultural practices is missing to date in Luxembourg.

Innovation

The HIVER project aims to promote sustainable and productive agriculture and meet the needs of society, as well as the increasing challenges in the agricultural sector, such as digitalization and climate change.

While the consolidation of knowledge requires a clearly structured learning process, which can only be delivered in learning units (presentations, workshops, etc.), the HIVER project will organize a series of events on current agricultural topics with a focus on ‘Integrated Crop Protection’. Every year in the winter months (French: hiver), a two-hour training session will be organized to ensure that the latest findings and innovations from research projects can be integrated into agricultural practices. To better reach the target group, this event will be repeated in different areas around Luxembourg. A total of nine training sessions will be organized as part of the three-year project.

Furthermore, there is a continuous need for training on the utilization of pesticides based on EU guidelines. Farmers must attend training courses at regular intervals to extend their compulsory certification and demonstrate knowledge of innovations in plant protection. Thanks to LIST's experience in plant health research, in our training sessions, we will also refer to legal guidelines, and security aspects, as well as alternative control methods of pests and pathogens in agriculture. LIST will be supported by the Maschinenring (www.mbr.lu), which will be responsible for processing registrations and distributing participation certificates.

Impact

LIST's agricultural research continuously contributes to the development of new technologies, products and procedures, as well as direct policy support. By putting this knowledge into practice, its research can provide solutions for complex problems, leading to increased productivity and improved efficiency, and contributing to securing the economic income of farmers.