On October 14th and 15th, 4Growth participated in Synergy Days 2024, held in Barcelona, Spain. Over two dynamic days, the project was presented to more than 400 participants through a pitch, a dedicated workshop on “Data Flows and Innovative Approaches to Market Monitoring”, and engaging interactions at the 4Growth booth.
Building on the legacy of the SmartAgriHubs project, Synergy Days has consistently provided a platform for the agrifood innovation community to connect, share insights, and foster collaboration. It bridges gaps in the agri-food sector by bringing together EU projects, policymakers, European and Digital Innovation Hubs, farmers, and other stakeholders.
This year’s edition of Synergy Days showcased 40 European research projects and, for the first time, introduced European Digital Innovation Hubs. With over 400 participants from across the agri-food industry, the event facilitated engaging discussions, interactive workshops, live demonstrations, and much more.
On Day 1, 4Growth delivered a concise 3-minute pitch, outlining the project’s motivation and approach. Later that afternoon, a workshop led by 4Growth Technical Coordinator Dáire Boyle from Evenflow provided a deeper insight into the project’s goals, focusing on the conceptualisation of how data flows in agriculture and forestry can be monitored and quantified.
The workshop continued with Katerina Kasimati from the Agricultural University of Athens, who presented an overview of the work done so far within the project. Following this, Sinne van der Veer from Wageningen Economic Research engaged the audience on innovative approaches to market monitoring, which are being implemented as part of 4Growth.
On October 15th, a special panel was held to mark the International Day of Rural Women, highlighting how diversity and inclusion can lead to stronger rural communities and sustainable development.
Throughout the event, the 4Growth booth attracted attention from several other projects, including Data4Food, COMMECT, FoodDataQuest, and Farmtopia. Chris Avdellas from reframe.food, Bobby Tsvetkov and Marcel Kornelis from Wageningen University and Research and Joep Tummers from Wageningen Economic Research joined Dáire Boyle, Katerina Kasimati and Sinne van der Veer for an exchange of ideas and follow-up meetings with event atendees, laying the foundation for future collaboration.
A key topic of discussion at the 4Growth booth was how the project can connect with stakeholders from other initiatives to understand their use of digital and data technologies. As a result of these conversations, multiple projects agreed to link 4Growth with their pilot activity stakeholders, who are now being approached to complete the 4Growth survey.
“Being at Synergy Days really showed us how much work is being done across Europe within agrifood innovation. Learning exactly what other initiatives are doing allowed us in 4Growth to know exactly who we should collaborate with moving forward,” said Dáire Boyle, 4Growth Technical Coordinator.
4Growth’s participation at Synergy Days 2024 reinforced the project’s commitment to fostering collaboration and innovation within the agrifood sector. The insights gained and connections made during the event will help shape future activities, driving forward the integration of digital and data technologies in agriculture and forestry.
