H2020 R4D Project: Resilience for Dairy

Main results related to network structuring: The community of 16 agricultural facilitators, who manage the national/regional network and stakeholders, has been established. Their roles have been clearly discussed during meetings and training sessions, and guidelines have been drafted. The workflow is familiar but will be adapted as the project progresses. Its action plan has also been drafted and shared during the last General Assembly in June 2022. The 16 stakeholder groups and 120 pilot farms are ready to work on the other project activities in the pilot phase and provide feedback on their needs and solutions.

We need to produce and share materials to demonstrate that the more we exchange, the more we receive in return. All 16 stakeholder groups met at least once and began building their local community. The first cross-country visit took place in June 2022 and was a success. The key challenge now will be to keep the 16 stakeholder groups and pilot farmers engaged in the dynamics and momentum of our project. Key findings regarding the identification and alignment of farmers' needs: A preliminary inventory of needs/solutions was developed as a basis for the survey. The survey was created in Google Forms, shared with all partners, and translated as needed. A total of 16 regions completed the survey (535 responses).

All regions held at least one NDA meeting to discuss solutions to improve resilience. The work plan template was finalized and sent to all agricultural facilitators for completion. It includes tables for reporting information on needs/solutions from both the survey and the stakeholder meetings. All regions were asked to recruit an expert for each key topic. Key findings related to the evaluation and appraisal of solutions: An evaluation plan was completed. The interactive multi-stakeholder assessment is underway.

A multi-stakeholder assessment was piloted at the agricultural facilitators' meeting in Kiel in April 2022. The workflow and actions were described. Experts conducted a first round of assessment of the 220 identified solutions between December 2022 and January 2023. A second round of additional assessments is ongoing. Readiness and acceptability are integral parts of the assessment program and will therefore be included in the final outcome. Economics is also part of the assessment program but is also addressed during practice monitoring as an activity for adapting and translating the Good Practices for practitioners. Main outcomes regarding the adaptation and translation of the Good Practices for practitioners: The assessment tool for evaluating on-farm solutions is ready for use. The livestock farm facilitator is responsible for evaluating the on-farm solutions using an assessment tool. This tool is based on the one used for the solution assessment by the three expert teams from the three MKIs. Therefore, the farm facilitator will also evaluate the solution on several key topics. The use of this assessment tool was evaluated during the Kiel meeting and adjusted based on participant feedback. The final results of the farm monitoring will be made available to the working group on evaluating and assessing resilient dairy system solutions for evaluation.

The guidelines and templates for preparing fact sheets and practice summaries are ready for use. Main outputs regarding communication, dissemination, and demonstration of project results: The R4D project communication and dissemination plan is ready for use. The R4D website has been created with all the fact sheets produced across the three MKIs; the digital strategy is defined. Social media accounts have been created: Twitter and Facebook (more than 500 followers to date). Brochures and leaflets are being designed and printed. During cross-country visits, we initiated peer-to-peer learning. The first student exchange for the project took place (French students in Luxembourg and Slovenia). The first technical days for farmers were organized on a pilot farm in France in November 2022; the first project presentations were given at the EAAP congress, in a session on resilience, in August 2022.

In 2022, five online webinars were held to present stakeholders' needs and collected resources. Key project management outcomes: Due to the health situation, the R4D consortium proposes a new timeline of an additional 9 months to complete all actions. Overall project management indicates that R4D will remain within the revised schedule.