On June 25th, the REGILIENCE+ project launched its Open Training Session (OTS) series, Contributing to Climate Resilience, with a first webinar focusing on agriculture. The five-webinar series is designed to support regional and local authorities (RLAs) and supporting organisations by promoting knowledge exchange, disseminating tools, solutions and case studies, and fostering dialogue and peer learning across sectors to strengthen climate resilience.
Moderated by Élodie Bossio (FEDARENE) and Guido Schmidt (Fresh Thoughts), the session explored different approaches to strengthening the resilience of the agricultural sector, including the use and consideration of climate indicators and risk information, water management solutions, and financing mechanisms. Experts from SOLAGRO (France), the Navarre Institute of Agri-Food Technologies and Infrastructure – INTIA (Spain), the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region through the EMBRACER project (France), and Agrifondo Mutualistico Veneto e Friuli Venezia Giulia (Italy) presented experiences ranging from agroclimatic indicators and monitoring tools, to the conservation of local crop varieties, nature-based solutions, and financial mechanisms to help farmers manage climate risks.
The presentations were followed by an interactive panel discussion, which brought together the speakers to reflect on the common challenges and opportunities for building agricultural resilience. A recurring message was that successful adaptation relies not only on innovative tools and technical solutions, but also on long-term collaboration with farmers and local stakeholders. Panellists highlighted the importance of combining scientific knowledge with farmers’ experience, maintaining continuous dialogue throughout the adaptation process, and ensuring that information and decision-support tools remain accessible and relevant to users’ needs.
The session also featured a REGILIENCE+ knowledge product, presented in the introduction, which provided background information and highlighted the links between the different elements contributing to agricultural resilience. The integration of knowledge products is a new feature of the REGILIENCE+ OTS series. Building on the experience of the original REGILIENCE Open Training Sessions, each upcoming webinar will showcase a knowledge product adapted to its specific topic. These resources will complement the discussions by providing participants with materials that can support further learning and knowledge dissemination beyond the webinar.
For more information and to explore the materials from the session, including the webinar recording, speakers’ presentations and the REGILIENCE+ knowledge products, visit the resources below.
Presentations:
- Remeandering and restoring a natural water course for climate adaptation in France
- Promoting climate resilience in the agricultural sector with native seeds and better-adapted crops in Navarre, Spain
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Building Climate Resilience through Agricultural Mutual Funds