EU CAP Network conference 'Water resilience in agriculture: innovation in practice'

The EU CAP Network conference ‘Water resilience in agriculture: innovation in practice’ will take place from Tuesday, 19 May, to Thursday, 21 May 2026.

Hae mukaan EU:n laajuiseen konferenssiin

A call for expression of interest to participate is now open until Monday 9 February, 23:59 CET.

The agenda outline is available below.

The language of the event will be English. There will be no interpretation.

Water resilience has become a growing concern in European agriculture. The EU CAP Network conference ‘Water resilience in agriculture: innovation in practice’ will share and promote innovative solutions that can strengthen water resilience in EU agriculture and forestry. The event will create opportunities for discussion, learning, and sharing the results from innovative projects and initiatives. It will also encourage further networking and collaboration among participants.

Background information

Water resilience has become a pressing issue in European agriculture. Climate change is increasing water scarcity and raising the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, causing irregular rainfall patterns, droughts and floods. Water pollution further reduces the availability of surface and groundwater that can be used. This affects farming cycles, yields, and the livelihoods of farmers and rural communities. Strengthening water resilience, combined with innovative farming and forestry practices, can support climate adaptation and contribute to long-term food security in Europe.

Farmers and foresters need practical, innovative and locally adapted solutions to deal with these issues. Digital technologies, improved crop selection, practices that improve soil health, agroforestry, and other nature-based solutions (NBS) can substantially contribute to water resilience. Many EU-funded innovation projects, such as EIP-AGRI Operational Groups (OGs), Horizon Europe projects, and other initiatives, including previous EIP-AGRI and EU CAP Network networking activities, have explored a wide range of technologies and innovative solutions that help improve water efficiency, quality and resilience on the ground.

The EU CAP Network conference ‘Water resilience in agriculture: innovation in practice’ will help accelerate the wider uptake of innovative project results in the field. The event will showcase practical examples and good practices that help strengthen water resilience in EU agriculture and forestry. It will provide space for learning, exchanging, and further sharing of these innovative solutions and project results. Participants will be able to learn from real-life case studies, participate in interactive workshops for discussion, and explore an innovation market that highlights practical solutions developed by farmers, foresters, advisors, researchers and other relevant actors in different types of projects. Field visits will demonstrate practical solutions developed in Germany. The conference will also offer opportunities to explore further collaboration and networking among participants.

The conference will focus on the following thematic clusters:

Circular water management
Climate-resilient and less water-intensive crops and cropping systems (e.g. intercropping)
Digital tools, irrigation efficiency, precision irrigation
Nature-based solutions (including water harvesting)
Soil management
Water quality / water pollution

Specific objectives:

showcase innovative solutions and practices developed by EU projects (EIP-AGRI Operational Groups, Horizon Europe, LIFE, and others), boosting the exchange of promising knowledge and innovations
learn from innovative solutions and practices developed by these projects and foster their further dissemination
encourage the uptake and scaling-up of existing solutions and practices by promoting examples of successful adoption and by identifying opportunities for broader implementation
promote networking for innovation in the field of water resilience in agriculture and forestry, by identifying opportunities and tools for collaboration
collect knowledge gaps and research needs derived from practical experiences in the field.

Main target groups

The conference will bring together 300 participants from across the EU. Participants will include:

farmers, foresters, and farm and forest managers
representatives of EIP-AGRI Operational Groups, Horizon projects, and other projects such as LIFE, working on water resilience in agriculture and forestry
researchers focusing on water resilience
agricultural advisors
innovation brokers and others who are interested in sharing their knowledge on water resilience
vocational education professionals
water managing entities/bodies
press and other agri-media representatives, agricultural journalists, content creators, and influencers working on farming or water-related topics.