On 30 June 2026, VISION4FOOD held its second co-creation workshop in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, at the Confagricoltura Ferrara conference room in Chiesuol del Fosso. Participants came from farmers and producer groups, academia and research, and public authorities. The session was led by Confagricoltura and facilitated by Leonardo Brachetti, Michele Contel, Greta Borrelli and Nicoletta Antelli.

The workshop began with a recap of the first session in Bologna, which had explored the relevance of New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) for local crops and supply chains. Participants strongly agreed with the priorities identified at that stage: social acceptance, farm profitability, production efficiency, lower environmental impact and stronger public governance. They agreed that innovation alone is not enough without effective communication, an enabling regulatory framework and closer cooperation between farmers, researchers, public authorities and industry. They also stressed the need to keep research closely connected to farmers’ practical needs.

From these discussions, four missions were developed. The first aims to communicate NGTs in a credible and transparent way, building trust among consumers, students, the media and policymakers through awareness campaigns, educational programmes and field demonstrations. The second focuses on generating evidence and fostering social acceptance through field trials, case studies and performance indicators, combined with dialogue with consumer organisations, NGOs and organic-sector representatives. The third mission aims to strengthen supply chains, readiness and competitiveness, preparing farms and value chains for future NGT adoption through priority crop identification, demonstration projects and technical training. The fourth seeks to build regional governance and stakeholder alignment, through a shared roadmap for the Food Innovation Platform (FIP), policy dialogue and regular monitoring.

Farmers and producer organisations played a leading role, bringing forward concrete challenges related to climate change, profitability, water management and crop protection. Communication activities were seen as the most feasible starting point, while actions requiring broader social and policy change were considered the most ambitious.

The workshop also looked at how the work can continue over time. Notably, the EU’s NGT Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2026/1388), adopted in June 2026, will apply from 17 July 2028. For now, Confagricoltura will coordinate a flexible FIP based on dialogue and consensus, with priorities reviewed regularly through meetings and co-creation sessions. Possible collaborations were identified with universities and schools on science communication, with regional authorities to align actions with innovation, climate adaptation and rural development policies, and with the media and consumer associations to build consumer trust. Participants also agreed that the next steps should involve more consumer organisations, environmental NGOs, schools, retailers and organic-sector representatives.