On 8 May 2026, VISION4FOOD held its first co-creation workshop at Folwark Wąsowo in Wielkopolska, Poland, with 13 participants from industry, academia and research, civil society, producer groups and local communities. The hybrid session was led by the European Rural Development Network (ERDN) and facilitated by Adam Wasilewski.

The workshop started with a summary of the conclusions from earlier introductory meetings and of the challenges and potential of the Wielkopolska food system. Participants agreed that the diagnosis matched what they see in the market every day. They highlighted barriers such as high investment costs, market risk and a lack of trust in new technologies, and added limited access to specialist knowledge, a lack of systemic financial support and the need for a more forward-looking vision for the region.

Participants then discussed objectives for the four VISION4FOOD pillars. For inclusiveness, they focused on building relationships, developing social farming (care farms) and consumer education; for efficiency, on better use of resources, local supply chains and the circular economy; for sustainability, on lowering the carbon footprint, protecting water and soil, and diversifying crops; and for health, on access to safe, high-quality food and reduced pesticide use. Some participants initially gave more weight to efficiency and others to environmental sustainability, but climate change, rising production costs and low profitability were recognised as common concerns.

Five priority needs were selected: financing, education and skills, collaboration and networking, access to information and data, and simpler regulation. Participants agreed that financial support and education are complementary rather than competing needs.

From these discussions, three strategic priorities were defined. The first focuses on short supply chains, including models such as self-harvesting, to reduce the number of intermediaries and increase farmers’ margins. The second focuses on local renewable energy, including biogas plants and energy from bio-waste, to strengthen energy security. The third concerns social innovation, including social farming and the shared use of machinery through new forms of cooperatives.

The informal setting and hybrid format encouraged open discussion and brought in views from outside the region. Participants agreed that the next workshop should look more closely at social innovation and models of cooperation, analyse practical case studies, and involve representatives of public administration, who were not present at this session.