From Stakeholder Concerns to Knowledge Solutions: What AgriFood4Future is Learning about Co-creation

How can European projects ensure that the educational materials they produce genuinely respond to the needs of their target audiences?

It is a question that many projects face. Training resources, digital platforms, videos and communication materials are often developed with the best intentions, yet their impact depends on how closely they reflect the realities, concerns and knowledge needs of the people they are designed to support.

In the AgriFood4Future project, we are exploring this challenge through a combination of complementary stakeholder engagement activities. Rather than relying on a single source of information, AgriFood4Future combines quantitative and qualitative approaches to better understand the needs of the agri-food sector and translate them into meaningful learning resources.

Beyond Surveys: Understanding the Human Side of Knowledge Needs

One of the first steps of the project was to conduct a needs assessment across the agri-food sector. Through a structured survey, stakeholders identified important skills gaps in areas such as climate adaptation measures, regenerative and carbon farming practices, soil health management, sustainable resource use, crop modelling and simulation, and understanding environmental policies and compliance support programmes.

These findings provided valuable evidence about where training needs exist across the sector. However, surveys can only tell part of the story. While they help identify trends and priorities, they do not always explain why these needs exist, how they are experienced in practice, or what type of learning resources stakeholders consider most useful.

This is where co-creation becomes particularly valuable.

Co-creation as a Multi-Actor Process

As part of Task 4.6, AgriFood4Future partners are organising co-creation workshops with farmers, technical advisors and other stakeholders from horticultural value chains across all partner countries (Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Belgium and Greece).

The objective is not simply to validate project outputs once they are completed. Instead, participants are invited to contribute much earlier in the process by sharing:

• key challenges affecting their sectors;
• perceived knowledge and literacy gaps;
• priority topics for future learning resources;
• what type of learning resources they would prefer;
• expectations regarding communication and training materials.

This approach reflects a participatory multi-actor methodology, where future users contribute to shaping the resources intended to support them. In line with co-creation and participatory design approaches, stakeholders are engaged not only as recipients of knowledge but also as contributors to its development.

Importantly, co-creation does not necessarily require stakeholders to participate in every stage of development. Their involvement in identifying needs and later evaluating outputs can already play a crucial role in ensuring relevance and usefulness.

What We are Learning So Far

To date, 132 stakeholders across Portugal, Spain, Belgium, France and Greece have participated in co-creation workshops, including farmers, technical advisors and other actors from the agri-food sector.

While the final analysis is still underway, one of the clearest observations emerging from the workshops is their strong alignment with the priorities identified through the consortium-wide needs assessment survey. Although the specific concerns raised vary according to national and sectoral contexts, the discussions consistently reinforce the broader knowledge gaps previously identified through the survey process.

Even though the workshops are still ongoing, several lessons are already emerging.

First, workshops provide valuable context behind the priorities identified through surveys. Participants frequently explain not only which topics matter, but also why they matter.

Second, participants consistently value opportunities to exchange perspectives with others in the value chain. These workshops create joint spaces not only for consultation but also for dialogue, reflection and peer learning.

Third, relevance matters as much as content. Stakeholders repeatedly emphasise the importance of practical examples, accessible communication formats and resources that can be directly applied to real-life situations.

These insights are helping AgriFood4Future partners refine the topics and approaches that will underpin the project’s educational materials.

The ongoing workshop process is helping AgriFood4Future ensure that future videos, learning resources and digital tools are informed by the experiences of the people they are intended to serve. As additional workshops are completed, and the project’s educational platform becomes available, further opportunities for stakeholder feedback and evaluation will help continue this process.

Looking Ahead

As we move forward, we invite farmers, technical advisors, and other agri-food stakeholders to follow the project’s progress and join the conversation. Whether through participating in project activities, exploring the future platform, or sharing ideas for topics and content that matter to your sector, your perspectives can help ensure that AgriFood4Future remains responsive to the needs of the communities it aims to serve.

After all, effective knowledge transfer is not only about sharing information, but also about building it together.