Climate change is already transforming the agri-food sector in Europe. Farmers across the continent face rising temperatures, recurrent droughts, irregular rainfall patterns and increasingly frequent extreme weather events. These pressures are putting soil and water systems, the foundations of agricultural productivity and food security, under unprecedented stress.
In many regions, groundwater reserves are shrinking, soils are losing fertility, and competition for water is intensifying. The need for sustainable resource management is urgent, yet existing solutions rarely reach farms, often remaining limited to specific regions or sectors like academia and research. The diversity of landscapes, production systems and social contexts in Europe requires approaches that are innovative, replicable, and adaptable.
What makes this challenge especially complex is that no single actor or region holds all the answers. Farmers in one country may have developed practices that others can learn from, while research projects and innovation groups have generated valuable insights that remain underutilised because they are not sufficiently shared across borders. Knowledge exchange between regions, actors, and sectors has therefore become indispensable. Only through collaboration and mutual learning can Europe accelerate the adoption of context-sensitive solutions and build the resilience needed to withstand the mounting pressures of climate change.
The AQUAGRI-KNOW project was created to respond to these needs, and at its heart lies the Ambassadors Programme. Funded by Horizon Europe and coordinated by Beta Technological Center (UVIC-UCC) together with a consortium of 12 European partners, the programme is designed to identify and empower individuals who are actively involved within Europe’s Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS). AKIS brings together farmers, advisors, researchers, agribusinesses, and civil society organisations in a dynamic network where ideas are shared, tested, and turned into practical solutions.
Ten ambassadors will be selected from European countries and third countries associated to Horizon Europe1 not already represented in the consortium, opening the door to new regions and perspectives. Their task will be to ensure that knowledge generated within EIP-AGRI Operational Groups can be spread, adapted, and scaled beyond the contexts where it first emerged, contributing to a more interconnected and resilient European agricultural landscape.
Building a European network of innovators
The role of these ambassadors is as much about people as it is about practice. They will act as facilitators, mentors and connectors, bridging the often-persistent gap between research and application in their own countries. By engaging directly with farmers, advisors, NGOs and local companies, ambassadors will become mentors within their territories, facilitating peer-to-peer learning and fostering rural innovation. This means that ambassadors are not framed as technical experts alone, but as actors embedded in AKIS who can stimulate innovation by diagnosing local challenges, linking across sectors, and collaborating to make change possible.
Over the course of two years – from 2026 to 2028- ambassadors will participate in a carefully designed set of activities that combine learning, collaboration and real-world application. A series of mentoring sessions, both online and in person, will bring them into contact with experts from the AQUAGRI-KNOW consortium and beyond. These sessions are meant to be highly interactive, with plenary discussions and small group exchanges where ambassadors bring forward concrete challenges from their regions and work together with invited experts to identify, test and adapt innovative solutions. This approach guarantees that the mentoring process moves beyond the abstract to become a space where local needs meet practical tools.
Cross-border exchange will be a central pillar of the programme. Ambassadors will take part in five cross-visits to AQUAGRI-KNOW’s member countries, where Operational Groups are implementing water- and soil-smart solutions. In Spain, Italy, Poland, Cyprus and Belgium, they will meet practitioners in the field, observe innovative practices first-hand, and engage in collaborative discussions about how these experiences could be replicated or adapted in their own territories. These visits will be aligned with other in-person events and complemented by local language support, ensuring that learning is not lost in translation and that ambassadors are able to fully engage with farmers and advisors on the ground.
The Ambassador’s Suitcase: Turning knowledge into action
Perhaps the most distinctive and appealing feature of the programme is the development of the Ambassador’s Suitcase. Each ambassador will co-create this toolkit over the course of the programme along with the consortium and farmers, gradually filling it with strategies, case studies, resources and networks that are directly relevant to their region. Unlike a general set of recommendations, the suitcase will be tailor-made, reflecting both the challenges and opportunities of each territory. It will become a personalised roadmap for action and, at the same time, a public resource that can inspire replication elsewhere.
The co-creation process will be diverse and flexible. Depending on regional needs, a suitcase could take the form of a local action plan, a stakeholder engagement strategy, a communication campaign, a video or training programme, or even a business model for sustainable water and soil management. Each will embody an upscaling initiative designed by the ambassador with the support of the AQUAGRI-KNOW consortium.
In this sense, the suitcase is not just a symbolic outcome, but a crucial tool for amplifying impact. It will empower ambassadors with knowledge, give them methods to engage local stakeholders, provide capacity-building resources for their communities, and offer visibility and networking opportunities beyond their regions. The process will also strengthen institutional support and encourage ambassadors to act as knowledge brokers and network builders, connecting research with practice while aligning different agendas at local and European level.
Activities within the Ambassadors Programme are interconnected; mentoring feeds into the co-creation of the suitcase, which in turn is tested and refined through bilateral meetings and cross-visits. Public events and digital dissemination will amplify the ambassadors’ work, allowing lessons learned to reach broader audiences of farmers, advisors and policymakers. By weaving these elements together, the programme creates a continuous cycle of knowledge gathering, adaptation and dissemination that maximises both individual and collective impact.
Ensuring lasting impact
The expected outcomes are ambitious, yet actionable. The programme is expected to engage hundreds of farmers and advisors, contribute to multiple knowledge exchange activities, and leave behind ten Ambassador’s Suitcases that serve as blueprints for regional innovation. The knowledge generated will also be integrated into digital platforms such as the AQUAGRI-KNOW Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) and EU-FarmBook, ensuring that it remains available to practitioners long after the programme has ended. Just as importantly, they will strengthen the links between grassroots actors and European institutions, ensuring that local voices inform wider agricultural policy and innovation strategies.
The AQUAGRI-KNOW Ambassadors Programme is more than a training initiative, it is a strategic investment in people and networks, aimed at embedding innovation into the very fabric of European agriculture. By engaging individuals within the AKIS ecosystem, promoting cross-regional collaboration, and equipping ambassadors with practical toolkits, the programme ensures that agricultural innovation reaches the areas where it is needed most.
