Moving from Guessing to Knowing: EU’s New Era of Crop Protection

For decades, protecting a field from pests felt a bit like a guessing game. If a farmer spotted a few pests on a leaf, the usual response was to spray the entire field - just to be safe.

While this approach worked to save the harvest, it came with a hidden cost: besides being expensive in terms of finances, it was also tough on the soil, and ultimately, the health of animals and our own.

But what if we could replace "guessing" with "knowing for sure"?

The Webinar: From Detection to Decision

On March 17th, 2026, a few sister projects, led by NEXTGENBIOPEST, are coming together to deep dive into the next generation of sustainable pest and chemical risk management. We are happy to share that EUFAWREADY is to be represented during the webinar as well.

What’s changing?

While the shift is about choosing different defense methods, it’s also about changing our mindset as a whole. In the future, we need to focus more on:

Action instead of Reaction: No more waiting for an outbreak to fight against. The focus is now on digital surveillance and AI early-warning systems that catch pests before they spread, allowing for taking measures before it is too late.

A Smarter Toolbox: We are moving toward nature-based "biopesticides." These are biological alternatives that protect the crop while not harming the ecosystem.

The Big Picture: Instead of looking at one chemical or one bug in isolation, experts are using "Smart Risk Management" to understand how our farming choices affect the whole environment - from the water we drink to the soil that feeds us.

Whether you are a researcher, a farmer, or simply interested in how Europe is making its food systems more sustainable, this is a great opportunity to hear from some of the experts leading the shift.

The rest of the projects that are joining this effort are SAGROPIA, PataFEST, SYBERAC, SAFWA, and FORSAID.

Date: March 17th, 2026
Time: 10:30 am – 12:00 pm CET
Location: Online (Registration Required)

Register here to secure your spot, and we hope to see you there!

Below is the Agenda of the webinar.