The agricultural European Innovation Partnership (EIP-AGRI) supports bottom-up interactive innovation on pollinator-friendly farmland management. The EIP-AGRI brings together innovation actors (farmers, advisers, researchers, businesses, NGOs and others) in agriculture and forestry, at EU level. Together they form Operational Groups, Multi-actor projects and Thematic Networks within an EU-wide EIP network.
Operational Groups are funded under the Rural Development Programmes (RDP) of the EU Common Agricultural Policy 2014-2020. They are project-based and tackle a certain (practical) problem or opportunity which may lead to an innovation. An Operational Group approach makes the best use of different types of knowledge (practical, scientific, technical, organisational, etc.) in an interactive way, and is composed of those key actors that are in the best position to realise the project's goals, to share implementation experiences and to disseminate the outcomes broadly.
Operational Groups tackling the decline of pollinators are listed in the table below.
EIP-AGRI projects relevant for wild pollinators
| Title | Duration | Topic/relevance | RDP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protecting Farmland Pollinators | 2019-2023 | Results-based payment schemes for the conservation of pollinators | Ireland |
| Pasture for pollinators | 2018-2020 | Forage resources for pollinators | Wales |
| Farming for Biodiversity | 2020-2021 | Pollinator strips in different farm settings | Scotland |
| Pollinators for fruit growers and fruit growers for pollinators | 2019-2021 | Protection of wild pollinators in orchards | Slovenia |
| Durability and development of the blackcurrant production in Burgundy area, France (phase 2) | 2018-2020 | Restoration of wild pollinator populations | Bourgogne |
| PoliMax - Promoting and increasing the efficiency of insect pollination in apple, pear and cherry trees | 2018-2021 | Promotion of insect pollination of fruit trees | Continental Portugal |
| Stimulation Pollination mix for climate adaptation | 2018-2022 | Promotion of the diversity of pollinators in orchards | The Netherlands |
| Biodivers Fruit Growing Limburg | 2017-2020 | Promotion of pollinator conservation in the fruit sector | The Netherlands |
| BRIDE - Biodiversity Regeneration in a Dairying Environment | 2018-2022 | Results-based approach to restore habitats in lowland intensive farmland | Ireland |
| Development and implementation of a breeding program for increasing the use pollinator friendly ornamental flowers in urban areas | 2016-2019 | Breeding of pollinator friendly ornamental flowers. | Baden-Württemberg |
| Innovation in two spotted spider mite pest control in tomato supply chain | 2019-2020 | Protection of pollinators through Integrated Pest Management | Emilia-Romagna |
| Development of surveying and regulating measures on selected animal pests in sugar beet growing | 2019-2022 | Protection of pollinators through Integrated Pest Management (sugar beet) | Austria |