The workshop is co-organised by the ICPDR together with the Hungarian Ministry of Interior, the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture and the Danube Strategy Priority Area 4 and hosted by the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture. Balázs Horváth, EUSDR PA4 PAC also provided a welcome note at the workshop, while PA4 colleagues Zsuzsanna Kocsis-Kupper moderated the drought management breakout sessions and Diana Heilmann reported back to the plenary session.
In line with the EC initiative of aligning water and agricultural policies in the post-2020 CAP, the ICPDR has launched a dialogue with the agricultural sector with the aim of developing a guidance document on sustainable agriculture. This document will aid Danube countries in preparation and implementation of their national agri-environmental policies, CAP Strategic Plans and relevant strategies related to their River Basin Management Plans. The guidance document will include a set of recommended instruments and tools to facilitate national decision-making for water and agriculture and to identify common goals, set up tailor-made policies and implement joint actions and cost-effective measures within a consistent policy framework.
The main objective of the workshop is to bring together experts and stakeholders from the water and agriculture sectors to discuss the needs and challenges of both sectors, to share ideas and thoughts on better alignment of the two sectorial policies, exchange good examples and experiences on sustainable agricultural practices and provide input for the finalisation of guidance document.
The workshop is particularly focusing on three pillars:
- Aligning water and agricultural policies in favourable and less favourable areas;
- Best management practices to mitigate nutrient pollution and water scarcity/droughts;
- Fostering innovation, knowledge transfer and smart advisory services.
The outcomes of the meeting as well as presentations will be available soon at the event page: https://danubis.icpdr.org/event/22156
