On the 14-15th of September 2022, the 182nd Seminar on "Sustainability via biodiverse agri-food value chains" (EAAE) took place in Chania, Crete at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania. The event with the theme ‘Sustainability via biodiverse agri-food value chain’ brought together scholars and researchers, amongst whom were several B-GOOD partners.

In a rapidly changing environment where wildfires, desertification and floods, disease outbreaks, increasing trade costs, and food insecurity prevail, new strategies and policies are needed to face these pressing issues. Therefore, policy makers, international organisations, and governmental or non-state institutions around the globe strive to address this pressing issue of environmental deterioration, economic recession, and social unrest through a series of policy tools, strategies, and initiatives. 

The EAAE seminar's objective is to provide a platform for discussion where academics and scientists can share concepts, practices, and research activities relating to the most recent advancements in biodiversity, sustainability, and the agri-food supply chain. The main goal is to assist policy-making decisions in the agriculture and agri-food sector of the global economy. In particular, the conference aspires to establish a forum for the global agri-food industry's sustainable supply chains to promote and conserve biodiversity. Consequently, the event welcomed both empirical and methodological research papers.

B-GOOD’s contribution was scheduled in a session on ‘Sustainable policies and farming practices’, where the presentation ‘Stakeholder views on policy priorities for healthy and sustainable beekeeping in the EU’ (by Prof. Wim Verbeke, Dana Freshley, Prof. Dirk de Graaf and Dr. James Henty Williams) proved to be a very good match with the topic. Prof. Wim Verbeke of Ghent University, who chaired the session on  Biodiversity and sustainable production,  presented the study and its aim to identify and prioritise possible policy actions for healthy and sustainable beekeeping management in the EU following the Analytic Hierarchy Process. The researchers found out that stakeholders clearly see an improvement in ecological status as the utmost important pathway, while increased agricultural crop diversification, stricter pesticide regulation, and the use of pesticide alternatives emerged as the priority pathways. 

B-GOOD also provided a short overview of objectives and current progress, as a project putting efforts towards fostering healthy and sustainable beekeeping in the EU.