RCAB - Research Center for Agriculture and Bioeconomy

🌍 RCAB at the OECD Global Forum on Agriculture 2025
Our team participated in the OECD Global Forum on Agriculture, held on 28 October 2025 in Paris—an important platform for international dialogue on agricultural policy and the future of food systems.

This year’s theme focused on:
“Attracting New Farmers for the Future of Agriculture” — addressing the challenges of an aging farming population, generational renewal, and the need to bring new talent into the sector.

🔍 Key discussion topics included:
• barriers to entry for young people in agriculture
• career opportunities in a modern and innovative agri-food sector
• the role of digitalisation and technology in shaping the next generation of farmers
• policies needed to make agriculture more attractive and dynamic

📘 OECD also presented several new analytical outputs — blogs, policy briefs, and working papers exploring the future of farming, social issues in rural areas, and agricultural productivity.

By taking part in this forum, RCAB continues to bring international insights into the Slovak research environment, support evidence-based dialogue, and contribute to shaping the future of agriculture, food systems, and rural development.

WATERGRID: New Horizon project

We are pleased to announce the start of the Horizon project WATERGRID, which will advance the Smart Water Grid (SWG) concept to strengthen climate-resilient water management and address extreme drought within a holistic catchment-based framework. Through the co-design and deployment of innovative Nature-Based Solutions across diverse European regions, WATERGRID will enhance water availability, improve quality, and foster long-term systemic resilience.

More details are available on CORDIS: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101180636

RCAB at AGROKOMPLEX

Prof. Ján Pokrivčák participated at two roundtables at Agrokomplex exhibition organized by the European Commission in September 2025. The focus was on generational renewal and the big challenges faced by small, family, and young farmers.

Key challenges they are struggling with:

· Limited access to land

· Difficult access to finance

· Heavy bureaucracy

· Lack of advisory services

· Rigid and insufficient support schemes

RCAB on Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Slovakia

For the Slovak Agriculture and Food Chamber, we estimated the economic impact of a Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreak in Slovakia. Effective management and fair compensation for damages caused by foot-and-mouth disease can help protect the strategic direction of Slovak agriculture and agricultural policy. This will support stable livestock production, sustain rural employment, and strengthen food security and supply chains.

RCAB joins the Horizon Europe project SystR

In June 2025, we officially kicked off the Horizon Europe project SystR, focused on developing innovative solutions to strengthen systemic resilience and address cascading climate risks across Europe.

By breaking silos, empowering communities, and co-designing transformative adaptation pathways, SystR will accelerate climate resilience from local to regional scales.

More details are available on CORDIS: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101212761

On 11–12 September 2025, RCAB hosted the annual meeting of the Slovak Economic Association (SEA). The association supports both basic and applied research and aims to advance and promote economic science in Slovakia. Over 160 participants joined the event. The keynote speaker was Prof. Johan F. M. Swinnen, Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (Washington, D.C., USA).

On 25 September RCAB organized workshop on NGT. New genomic techniques complement traditional breeding methods and have the potential to strengthen food security in the EU and globally while improving the agricultural sector’s impact on climate, biodiversity, and natural resources. Their successful adoption, however, depends on consumer acceptance, stakeholder engagement, and effective legislation, which were the key topics of the workshop at SUA Nitra. We hosted over 100 representatives of farmers, researchers, and relevant stakeholders.

📢 Pripomíname blížiace sa stretnutie Slovenskej ekonomickej asociácie – SEAM 2025
📅 11. – 12. september 2025, Nitra
Konferenciu spoluorganizuje Výskumné centrum pre poľnohospodárstvo a bioekonómiu FEM SPU v Nitre.
🔹 Účasť možná už len ako pasívny účastník – príďte si vypočuť inšpiratívne prednášky a diskusie.
🎙 Hlavní rečníci:
Johan F. M. Swinnen (KU Leuven a IFPRI, Washington)
Jan C. van Ours (Erasmus University, Rotterdam)

V úvodnej epizóde podcastovej série RETOUCH NEXUS Narratives, ktorú prináša projekt RETOUCH Nexus, moderátor prof. Ján Pokrivčák zo Slovenskej poľnohospodárskej univerzity v Nitre vedie podnetný rozhovor s Jozefom Šumichrastom, zástupcom Zväzu pestovateľov zemiakov a zeleniny Slovenska a Slovenskej poľnohospodárskej a potravinárskej komory. Spoločne sa venujú kľúčovej téme riadenia vodných zdrojov z pohľadu poľnohospodárstva a skúmajú aktuálne otázky:

Ako klimatická zmena pretvára poľnohospodársku krajinu Slovenska?

Akú úlohu zohráva zavlažovanie pri zmierňovaní dôsledkov klimatickej zmeny?

A prečo je prístup WEFE nexus (voda–energia–potraviny–ekosystémy) nevyhnutný pre efektívne hospodárenie s vodou?

Rozhovor poukazuje na výzvy aj príležitosti pri zabezpečovaní potravinovej bezpečnosti a environmentálnej udržateľnosti Slovenska a ponúka pohľad do budúcnosti poľnohospodárskych praktík.

🎧 Vypočujte si na Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/52HOTeTyjFaMqELMgjtDrb?si=s-a2ACviRn-HRx_Xw1i2tg

Pridajte sa k nám na stretnutie Slovenskej ekonomickej asociácie (SEAM 2025), ktoré sa uskutoční 11. – 12. septembra v Nitre.

Konferenciu spoluorganizuje Výskumné centrum pre poľnohospodárstvo a bioekonómiu FEM SPU v Nitre.

Aktívna účasť možná - možnosť zaslania vedeckého príspevku alebo sa zúčastniť ako pasívny účastník.

Hlavní rečníci:
Johan F. M. Swinnen (KU Leuven a IFPRI, Washington)
Jan C. van Ours (Erasmus University, Rotterdam)

Viac informácií nájdete na: https://slovakecon.sk/seam2025/

Dňa 26. februára 2025 zorganizovalo RCAB seminár s prof. Štefanom Bojnecom na tému Výskumné témy a ako publikovať výskum v časopisoch. Prof. Bojnec publikoval vedecké práce v oblastiach hospodárskej politiky a sektorovej ekonomiky, vrátane poľnohospodárstva, životného prostredia, cestovného ruchu, energetiky, vzdelávania a zamestnanosti. Sme radi, že prof. Bojnec je v súčasnosti členom tímu FOODAGRI, ktorý je podporený z Plánu obnovy a odolnosti SR v rámci projektu SPU v Nitre č. 09I03-03-V04-00475.