Cross visit Arable in Italy
Boost innovative arable systems: Intercropping, Organic Heterogeneous Materials and Organic districts as models for advisors
Italy, Tuscany and Umbria
10-12 March 2026
OrganicAdviceNetwork project aims at building a strong network of advisors with organic competences across Europe. As part of this mission, the project organizes cross visits for agricultural advisors to meet, exchange and share their innovative organic farming practices.
Join us for this OrganicAdviceNetwork Cross Visit on Arable Production! A comprehensive 2-day farm tour focused on innovative advisory models, intercropping and its CAP opportunities and bottlenecks as well as mechanization. Gain first hand-on insights into the challenges, solutions, and management strategies that shape modern organic arable farms, including examples from systems that use the newly regulated Organic Heterogenous Materials (OHM) - Article 3(18) of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 - and an overview on their potential benefits.
What you can expect from this cross visit
This Cross Visit offers participants an in-depth look into organic farming practices for arable systems (intercropping and more), as well as innovative advisory models for the organic sectors, like the Biodistretto (organic district) as space for cooperation and exchange. By the end of the visit, you will:
- Understand how advisors can take advantage on new ways of networking with farmers and other agricultural stakeholders, and how diversification can be promoted in innovative local value chains
- Be familiar with possible solutions to address on-farm diversification with organic heterogenous materials and intercropping, mixing multiple functional crops in the same field for a resilient arable cropping system.
- Gain insights on mechanization for intercropping and its administrative limitations and bottlenecks (with possible solutions!), together with opportunities for arable systems with CAP subsidies.
Registration & practical information
You will be asked to provide some personal information, a brief description of your interest in joining this visit and your capacity in covering your travel costs. In case your company does not have budget to cover all your travel costs, BioAcademy as advisory partner/subcontractor in the Netherlands has at the moment still the opportunity to reimburse part of your travel costs (To a maximum of 6 participants in each year). Eligible costs for reimbursement are transport (train, bus, flight), accomodation (2-3 nights) and social lunch and dinners, limited to € 800,- If you take part als a Dutch participant, please contact info@bioacademy.nl for more information.
Participation is not immediate, but confirmation message is required, as the number of advisors who may join the visit is limited.
First-round registration deadline: 13 Feb 2026; Confirmation date: 20 Feb 2026
The registration deadline might be extended in case of undersubscription.
