The 4th RAIN meeting in Finland was held in Joensuu on 25 February 2024.
At the beginning of the event, experiences of EIP-Agri operational groups were shared, bottom-up farmer-led agroforestry development and the funding of EIP-Agri operational groups. Andreas Sundberg (Brännland Iscider) talked about innovations in northern apple production in ice cider production in Sweden, Venla Wallius (Finnish Forest Centre) presented the benefits of drone technology and artificial intelligence in preventing moose damage in Finland, and Piet Rombouts (Agroforestry Netwerk Nederland) talked about bottom-up famer-led agroforestry development in the Netherlands. In addition, Lassi Hurskainen (Häme Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment) spoke about the funding of EIP-Agri operational groups in Finland. After presentations, the event continued with the current affairs of the AF4EU project, discussions and gathering views from the participants for the practical implementation of the project. At the end of the day, Sara Celvin described her experiences on agroforestry in the market garden at Santa Dorotea Farm in Box, Sipoo, Finland. The program included also networking during the program and after it during lunch. There were both online participants and participants in presence.
