- Convenors:
-
Beatriz Noriega Ortega
(ECSA)
Christian Ghidelli (Fundacion Tecnologica Advantx (FUNDITEC))
Leo Mensel (ECSA)
Send message to Convenors
- Format:
- Roundtable
- Location:
- LO128
- Sessions:
- Thursday 5 March, -
Time zone: Europe/Helsinki
Short Abstract
The panel will be composed of practitioners in citizen science projects within the Agri-Food sector. They will introduce inclusive approaches in working on agricultural projects while addressing issues such as power dynamics, digital literacy and ethics in working with different stakeholders.
Description
Food systems encompass the complex networks and relationships involved in producing, processing, distributing, consuming, and disposing of food. They are deeply connected to environmental sustainability, public health, culture, economics, and social justice. As food systems face growing challenges—climate change, biodiversity loss, inequity, and food insecurity - citizen science is a powerful approach to drive locally informed, community-led solutions.
This round table invites citizen science practitioners from diverse backgrounds to share their experiences in shaping food systems through participatory research and action.
In line with the conference theme, “Citizen Science between Centre and Periphery,” the session will explore how food-related citizen science unfolds across spatial and social divides—from metropolitan centres to remote rural areas—and how these settings influence access to resources, knowledge production, and recognition. It will also examine how citizen science can bridge these divides by valuing local expertise, encouraging collaboration, and challenging conventional hierarchies in science and policy.
Designed as a participatory dialogue, the round table will foreground critical perspectives while offering space for mutual learning. Together, we will reflect on how to support inclusive, equitable, and impactful citizen science in the ongoing transformation of food systems.
Accepted contributions
Session 1 Thursday 5 March, 2026, -Short Abstract
Antje Heera will present insights from PataFEST and other projects from the perspecitve of urban gardens.
Abstract
During the PataFEST project, Stadtgarten Lichtenberg attended in several activities: attendance at informative webinars, co-organisation of a workshop, as well as testing the fertiliser developed by PataFEST. Antje Heera will share the experiences of participating in agri-food related CS activities.
Short Abstract
This study reports a two-year citizen science initiative in Pará, Brazilian Amazon, promoting participatory policies for a sociobioeconomy that integrates sustainability, equity, and biodiversity, fostering intercultural dialogue and ethical research to build a fair and resilient agri-food system.
Abstract
This work presents a two-year citizen science initiative supporting the development of participatory public policies for the sociobioeconomy in the State of Pará—the most populous and extensive territory in the Brazilian Amazon. The region has long suffered from predatory forest exploitation, the expansion of soybean monocultures, soil degradation from livestock, and violence against Indigenous and other traditional peoples.
The sociobioeconomy emerges as a strategic approach to integrate environmental sustainability, social inclusion, economic development, and climate justice within the agri-food system. It promotes diversified production and short supply chains as alternatives to export-oriented monocultures, grounded in the valorization of biodiversity resources, traditional knowledge, and food security. This model strengthens local communities, ensures fair benefit-sharing, and generates decent work and sustainable livelihoods.
The project adopted participatory methods such as consultations, co-design sessions, and field workshops, engaging diverse actors involved in Pará’s sociobioeconomic agenda, particularly Indigenous, quilombola, and other traditional communities. It highlighted both the potential and challenges of citizen science in fostering intercultural dialogue between traditional and scientific-technological knowledge systems. Recognizing different production practices, food cultures, and epistemologies—especially those of minoritized and racialized groups—proved essential to building equitable collaboration. However, these initiatives also face the risk of reproducing extractive dynamics of knowledge and data. Therefore, the development of ethical protocols and safeguards for research is crucial to ensure that citizen science effectively contributes to an agri-food system based on a socio-biodiversity economy that promotes social, environmental, and cognitive justice in the Amazon.
Short Abstract
The authors will share the experiences of the FOSTER project’s past three and a half years, highlighting the citizen science related achievements, challenges and lessons learnt regarding collaboration, power dynamics, alignment of needs and priorities, and co-authorship among others.
Abstract
The FOSTER Project (Fostering food system transformation by integrating heterogeneous perspectives in knowledge and innovation within the ERA) is a four-year Horizon Europe (2022-2026) citizen science project with the overall objective of gaining insight into how knowledge and innovation systems can be transformed to become more resilient and inclusive and better governed to improve Europe’s food system outcomes on health, economy and the environment. The project brings together 19 partners across Europe in a consortium representing diverse backgrounds such as academic, civil society and business domains.
The authors will share the experiences of the project’s past three and a half years, highlighting the citizen science related achievements, challenges and lessons learnt regarding collaboration, power dynamics, alignment of needs and priorities, and co-authorship of publications among others.
Short Abstract
CERBERUS and SPOON show the flexibility of citizen science to generate robust data across agri-food contexts, from rural production to urban consumption, using structured citizen science protocols or co-designed Living Lab methods to foster sustainable, evidence-based food systems.
Abstract
CERBERUS and SPOON demonstrate the versatility of citizen science as a driver of innovation within the agri-food system, each addressing different stages of the food chain through distinct methodologies. Yet, both projects place citizens at the core of knowledge creation through co-design, technological tools, and active participation.
In CERBERUS, citizen science is applied to agricultural production through a structured data collection protocol that merges technical requirements (rigour, consistency, and systematicity) with social requirements (engagement, learning, and enjoyment). Citizens monitor pest traps across Mediterranean crops, contributing high-quality data validated by professional entomologists. This approach ensures both scientific reliability and community empowerment, demonstrating how structured citizen engagement can complement advanced monitoring technologies. CERBERUS is implemented mainly in rural areas of Spain, Italy, and Cyprus.
In SPOON, the integration of Citizen Science and Living Labs places citizens simultaneously in the roles of researchers and participants. Through co-designed digital tools and participatory workshops, they contribute behavioural data on food consumption patterns and help shape Behaviour Change Interventions (BCIs), which are assessed using Living Lab methodologies to gather evidence that informs European food policies while respecting local diversity. SPOON is implemented primarily in urban contexts across Spain, Germany, Greece, Slovenia, Italy, and Belgium.
Together, CERBERUS and SPOON illustrate how citizen science can be flexibly adapted—from structured protocols to open co-creation methodologies—to engage diverse actors, contexts, and levels of participation. Both projects highlight the potential of citizen-led research to build inclusive, sustainable, and evidence-based food systems across Europe.