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On 24 September 2026, the Crop-MATCHING project was presented to the European agricultural advisory community during the EUFRAS Coffee Break "Practical Pathways to Sustainable Farming – Crop-MATCHING and TERRA." 

The event was co-organised by the Polish Farm Advisory and Training Centre (PFA), a partner in both the Crop-MATCHING and TERRA projects, in cooperation with EUFRAS. The session was moderated by Natalia Truszkowska from PFA, who guided participants through the presentations and discussion, connecting the perspectives of research, agricultural advisory services, vocational education and training, and farming practice. 

The Coffee Break brought together two European initiatives approaching the transition towards more sustainable agriculture from complementary perspectives: the Horizon Europe project Crop-MATCHING and the Erasmus+ project TERRA. 

Crop-MATCHING: bringing sustainable practices closer to small-scale farmers 

Crop-MATCHING was represented by Katerina Paltaki from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), the project coordinator, and Pilar Zapata Aranda fromBIOAZUL, responsible for Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation. 

Their presentation introduced the vision and objectives of Crop-MATCHING and highlighted the project's focus on supporting small-scale farmers through practical, evidence-based and locally adapted sustainable cropping solutions. 

Crop-MATCHING works to bridge the gap between research-based knowledge and its practical application on farms. The project explores sustainable cropping practices such as crop rotation, intercropping, cover crops and other approaches that can contribute to healthier soils, improved biodiversity, more efficient use of resources and greater resilience of small farms. 

Particular attention was given to the importance of making existing agricultural knowledge easier to access, understand and use by farmers and agricultural advisors. 

From farming practices to the skills needed to implement them 

A key element of the Coffee Break was the connection between Crop-MATCHING and the TERRA project. 

While Crop-MATCHING focuses on practical sustainable cropping knowledge and its adoption by small-scale farmers, TERRA addresses another important part of the transition: developing, recognising and validating the skills required for regenerative agriculture. 

This complementary perspective demonstrated that the transition towards sustainable agriculture depends not only on identifying effective farming practices, but also on ensuring that farmers, advisors and agricultural professionals have the knowledge and competences needed to apply them successfully. 

The TERRA perspective was presented by Andrés Dochao from Terra Viva Ibiza and Daniela Varone from CIOFS-FP Piemonte ETS, while Gonzalo Corrales from UPA brought an important practical perspective to the discussion, highlighting the realities and needs of the farming community. 

PFA connecting projects, advisors and farming practice 

As a partner involved in both Crop-MATCHING and TERRA, the Polish Farm Advisory and Training Centre (PFA) played a key role in bringing the two initiatives together for the EUFRAS Coffee Break. 

The session was moderated by Natalia Truszkowska (PFA), who connected the contributions of the speakers and highlighted the value of cooperation between research organisations, agricultural advisors, education and training providers, and farmers. 

The event demonstrated how European projects can complement one another by connecting research-based solutions with education, advisory support and real farming experience. 

Participation in the EUFRAS Coffee Break provided Crop-MATCHING with an important opportunity to reach agricultural advisors and rural stakeholders across Europe and to share the project's approach beyond the consortium. 

Events such as the EUFRAS Coffee Break contribute to the wider exchange of practical knowledge and help ensure that the results of European research and innovation projects reach the people who can use them in practice. 

Together, Crop-MATCHING, TERRA, PFA and the EUFRAS network demonstrated the value of connecting sustainable farming practices with the skills, knowledge and advisory support needed to put them into action.