The MARVIC consortium assembled from May 15 to 17 at the historic Collegio Alberoni in Piacenza, Italy, to discuss our achievements and future plans. With almost 50 participants in person and more joining online, the event brought together representatives from 16 institutes, as well as European Commission officers and three members of the External Advisory Board. Despite the complexity and challenges, MARVIC members showed a strong commitment to advance together towards the project's main goal of developing and testing a framework for the design of harmonised, context-specific Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) systems.
As project coordinator, Greet Ruysschaert (ILVO) opened the General Assembly meeting by presenting our achievements and setting clear goals. The objectives were to understand our progress, recognize the ambitions of each task, clarify expectations for the participants, facilitate inter-task conversations, and identify bottlenecks and opportunities for moving forward. Each Work Package (WP), Land Use x Soil Type (LUST) and task leader shared their progress and engaged in interactive discussions. Dedicated breakout sessions, focused on key topics such as data integration, remote sensing, and smart sampling tools, fostered inter-WP discussions and identified additional needs for our continued progress.
In addition to internal conversations, we welcomed external speakers. Valeria Forlin (DG Clima) provided an update on the progress of the Carbon Removals Certification Framework (CRCF) regulation. She highlighted three key areas where MARVIC could contribute:
- Quantification with methodologies combining on-site measurements with remote sensing and/or modelling;
- Standardized Baselines, which reflect the performance of comparable practices and processes in similar social, economic, environmental, technical, and regulatory circumstances;
- Test Cases, identifying what works for different carbon farming activities across Europe.
External advisory board members Lucia Perugini (EEA), Gerry Lawson (EURAF) and Matthias Kuhnert (University of Aberdeen) offered constructive feedback and suggestions.
The side events were equally engaging. The first evening featured an Aperi-Carbon X MARVIC discussion, where innovative companies in regenerative agriculture, such as Corteva Agriscience, eAgronom, Image Line, Agrosolutions, and xFarm Technologies, discussed challenges and potential applications. This event was hosted in the regenerative farm Gli Spinoni, where we also had the chance to visit the field. On the second afternoon, a field visit led by the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (UCSC) Field Crops Group showcased an automatic sampling system, followed by a tour of the historic Collegio Alberoni. After the meeting, part of the team enjoyed a trekking in the Trebbia valley, which served as an excellent team-building activity.
The program comprised a fruitful blend of knowledge exchange with both internal and external experts, complemented by insightful field visits and engaging team-building activities. Overall, the event not only advanced our project goals but also strengthened our collaborative spirit. We look forward to the next steps in our journey towards developing a robust MRV Framework for sustainable agriculture.
Stay tuned for further updates and progress on the project MARVIC.
