On 27-28 May 2026, partners from Italy, Bulgaria, Romania and Poland met in Naples for the kick-off meeting of SYSARM: Systems Thinking for Agricultural Risk Management. The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the project’s objectives, division of responsibilities, timeline and the first activities planned for the coming months.

SYSARM is a European project focused on developing systems thinking and risk management skills in the agri-food sector. It aims to help adult learners, trainers, farmers and agri-food professionals better understand complex interdependencies and risks and make more informed decisions. The project will develop educational tools, training materials and simulation-based solutions that will allow users to explore different scenarios and their consequences.

During the two-day meeting, partners also explored the role of systems thinking and system dynamics in agricultural risk management, discussed the individual work packages and agreed on procedures for project management, quality assurance, communication and dissemination.

Centre for Systems Solutions (CRS) is primarily responsible for contributing to the project’s simulation-based learning component. Our team will support the development of interactive scenarios and educational game elements that will enable learners to explore in practice how different decisions affect risk, resilience and the functioning of agri-food systems.

The meeting in Naples marked the first step in our joint work on tools designed to help the agri-food sector better prepare for complex and rapidly evolving challenges.