The AGRERI team from CODECS participated in the IFAMA 2026 World Conference, hosted by University College Cork and the UCC Business School in Cork, Ireland, from 15–19 June 2026. The conference brought together researchers, practitioners, and stakeholders from across the agrifood sector to exchange perspectives on the future of food and agricultural systems.
As part of the conference, Constantine Iliopoulos participated in the IFAMA Academic Symposium, held on 15–16 June, where he delivered three presentations addressing key challenges surrounding collective action, governance, and complex agrifood transitions.
Rethinking governance in the digital transformation of cooperatives
One of the contributions focused on the CODECS project and was titled: “Rethinking Governance in the Digital Transformation of Agribusiness Cooperatives: Insights from European Stakeholder Perspectives.”
The presentation explored the governance challenges and opportunities emerging as agribusiness cooperatives undergo digital transformation. Drawing on stakeholder perspectives from across Europe, the research examined what digitalisation means not only for the adoption of new technologies, but also for member participation, trust, data ownership, governance arrangements, and fair value sharing.
The contribution highlights an important shift in perspective: digital transformation is not simply about introducing digital tools into agricultural organisations. It also raises fundamental questions about who makes decisions, who owns and controls data, how members participate, and how the benefits and risks of digitalisation are distributed.
Collective action and locally shaped transitions
During the Academic Symposium, Dr. Iliopoulos also presented research on collective action in agrifood systems and institutional learning and governance innovation for climate-resilient agrifood systems, drawing on insights from European Living Labs within the PRO-CLIMATE Horizon Europe project.
Across the three presentations, a common theme emerged: technological and policy solutions are essential for addressing the complex transitions facing European agrifood systems, but their long-term success depends on the institutions and collective processes through which these solutions are understood, implemented, and governed.
A key message from the discussions was that European agricultural transitions need to be understood and shaped locally by farmers, cooperatives, businesses, and rural communities. Rather than focusing solely on accelerating transition processes, greater attention is needed to ensuring that those affected by change can participate in shaping it and develop a sense of ownership over the transformation.
The participation of the AGRERI team at IFAMA 2026 provided an opportunity to share CODECS research with an international academic audience and to engage in discussions on how digitalisation, governance, and collective action can contribute to more inclusive and sustainable agrifood systems.
