Dear CopSyS members,

I hope this message finds you well.

We are pleased to invite you to the second CopSyS webinar.

Date: 9 July 2026

Time: 16:00 CET

Speaker: Audrey Etienne, R&D Manager – Cropping Systems Modeling at MAELAB

Title: Supporting agroecological and bioeconomic transition of territories through integrated modeling and participative scenarios analysis

Audrey will address three key points:

· The need for dynamic and multi-scale approaches to conceptualize and support transitions.

· The potential and limitations of integrated agrifood systems modeling for building and analyzing scenarios with stakeholders.

· The necessity of strengthening and sharing capacities related to these approaches.

The webinar is open to all members and external participants. Please feel free to share the registration link within your networks.

Register here

We look forward to seeing many of you there.

Warm regards,

CopSyS.

Dear ISG members,

This message serves as a friendly reminder to let us know your availability for the next meeting this June.

Please share your availability with us before the end of the week by clicking on this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeIpzD2mEhyQsAyg6pSlYnLj_-9tNdHu8eJ_EIQF914Ff_Qow/viewform

King regards.

Maela

Dear CopSys Members

I’m sharing this message from Myrto, who is looking for a postdoc position. She has just moved to the Netherlands and is therefore primarily interested in a postdoc there, but is open to other opportunities. 

" After successfully defending my PhD thesis in February, I am looking for my next research challenge starting in late 2026 or early 2027.

My doctoral research in agronomy focused on pesticide reduction at the landscape level. I mobilized systems-oriented, comprehensive approaches (eg: analysis of collective action’s potential for pesticide reduction) and co-design methods (eg: scenario co-design).

I am interested in discussing Post-Doc opportunities related to farming systems design, landscape approaches in agricultural science and the upscaling of agroecological transitions.

If you think my profile could match your current or future projects, I would love to connect and share more about my work.

Feel free to reach out to me directly or to share this message with your colleagues! (email: myrto.parmantier@inrae.fr)

Myrto PARMANTIER'

Dear ISG members,

As a reminder, our first webinar featuring Ken Giller will take place today.

This first link below will allow you to join the webinar: https://institut-agro.zoom.us/j/95755559750?pwd=khyMdEP59NprzsbnJ871AGUZ1BwTnV.1

while this second link (reserved for ISG members) will give you access to a 15-minute debrief session following the webinar : https://institut-agro.zoom.us/j/94496448104?pwd=rsP4EsYP1MbD7cOitA5prYviaBJ8il.1

Looking forward to seeing you online!

Maela

Dear CopSyS members,

We are pleased to invite you to the Second CopSyS Workshop, which will take place

📅 on June 29, 2026, from 10:30 am to 4:00 pm (CET)

📍 in Montpellier, France, with the possibility to join online

Take a look at the program: https://system-s.org/?WorkshopFrance

This workshop will be held just ahead of the IFSA Congress, providing a great opportunity to connect, exchange ideas, and build momentum with the community.

🎯The objective of this workshop is to collectively advance the development of CopSyS.

🤝As CopSyS is a collaborative and evolving community, your ideas, perspectives, and contributions are essential. We aim to create an open space for discussion where everyone can actively shape future directions and initiatives.

✉️ If you are interested in participating, please feel free to contact us to confirm your attendance and indicate whether you will participate in person or online, or to express your interest at: maela.roudaut@supagro.fr

We would be delighted to have you join us for this moment of exchange.

Let us know if you want to participate!

Kind regards.

CopSyS team.

Dear ISG members,

Thank you very much for your participation in our last meeting in April. 
As a reminder for those who attended, and for the information of others, here are the main actions that we had decided to undertake:

• Refine and further detail the CopSyS workshop program, including clearer objectives and expected outcomes for each session (Maela and Jacques).
• Expand and complete the list of invited participants for both the workshop and related activities (all participants).
• Improve interaction formats in future webinars by allocating more time for discussions and exchanges.
• Promote upcoming events and encourage participation, including dissemination through partner networks and confirmation of attendance to Maela for the France-CGIAR workshop

You can find the report of our last meeting at this link.

/!\ It is also time to set a date for our next monthly meeting! To ensure the date works for as many people as possible, please complete THIS SURVEY before 1rst June, to let us know which time slot would suit you best.

Thank you for your collaboration!

Dear Members, 

We are pleased to announce the upcoming workshop DAAFRICA'2026 – Data Science and AI for Agriculture in Africa 🌍🌱, held in conjunction with the 18th African Conference on Research in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics (CARI 2026) 💻📊.

🌾 About the Workshop
In line with the African Union's Digital Agriculture Strategy, this workshop focuses on how data science and AI can address critical challenges in African agriculture, such as productivity, climate variability, and food security 🌦️🍽️.

📅 Date: October 21, 2026
📍 Location: Cotonou, Benin
💻 Format: Hybrid event (in-person & online participation)

📢 Call for Short Papers

Researchers, academics, and students 🎓ar invited to submit short papers (up to 6 pages) for oral presentations or posters.

Topics include, but are not limited to:
🚜 Smart Farming and Yield Forecasting
💧 Agroecology and Water Management
🌿 Crop Monitoring and Plant Health
🍲 Food Safety, Security, and Nutrition
⚖️ Policy and Regulation in Digital Agriculture

KEY DATES
📄 Submission Deadline: June 26, 2026
✉️ Notification to Authors: July 15, 2026
📝 Camera-ready Deadline: July 31, 2026
🎤 Workshop Date: October 21, 2026

📚 Submission Guideline:
✅ Be written in English
✅ Follow the LNCS format
✅ Be submitted electronically via EasyChair

For more details on submission and registration, please visit the official website or contact the workshop chairs, Paulin Melatagia and Mathieu Roche.

🤝 Participants are also very welcome to attend the workshop even if they do not plan to submit a paper and simply wish to join the discussions and exchanges.

📌 You can also find more information in the CopSyS agenda

We look forward to your participation to this important discussion on the digital transformation of African agriculture 🌍✨.

Dear Members,

We are pleased to announce a call for papers for an upcoming Special Issue of the journal Agricultural Water Management. 🌱

🌊 Focus of the Special Issue:
This Special Issue aims to address the pressing challenges of water scarcity, climate change, and growing water demand in Mediterranean agriculture 🌡️💧🌾.

It explores how integrated approaches — considering the interactions between Water, Energy, Food, and Ecosystems (WEFE Nexus) ⚡🍃🌍 — can support resilient and sustainable farming systems.

We invite interdisciplinary research contributions covering topics such as:

💦 Irrigation management and water allocation strategies
📊 Economic and policy instruments
🧠 Modelling approaches and decision-making
🤝 Governance mechanisms influencing resource use
📝 Submission Information

The submission period opens on June 1, 2026, and will remain open until December 31, 2026 📅.

To submit your work:

🌐 Submission Site: Editorial Manager®
📄 Article Type: Please select "VSI: WEFE Nexus" when submitting your manuscript

All submissions will undergo a rigorous peer-review process by at least two independent experts 🔍👩‍🔬👨‍🔬. Once accepted, articles will be published in a regular issue and simultaneously collected in the online special issue 💻.

✨ Why Contribute?

Publishing in this Special Issue offers significant advantages, including higher visibility on ScienceDirect 🚀. Historically, special content articles receive twice as many downloads and 20% more citations within the first 24 months compared to regular issues 📈.

👥 Guest Editors
Simona Consoli, University of Catania, Italy 🇮🇹
Hatem Belhouchette, Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Montpellier, France 🇫🇷

We are delighted to introduce you to DEPE, in which two of our members are involved: Lise Paresys and Océane Espin. They have kindly agreed to give us a presentation:

Dear CopSyS Community,

We are Lise Paresys and Océane Espin, both agronomists engaged at the science-policy interface at INRAE’s Directorate for collective scientific assessment, foresight and advanced studies (DEPE).

The DEPE informs public policy, feeds the societal debate, and identifies research gaps on complex issues related to agriculture, food and the environment. It sets up ad hoc committees of experts and coordinates collective scientific assessments (CSAs), foresight and advanced studies, commissioned by public authorities or by INRAE itself.

Lise coordinates CSAs and advanced studies, and Océane is involved in foresight studies. CSAs are multidisciplinary and critical analyses that identify consensual, controversial, uncertain and missing knowledge in the academic literature. Advanced studies address more targeted issues than CSAs but involve additional data processing and analyses. Foresight studies explore possible futures. They draw on academic and stakeholders’ knowledge to formulate evolutionary hypotheses and scenarios over the next few decades.

The DEPE shall comply with the French National Charter for Expertise and follow principles of competence, plurality of disciplines and approaches, impartiality and transparency. We thus implement and develop methods to meet these requirements, questioning both the system within which we operate, and the system that we study in our projects.

We seek to explore and strengthen methods for interdisciplinary analysis and stakeholder engagement, and look forward to contributing to a collaborative learning community.

You can find out more about DEPE by visiting the following pages:
DEPE website
Completed CSAs, advanced studies, foresight studies
Guidelines for conducting CSAs and advanced studies
Guidelines for conducting foresight studies (French version only)

Following the new event recently added to the CopSyS agenda and shared below:

🤝 As a reminder, the publication of these resources and courses on the platform is open to everyone, including non-members, but it is also intended to foster collaborations among CopSyS members.

📩 Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to share and promote additional courses, training opportunities, or resources on the platform: https://system-s.org/?Contact

Kind regards.

NEW TRAINING OPPORTUNITY: Modelling the Agroecological Transition of Your Territory by MAELAB

🗓️ June 23–25, 📍Colmar (INRAE Center)

👉 For more information, click here that will take you to the agenda to access the event details.

Dear all,

I hope you are doing well.

We are currently preparing the CGIAR–France workshop that will take place on May 13 in Nairobi, Kenya, and we would like to present several concrete examples of training programmes and action modalities involving Systems Science approaches.

In this context, we would like to ask whether ISG is aware of:

• Doctoral training programmes similar to WASCAL or DoctorBEST
• and/or Vocational school initiatives such as the Réseau FAR or the COeLIB programme.

->Our objective is to showcase different practical approaches for capacity strengthening and training in Systems Science during the workshop.

Thank you very much in advance for your help and suggestions.

Please do not hesitate to share any relevant initiatives or contacts that could be of interest.

Best regards,
Maela

Dear all,

This is a kind reminder that our meeting will take place tomorrow afternoon.

Thursday, April 30th from 4 PM to 5 PM (CET) 

Join: https://institut-agro.zoom.us/j/98671789171?pwd=gbGYa39vQ5R12UlROJmTW1pgBoNIvl.1 

Below are the topics that will be discussed; feel free to add your suggestions to the various documents:

1. Program and participant for the second CopSyS Workshop (June, 29th)
   •    Discover the Workshop program : https://cloud.system-s.org/s/RDZgAL6DHT9YzYm 
   •    Look and complete the provisional list of participants and guests: https://cloud.system-s.org/s/WdZWEdBArgNtrEC  
   •    Have a look to the invitation proposition: https://cloud.system-s.org/s/FLKekg2BQDneaaz
2. Update about CopSyS Webinars
   •    Update about our 1rst Webinar
   •    Planning of the upcoming ones
3. Next France-CGIAR Workshop (May, 13th)

See you tomorrow!

Kind regards.

Dear all,

This is a kind reminder that our meeting will take place next week:

Thursday, April 30th from 4 PM to 5 PM (CET)

Join: https://institut-agro.zoom.us/j/98671789171?pwd=gbGYa39vQ5R12UlROJmTW1pgBoNIvl.1 

👉 Please consult the dedicated page on the platform for the detailed program and documents to consult before the meeting. 

Here is an overview of the agenda:

1. Program and participant for the second CopSyS Workshop (June, 29th)
   •    Discover the Workshop program : https://cloud.system-s.org/s/RDZgAL6DHT9YzYm 
   •    Look and complete the provisional list of participants and guests: https://cloud.system-s.org/s/WdZWEdBArgNtrEC  
   •    Have a look to the invitation proposition: https://cloud.system-s.org/s/FLKekg2BQDneaaz
2. Update about CopSyS Webinars
   •    Update about our 1rst Webinar
   •    Planning of the upcoming ones
3. Next France-CGIAR Workshop (May, 13th)

We look forward to our discussion.
See you next week!

Hello everyone,

I hope you are all well.

Based on the survey responses, our next ISG meeting will take place on:

Thursday, April 30th, from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM (CET).

Stay tuned because we will be sending you the video conference and a calendar link very soon!

Thank you in advance for confirming your attendance at this meeting. This will allow us to talk about our first webinar and to review the guest list for the workshop.

See you soon!
Best regards.

Dear CopSys members,

We are pleased to announce the official launch of the CopSys webinar series — a new space for exchange, learning, and discussion within our community and beyond.

🎯 About the webinar series

The CopSys webinars aim to foster dialogue around key topics in agricultural systems research.

Each session will include:

  A keynote lecture by an invited expert An interactive discussion (Q&A)

📢 The series is open to all CopSys members as well as external participants.

📅 First webinar – Save the date

We are delighted to invite you to our inaugural session: Date: 27 May 2026

  Time: 17:00 – 17:45 CET

  Speaker: Professor Ken Giller

  Title: "Farm(ing) systems analysis: A search for pattern and process"

🗓 Programme

  17:00 – 17:10 | Introduction and overview of CopSyS activities (Katrien)

  17:10 – 17:35 | Keynote lecture (Prof. Ken Giller)

  17:35 – 17:45 | Discussion (Q&A)

  17:45 – 18:00 | Debriefing with ISG members (closed session)

🔗 Registration

👉 Click here  to register

👉 Visit the  CopSys webinar page for more information

A videoconference link will be sent to all registered participants prior to the event.

📢 Spread the word

Please feel free to share this invitation with colleagues or partners who may be interested.

We look forward to your participation!

Kind regards,

Schambach,

CopSys.

✨ Project Spotlight: Advancing Systemic Solutions in Desert Agriculture

We are pleased to highlight the successful completion of the Integrated Desert Farming for Resilient Livelihoods (IDFRL) project involving our member @Abebe Bezaiet Dessalegn and led by ICARDA, showcasing the power of multi-actor, systemic approaches in desert farming systems.

Funded by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the project was implemented by ICARDA in close partnership with Egypt’s Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Desert Research Center (DRC), and National Water Research Center (NWRC).

🌍 A strategic vision for resilient desert agriculture
The project demonstrated how integrated and science-based solutions can support the development of climate-resilient farming systems in Egypt’s drylands.
By adopting a social–ecological systems approach, it addressed interconnected challenges such as resource scarcity, isolation, limited market access, and climate vulnerability.

🤝 Co-designing solutions with farmers
A key strength of the project was its participatory and inclusive approach, engaging farmers through:

• On-farm demonstrations
• Field days across five governorates
• Farmer-to-farmer knowledge-sharing videos
• Training of trainers for researchers and technicians
• Experience-sharing sessions to foster collective learning

📈 Impact beyond expectations
The project significantly exceeded its initial target, reaching far more than the expected 3,450 beneficiaries — a strong testament to the effectiveness of systemic, co-designed interventions.

💡 What we learn
This initiative is a powerful example of how systems thinking and multi-stakeholder collaboration can drive sustainable and scalable impact in challenging environments.

Dear ISG members,

I am contacting you again regarding the date of our next meeting. Following the previous survey, 3 dates stood out. Here is a poll for you to select one of the three dates for the end of April:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfq_SIR-eiNwo0EfJjr7T3oN_6JI6SLtj30aARBw-JTn1LEDg/viewform?usp=header  

Thank you for voting as soon as possible.

Have a good week everyone.

✨ Great news!
All CopSyS resources are now publicly available and accessible to anyone interested in exploring systems science.

🚀 Why is this a good opportunity?

For our members:

• Increase the visibility of your work
• Unlock new partnership opportunities

For the community:

• Attract new researchers, educators, and practitioners
• Strengthen CopSyS as a space for knowledge sharing and large-scale dissemination

💡 What would you like to share?
Have you developed a tool?
Are you involved in a multidisciplinary project?
Do you teach using systems approaches?

👉 Showcase your initiatives!
Share them with us and gain visibility on the platform.

📩 Contact the community team: [https://system-s.org/?Contact]

Dear ISG members,

Thank you very much for your participation in our last meeting in March. 
As a reminder for those who attended, and for the information of others, here are the main actions that we had decided to undertake:
Platform & content
•    Continue developing the capacity development section (Maela) 
•    Share or submit training course recommendations (all members) 
Workshop (Montpellier – June 29)
•    Contact IFSA session conveners to join the afternoon session (Maela)
•    Finalize workshop program (Jacques) 
•    Review and refine guest list (all) 
•    Identify contributors for case studies (Mexico – Santiago; Nigeria, Malawi, Ethiopia – all) 
Webinars
•    Continue refining webinar topics and identifying speakers 
•    Share upcoming proposal document (Jacques)

You can find the report of our last meeting at this link: https://cloud.system-s.org/s/QQTWdeDA7JYKaAg

/!\ It is also time to set a date for our next monthly meeting! To ensure the date works for as many people as possible, please complete THIS SURVEY before 15th April, to let us know which time slot would suit you best.

Thank you for your collaboration!