Following the first session of the AgroTechHub Cluster webinar “Recognize. Respect. Restore. From Soil Degradation and Desertification to Resilient Land Systems”, held on 17 June 2026 to mark the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, participants continued with the second part of the event: the Café Talk “Restore & Scale”.

While the first session focused on presenting concrete solutions, the Café Talk opened the space for a deeper discussion on how these solutions can move from project pilots and research settings towards wider adoption, practical use and long-term impact.

The discussion brought together representatives from TERRASAFE, MONALISA, LandShift, Nemesis, AfroGrow and EARTHONE, with moderation from Francesca Assennato, ISPRA, MONALISA and Ioannis Varvaris, Eratosthenes Centre of Excellence, Nemesis. The session explored a central question shared by all participating projects: if solutions for soil restoration and land resilience already exist, what is still preventing them from being taken up by end users, decision-makers and local communities?

Bridging the gap between knowledge and action

The Café Talk opened with a reminder that many projects are already developing, testing and demonstrating valuable approaches to combat soil degradation and desertification. However, a gap often remains between scientific knowledge and practical action.

The discussion therefore focused on several key dimensions that influence whether solutions can be scaled: governance, financing, stakeholder trust, policy alignment, end-user ownership and long-term support.

Rather than treating restoration as a purely technical issue, the Café Talk highlighted that successful adoption depends on whether solutions are economically realistic, socially accepted, locally adapted and supported by the right institutional conditions.

Understanding the obstacles to adoption

A first round of discussion invited each project to reflect on the main obstacles preventing their solutions from being applied or considered in decision-making processes.

From the MONALISA perspective, one of the main challenges is the risk that land managers and farmers are asked to take when adopting new practices. Many are already operating under difficult economic and climatic conditions, and changing existing systems can require new machinery, new knowledge and new ways of working. The discussion underlined that demonstrating ecological benefits alone is not enough. Solutions also need to be economically viable, compatible with local realities and supported over time. This is why co-design and trust-building are central to MONALISA’s approach.

Representing TERRASAFE, the discussion focused on the example of community composting and the willingness of local stakeholders to transform organic materials into valuable compost. However, participants noted that integrated local solutions can be difficult to implement when funding mechanisms are fragmented or do not fully support circular economy approaches such as shared infrastructure, refurbished machinery or community-level facilities. The discussion pointed to the need for funding schemes that better respond to local needs and practical implementation realities.

The AfroGrow contribution emphasised that the challenge is not a lack of evidence. Agroforestry is widely recognised as a powerful restoration solution, but the gap lies in what smallholder farmers can actually implement in their daily realities. Barriers include insufficient co-design with local communities, limited digital access, weak value-chain incentives and gaps in monitoring and reporting. AfroGrow addresses these challenges through Living Labs, integration of indigenous and scientific knowledge, affordable tools, data systems and connections to carbon farming and business opportunities.

For LandShift, the main obstacle is fragmented decision-making. Nature-based Solutions often need to be implemented at landscape level, but landscapes are shaped by many administrative, political and ownership boundaries. This creates difficulties for long-term planning and continuity. LandShift addresses this by bringing stakeholders together through community and policy labs and by using tools such as spatial analysis and trade-off assessment to support shared understanding and long-term vision.

The Nemesis perspective also highlighted fragmentation, both at the level of farmer access to solutions and at the level of policy frameworks. Although desertification is addressed across several policy areas, the discussion pointed to the lack of a dedicated and coherent framework for long-term action. Nemesis-Soil aims to respond through autonomous Living Labs, co-governance models, stakeholder feedback and stronger links between local experimentation and decision-making.

From the EARTHONE perspective, the discussion turned to the question of who pays for land-use transitions such as agroforestry. Agroforestry and other complex land-use systems may provide important ecosystem services, but their benefits often develop slowly and require stable public support, market recognition and adapted value chains. The discussion stressed that farmers and land managers cannot be expected to carry the full cost of transition alone.

Co-design as a foundation for lasting solutions

The second part of the Café Talk focused on project-specific questions and provided further insight into how each initiative is working to support uptake and scaling.

For MONALISA, the key message was that end users are not simply recipients of solutions. They are active partners in identifying problems, prioritising needs, assessing trade-offs and adapting interventions to local conditions. The project works with land managers and stakeholders to combine Nature-based Solutions with appropriate management practices. This increases the likelihood that restoration measures will continue beyond the project lifetime.

A central challenge highlighted in the discussion is the need to develop solutions that are local enough to respond to specific territorial realities, but also broad enough to generate learning that can be shared and adapted elsewhere.

Learning across pilot areas

The TERRASAFE discussion focused on how learning from one pilot area can inform others. While local conditions differ, for example in soil properties, available organic materials or climate, the broader idea of bringing stakeholders together around co-composting and community-based resource management can be transferred across contexts.

The discussion also underlined the importance of adapting technical solutions to local conditions. A composting approach that works in one region may need to be adjusted in another depending on soil type, pH, available substrates or infrastructure. At the same time, cross-pilot learning can support clearer policy recommendations, such as the need for public support for shared facilities and community-based composting infrastructure.

Data that is meaningful across diverse contexts

For AfroGrow, the Café Talk explored how the project ensures that data and knowledge generated across different African Living Labs remain meaningful in diverse national and ecological contexts.

The project works across a wide range of environments, from arid areas to more humid agroecosystems. To address this diversity, AfroGrow combines harmonised monitoring frameworks with local relevance. This includes soil spectral libraries, crowdsourcing tools, shared data systems and Living Labs designed around the needs of smallholder farmers, pastoralists, women, youth and producer groups.

An important point raised during the discussion was that meaningful data is not only about technical interoperability. It also depends on who is asked, whose knowledge is recognised, and how benefits are distributed.

Bringing Nature-based Solutions into planning

The LandShift contribution focused on how practical tools can support the integration of Nature-based Solutions into land-use planning.

The LandShift Nature-based Solutions Library was presented as a resource designed for the early stages of planning. It allows decision-makers and stakeholders to explore real-world examples of Nature-based Solutions that address similar challenges or are implemented in comparable ecosystems.

Rather than being only a repository of case studies, the library is intended to become a living tool that enables exchange between planners, practitioners and local actors. It can help users identify lessons learned, possible collaborators, funding opportunities and pathways for adapting solutions to their own territories.

Shared responsibility and long-term ownership

The Nemesis discussion returned to the question of shared responsibility. Soil restoration requires a long-term perspective, and this means involving stakeholders from the very beginning – not only during implementation, but also in the design, testing, monitoring and future adoption of solutions.

The project’s Living Lab approach supports co-creation and co-ownership, with the aim of ensuring that local communities and stakeholders are not only consulted, but become part of the solution. The discussion stressed that adoption after the end of a project depends on whether stakeholders feel ownership of the process and see clear benefits from the solutions tested.

Markets, policy and the economics of transition

The final part of the Café Talk focused on broader conditions needed for agroforestry and other restoration approaches to scale.

From the EARTHONE perspective, the economic dimension is central, but it is not the only barrier. Wider uptake also depends on market structures, supply chains, policy integration and recognition of ecosystem services. More complex systems, such as agro-silvopastoral approaches, require not only changes at farm level, but also changes in local markets and value chains.

The discussion highlighted the need for stable and transparent mechanisms that recognise the value of ecosystem services, including carbon farming and payment for ecosystem services. Without clear and reliable tools, land managers and economic operators face uncertainty, making long-term investment in restoration more difficult.

A shared path forward

The Café Talk concluded by emphasising the value of continued collaboration between projects, pilot areas and communities of practice. Participants were encouraged to stay connected through the MONALISA Community of Knowledge and to share opportunities, questionnaires, open calls and other initiatives that could support collective learning.

Across the discussion, one message was clear: restoring land and scaling solutions requires much more than technical innovation. It requires trust, co-design, financing, governance, policy alignment, inclusive data systems, functioning value chains and long-term commitment.

By bringing together projects working across Europe, the Mediterranean and Africa, the Café Talk showed that the transition from isolated solutions to resilient land systems depends on shared responsibility and sustained collaboration.