The AIS 2017 is a joint initiative of a Portuguese Consortium, the Portuguese Government, the EIP-AGRI network and the European Network for Rural Development. It will gather more than 500 farmers, rural businesses, start-ups, RDP managing authorities, national rural networks, researchers, advisors and NGOs throughout the EU with the aim of:

Promoting cross fertilization between multi-actor innovation initiatives, both under Rural Development Programmes and Horizon 2020

Raising awareness about innovation and digitisation opportunities for agriculture and rural economies and how these may be supported under on-going Rural Development Programmes

Providing input for EU innovation policies for agriculture and rural areas after 2020, following-up on Point 7 of the Cork 2.0 Declaration