A very successful focus group meeting was held on Feb 20th at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam bringing together those project partners delivering the e-ToolBox platform with potential end-users. Partners from RIKILT and IRIS involved in conceptualisation and design of the platform, presented their ideas to a group of end-users from UK, Austria, Netherlands, Serbia and Ukraine.
The in-depth discussion was primarily on shaping the pre-harvest elements of the e-ToolBox to ensure its usefulness and relevance to farmers. It was emphasised that farmers were time-starved and whilst the benefits of being able to forecast risks of fungal infection and mycotoxin formation could prove invaluable in taking preventative measures, the advice had to be easily accessible and simple to understand.
Overall this Focus Group meeting proved to be an extremely valuable exercise where much was learnt from the end-users whose input was really appreciated.