The Origins of the European IFSA: The First Meetings and the Agenda Renewal

In the mid-1990s the farming systems movement had reached Europe. The European Group is related to the associations founded in the USA, Latin America, Africa and Asia some years before. These were partly designed to support research and development in the Global South. The European Group followed a novel approach in that it applied the systems concept to the highly diverse situations found in European farming. Hence, we recall the objectives of the first meeting held in Edinburgh in 1993, and then assess how research themes have shifted over the past 20 years, by reviewing the programs of the nine symposia held during this period. Looking back, it is clear that European Farming Systems Research has revealed many of the major preoccupations of European farming and the increasing importance of human and sociological factors, in addition to technical and economic issues. This development is most encouraging and indicates that a dynamic learning community exists among European farming systems researchers and extensionists.