Euro-BioImaging at Rural Development / ERSAC 2025: Imaging for a Resilient Bioeconomy

From 1–3 October 2025, Euro-BioImaging participated in the 12th International Scientific Conference “Rural Development 2025: Resilience to Global Change” in Kaunas, Lithuania. Organized by the Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy, the event brought together more than 450 participants from 21 countries — including researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and representatives of major European Research Infrastructures (RIs). The conference focused on how rural systems can adapt to global change and how science, policy, and innovation can work together to build a resilient bioeconomy.

AgroSERV in the Spotlight

A strong focus of this year’s event was on the AgroSERV project (Integrated SERvices supporting a sustainable AGROecological transition), a Horizon Europe initiative that connects leading RIs across Europe to deliver integrated services for agroecological research (Grant Agreement Number 101058020). Through AgroSERV, users can access state-of-the-art facilities and expertise — from field experimentation and soil monitoring to advanced imaging and molecular analysis.

“Our active participation in AgroSERV, and at the Rural Development meeting in particular, underscores the strategic role that imaging must play in advancing the agroecology transition,”

-- Johanna Bischof, Head of Bio-Hub Operations, Euro-BioImaging

Euro-BioImaging is proud to be a partner in AgroSERV, offering imaging services that help address challenges across the agroecology spectrum. These include plant phenotyping, advanced microscopy, in vivo imaging, and biosensor-based techniques — supporting researchers investigating plant stress, crop resilience, and plant–microbe interactions.

During the meeting, Euro-BioImaging contributed to AgroSERV user and project sessions, highlighting successful user projects and engaging in discussions on future strategic directions within the consortium’s General Assembly.

Imaging at the Heart of Agroecological Innovation

In a short talk, Johanna Bischof, Head of Bio-Hub Operations at Euro-BioImaging, presented examples of imaging applications within AgroSERV, showing how technologies developed for life sciences are now being leveraged to address agricultural and ecological research questions.

“Our active participation in AgroSERV, and at the Rural Development meeting in particular, underscores the strategic role that imaging must play in advancing the agroecology transition,” said Johanna Bischof, Head of Bio-Hub Operations at Euro-BioImaging. “We see many important applications — from plant phenotyping and imaging responses to water and heat stress or exploring microbe–plant interactions — where high-end imaging is not just a specialty tool, but a backbone of integrated, transdisciplinary research and solution development.”

Key Themes from Rural Development / ERSAC 2025

The conference program featured many discussions relevant to the AgroSERV and Euro-BioImaging communities:

• A Political, Business and Science panel on Adapting to Global Change and Building a Resilient Bioeconomy explored the intersection of research, innovation, and policy.
• Michael Loesch (DG AGRI) presented early insights into the new EU biotech strategy, which remains under active development.
• The AgroSERV project meeting and General Assembly gathered partners and users to exchange progress, align service pipelines, and define strategic goals for the next project phase.
• Parallel sessions under Climate Smart Agriculture & Food Technologies showcased innovative approaches across agronomy and agroecology, including several AgroSERV user stories.

Strengthening Collaboration Across Infrastructures

Euro-BioImaging’s presence at Rural Development / ERSAC 2025 reinforced the growing focus on agroecology in the Euro-BioImaging services and activities. By linking imaging with agronomy, ecology, and biotechnology, infrastructures like Euro-BioImaging and the other AgroSERV partners are helping Europe move toward a more sustainable and resilient bioeconomy.

“We see many important applications — from plant phenotyping and imaging responses to water and heat stress or exploring microbe–plant interactions — where high-end imaging is not just a specialty tool, but a backbone of integrated, transdisciplinary research and solution development.”

-- Johanna Bischof, Head of Bio-Hub Operations, Euro-BioImaging