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Possessio is an independent expert consultancy founded on decades of European research and policy experience.
We work at the interface between science, policy and practice, helping organisations understand complex agricultural and environmental challenges, communicate scientific knowledge effectively and support evidence-informed decision-making.
* based on the cumulative professional experience of Possessio experts
Agriculture is undergoing profound transformation. Climate change, biodiversity loss, resource pressures, geopolitical developments and changing societal expectations are reshaping the way agricultural systems are managed and governed.
Addressing these interconnected challenges requires solutions that consider environmental integrity, economic viability and social responsibility together.
Possessio supports this transition by connecting scientific knowledge with policy needs. We help transform research into accessible, policy-relevant information that supports better understanding, informed decisions and constructive dialogue.
Our work builds on extensive experience in agricultural policy, environmental assessment, biodiversity, climate adaptation, natural resource management and science communication gained through European research and policy initiatives.
Although our strongest expertise lies in environmental and agricultural sciences, we recognise the growing importance of the social dimensions of agricultural transitions, including socially responsible farming systems, viable livelihoods for farmers and agricultural workers, and the contribution of agriculture to society.
We provide objective, evidence-based advice tailored to the needs of each organisation and project.
Our work builds on established research, current scientific knowledge and practical experience from European research and policy initiatives.
We enjoy working across disciplines and organisations, bringing together different perspectives to address complex agricultural and environmental challenges.
We translate scientific knowledge into clear, policy-relevant communication that supports dialogue between researchers, policymakers and practitioners.
Supporting evidence-informed understanding of agricultural policy developments and future policy options.
Exploring approaches that strengthen biodiversity, ecosystem services and resilient agricultural landscapes.
Addressing emerging challenges related to climate resilience, heat stress, water availability and sustainable resource management.
Assessing environmental performance and supporting evidence-based evaluation of agricultural policies and programmes.
Understanding agriculture within wider food systems, value chains and evolving societal expectations.
Recognising the importance of socially responsible agricultural systems and agriculture as a viable livelihood and contribution to society.
Helping connect scientific evidence with policy discussions through clear, targeted and accessible communication.
Possessio combines the flexibility of an independent consultancy with expertise accumulated through many years of European research and policy engagement.
Possessio’s expertise is built on the professional experience of its experts gained through previous professional roles, international collaborations and current company activities.
The selected projects and contributions presented below illustrate the collective experience that underpins Possessio’s current work. They include both current company activities and contributions made by our experts throughout their professional careers.
NatuRISE: Nature restoration impact assessment for socio-economic and ecological benefits
Horizon Europe Grant Agreement Nr. 101291407.
ACT4CAP27: Advancing Capacity and analytical Tools for supporting Common Agricultural Policies post 2027
Horizon Europe Grant Agreement Nr. 101134874.
BrightSpace: Designing a Roadmap for Effective and Sustainable Strategies for Assessing and Addressing the Challenges of EU Agriculture to Navigate within a Safe and Just Operating Space
Role: Communication, disemination, exploitation leadership
Horizon Europe Grant Agreement Nr. 101060075.
MIND STEP: Modelling INdividual Decisions to Support The European Policies related to agriculture
Role: Communication, disemination, exploitation leadership
H2020 Grant Agreement Nr. 817566.
UNISECO: Understanding and improving the sustainability of agro-ecological farming systems in the EU
Role: Agroecological farming systems, national case study leadership and communication, disemination, exploitation leadership
H2020 Grant Agreement Nr. 773901.
ENVIEVAL: Development and application of new methodological frameworks for the evaluation of environmental impacts of rural development programmes in the EU
Role: Work package leadership on methodologies for assessing environmental impacts of rural development programmes.
BIOBIO: Indicators for biodiversity in organic and low-input farming systems
Role: national case study leadership and communication activities.
AE FOOTPRINT: The Agri-environmental Footprint: Development of a common generic methodology for evaluating the effectiveness of European agri-environmental schemes
Role: Evaluation of agri-environmental schemes and environmental policy effectiveness.
AGRIDIAG project: Agri-environmental farm diagnostic tool “Dialecte” in vocational training (AGRIDIAG EU LLP LdV) (2012–2013, project number 2012-1-HU1-LEO05-05850) was a European Union Leonardo da Vinci (LLP LdV) Transfer of Innovation initiative. It adapted and transferred the French Dialecte agri-environmental farm diagnostic software — originally designed by Solagro — into vocational education and training (VET) systems in Hungary and Portugal.
Role: project coordinator
A broader portfolio of European research and policy experience is available upon request.
Throughout their professional careers, Possessio experts have collaborated with European research organisations, universities, public institutions and international networks. These collaborations have contributed to research, policy analysis and science communication related to agriculture, biodiversity, environmental management and climate adaptation.
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Katalin brings a strong foundation in agriculture, environmental science, and economics, coupled with over 15 years of expertise in evaluation, research, policy analysis, and organizing stakeholder engagement and policy dialogue events within the realms of nature conservation, agriculture, and sustainable food systems. She is an agricultural engineer with a specialization in environmental management and holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences. Her extensive experience in multinational settings has fostered a systemic and holistic approach to applied research, allowing her to make significant contributions to policy analysis, indicator development, and evaluations for the European Commission and various governmental bodies. As a registered member of the Agri-economist Scientific Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Katalin focuses on agri-environmental economics and policy. She has considerable experience in project management, communication, dissemination planning, and project coordination, having played a key role in many EC-funded research projects. Additionally, she is regularly invited to assess research proposals and evaluate EC-funded initiatives.
László is a retired associate professor with a wealth of experience in environmental agricultural engineering, land use planning, and agri-environmental programme design. He has contributed to both academic and practical developments in agricultural systems and policy analysis throughout his career. Previously served as the deputy director of the Institute of Environment and Landscape Management at Szent István University, the precursor to the Hungarian University of Agricultural and Life Sciences. He also led the Department of Environmental Economics within the Institute. László holds degrees in agricultural engineering and business economics, PhD in Economic Sciences, and habilitation degrees. His areas of expertise encompass evaluating the environmental performance of agriculture, designing and assessing agri-environmental programs, conducting financial planning and economic evaluations of agricultural enterprises, analyzing development alternatives in global agriculture, and developing computerized farm planning systems.
Péter Tóth brings over a decade of experience in both government and the NGO sector, specializing as an agricultural engineer in environmental management and wildlife engineering. Previously, he served as the head of a department at the former Ministry of Agriculture, where he oversaw the coordination of national nature conservation efforts across various areas, including agri-environment, Natura 2000 management, High Nature Value Areas, and landscape protection. Throughout his career, Péter has acquired extensive management and technical expertise in numerous national and international nature conservation and agricultural projects. His diverse skill set encompasses the design, monitoring, and environmental impact assessment of Common Agricultural Policy measures with ecological implications. Additionally, he is recognized as an expert in landscape and wildlife protection and is a candidate forensic expert.
We contribute to scientific publications, policy briefs, reports and communication materials that help connect research with policy and practice.
Our publications include:
Explore our selected publications, showcasing our contributions to the fields of environmental management, sustainable agriculture, and policy development.
Balázs, K., Szilágyi, A., Podmaniczky, L. (2022). Initiating Transition to Agro-ecological Farming Systems in Market-Oriented Arable Farming with Soil Conservation Practices: A Case Study in Hungary. In: Mattas, K., Baourakis, G., Zopounidis, C., Staboulis, C. (eds) Food Policy Modelling . Cooperative Management. Springer, Cham. DOI 10.1007/978-3-031-08317-4_2
Zawalińska K., Smyrniotopoulou A., Balazs K. et al. (2022) Advancing the Contributions of European Stakeholders in Farming Systems to Transitions to Agroecology. Eurochoices. Volume21, Issue3 Special Issue on Insights into Transitions to Agroecological Farming, pp.50-63. DOI 10.1111/1746-692X.12378
Jeanneret, P., Lüscher, G., Schneider, M.K., Balázs, K., et al. An increase in food production in Europe could dramatically affect farmland biodiversity. Commun Earth Environ 2, 183 (2021). DOI 10.1038/s43247-021-00256-x
Székács, A., Roszík, P., Balázs K., Podmaniczky L., Ujj A. (2020) Agroecological initiatives in Hungary and their Central European Aspects. Int. J. Agric. Nat. Resour. 47(3) 216-234. DOI 10.7764/ijanr.v47i3.2266
Vanni, Francesco; Gava, Oriana; Balázs, Katalin et al.Governance Networks Supporting Agro-Ecological Farming Systems. October 2019. Report number: Deliverable D5.2 Project: UNISECO: Understanding & improving the sustainability of agro-ecological farming systems in the EU (H2020 Project) DOI 10.5281/zenodo.4568422
Geijzendorffer IR, Targetti S, Balázs K, Báldi A, Kovács-Hostyánszki A, Herzog F. et al How much would it cost to monitor farmland biodiversity in Europe? JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY 53: pp. 140-149. (2016) DOI 10.1111/1365-2664.12552
Szép, T., Nagy, K., Nagy, Zs., Tóth, P., Halmos, G. (2016): Decline of farmland biodiversity in Hungary and efficiency of agri-environmental schemes, measured. 20th conference of the European Bird Census Council (EBCC): Bird Numbers 2016 ’Birds in a changing world’ by Farmland Bird Indicator. Presentation
B. Mihók, E. Kovács, P. Tóth et al.: Bridging the research-practice gap: conservation research priorities in a Central and Eastern European country, Journal for Nature Conservation 28: 133-148. 2015. DOI 10.1016/j.jnc.2015.09.010
Katalin Balázs, Dóra Mészáros, László Podmaniczky, Balázs Sipos (Eds.) Handbook of the “DIALECTE” Agri-Enviromental Evaluation System: The Agridiag project. Gödöllő: SzIE, 2014. 92 p. DOI 10.5281/zenodo.8142670
Schneider M, Lüscher G, Balázs K, Báldi A, Kovács-Hostyánszki A, Herzog F. et al. Gains to species diversity in organically farmed fields are not propagated at the farm level. Nature Communications 5:Paper 4151.(2014) DOI 10.1038/ncomms5151
György Ernyei, László Podmaniczky: Public-goods oriented agricultural business models with higher awareness. World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 2014 Vol.10, No.1, pp.66 – 79 DOI 10.1504/WREMSD.2014.058054
Katalin Balázs, Bertalan Balczó, Márta Belényesi, Laszlo Podmaniczky (2012): Hungary In: High Nature Value Farming in Europe Eds by Rainer Oppermann, Guy Beaufoy and Gwyn Jones. Verlag regionalkultur ISBN 978-3-89735-657-3.
L. Podmanicky – K. Balázs – M. Belényesi – Cs. Centeri – D. Kristof – N. Kohlheb (2011): Modelling soil quality changes in Europe. An impact assessment of landuse change on soil quality in Europe. Special Issue of Ecological Indicators Impact Assessment of Land Use Changes in Europe, Ecological Indicators, Vol. 11, Issue 1, 4–15. p. DOI 10.1016/j.ecolind.2009.08.002
Podmaniczky L. , Vogt J., Schneller K. , Ángyán J. (2007): Land suitability assessment methods for developing a European Land Information System for Agriculture and Environment (ELISA) (In: Mander Ü. – Wiggering H. – Helming K. (ed.): Multifunctional Land Use – Meeting Future Demands for Landscape Goods and Services, Springer-Verlag Berlin-Heidelberg-New York, 421 p.), 225-250. p. DOI 10.1007/978-3-540-36763-5_14
I, Higuero ; Y R, Hoogeveen ; J E, Petersen ; K, Balazs. High Nature Value Farmland. Character, trends and policy challenges. Luxembourg, Luxemburg : Office for Official Publications of the European Communities (2004) , 32 p. ISBN: 9291676640
Ángyán, J., Balázs, K., Podmaniczky, L., Skutai, J. (2003). Integrated Land Use Zonation System in Hungary as a Territorial Base for Agri-Environmental Programs. In: Helming, K., Wiggering, H. (eds) Sustainable Development of Multifunctional Landscapes. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-05240-2_9
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