Policy, collaboration, and extension: creating a global framework for plant-parasitic nematode management

The global burden of plant‑parasitic nematodes (PPN) will not be reduced by technological advances alone. Impact depends on policy design, collaboration across institutions, and durable extension (agricultural outreach and technology transfer programs) systems that translate research into practice. This proceeding integrates five perspectives. A Horizon Europe project (NEM‑EMERGE) demonstrates how coordinated work packages (i.e., closely integrated and jointly managed components of the project) that span spatial modelling, heat‑stable resistance, virulence diagnostics, and soil health can be coupled to socio‑economic engagement to drive adoption. A North American public–private partnership against soybean cyst nematode shows how a single, consistent message with behavioural tools and outcome tracking can change practices. An industry view explains how incentive systems (e.g. reduced‑risk fast track) could speed the development of sustainable solutions and outlines legal challenges with respect to the development of integrated solutions. A Brazilian perspective argues that biologicals or chemicals will not perform without attention to soil health and that public–private collaboration can fill gaps in extension. A policy analysis calls for a revival of extension through regional hubs of excellence that work with global hubs and with expanded digital platforms. Recommendations are to fund multi‑actor platforms, invest in diagnostics and adoption science (the study of factors influencing adoption of technologies and management practices), harmonized regulatory frameworks, and scale digital extension in global hotspots.