• H2020
• Societal Challenges
• Bioeconomy

Leading EU agriculture and food industries have repeated their call for innovation to be considered at every stage of the legislative process.

The 7th European Innovation Summit confirmed support for the ‘innovation principle’ to contribute to a sensible and science-based approach to policy making that can guarantee the long term competitiveness of the EU agricultural sector.

“Policy makers cannot ignore the EU agrifood sector’s need to stay at the forefront of technological innovation, in order to provide solutions for the agricultural and food security challenges ahead. Regulatory measures should encourage investment. We need to bring new products to market, and ensure that there are fewer regulatory hurdles to doing so. We must strive to remain competitive on the global market,” said Alexander Döring, secretary-general of the European Feed Manufacturers’ Federation (FEFAC), speaking in his capacity as chair of the Agri-Food Chain Coalition (AFCC).

During the debate on ‘Smart Regulation & Innovation for EU Agriculture’, the AFCC and the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU), which receives support from Horizon 2020, demonstrated the value of innovation to help improve food security and drive resource efficient and sustainable agriculture, as well as transition towards a biobased economy.

Industry representatives at the same time pointed to heavy administrative burdens, costly compliance procedures, and dysfunctional regulatory systems as the main disincentives for investment in the EU, and therefore obstacles to EU innovation.

“As the global population rises, satisfying the demand for healthy food and optimal nutrition is one of the biggest challenges facing the world. Technological innovation is a vital part of the solution. Agricultural technologies, in particular, have the potential to make farming more productive and more sustainable,” said MEP Anthea McIntyre, who hosted the event.

Philippe Mengal, executive director of the BBI JU, added: “Agricultural and food industry side streams are commonly used as feed or fertilisers. The BBI JU aims to explore significant opportunities for further valorisation of such resources into new applications and markets through open calls for proposals.”

He continued: “The BBI JU will also contribute tools for the realisation of a sustainable circular economy and ensure that biomass is mobilised in a sustainable way to avoid land conflicts with food production.”