The EU’s new Horizon 2020 work programme, which was unveiled on 27 October (see EUROPE 11893), has a budget of €1 billion for innovation in agriculture, food and rural development specifically to help the sector become more sustainable, to encourage more young people into farming and to support the development of rural areas.
Since 2014, agricultural research and innovation programmes have been conducted on a so-called multi-actor approach within European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs) that allow scientists, farmers and other stakeholders to come together to find solutions best suited to conditions. Over 60 multi-actor projects, including 17 thematic networks, are already up and running, the European Commission says. The new Horizon 2020 work programme will double investment in these projects, taking the total sum distributed over the course of the seven years of the Commission’s research programme to around €1 billion.
Soil, international cooperation and information and communication technology
In closer detail, €753 million will be devoted to research on more sustainable use of resources and producing better quality food: €75 million will be invested in soil management, including the creation of a €40 million European joint programme on agricultural soil management; €45 million will go to environment- and climate-smart farming systems; €63 million will be invested in breeding and genetic resources; and €112 million will support international cooperation activities, especially with China and Africa. Additionally, €263 million will go to rural development, with the break-down as follows: €100 million to information and communication technology (ICT), €100 million to value chains, with a focus on the circular economy, and €60 million to generational renewal.