Research & Innovation for Sustainable Food and Farmingtporganics.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/TPOrganics_FP9_position... · TP Organics – European Technology Platform for Organic

TP Organics – European Technology Platform for Organic Food and Farming c/o IFOAM EU – 124, Rue du Commerce – 1000 Brussels - Phone: +32 2 4162761 – Fax: +32 2 7357381

www.tporganics.eu – [email protected] 1

16 November 2017

Research & Innovation for Sustainable Food and Farming

Position paper on the 9th EU Research & Innovation Framework Programme (FP9)

Table of contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1

Organics and agroecology as a response to the crisis of the food system ........................................ 2

EU Research & Innovation Policy for Food and Farming ................................................................. 3

Transforming food and farming is key to achieving Sustainable Development Goals ...................... 3

Mission for the transformation of European food and farming systems ......................................... 4

Ring-fenced research & innovation budget for the organic sector .................................................. 8

An inclusive Framework Programme addressing social and environmental challenges ................... 9

Introduction

After the publication of the last Work Programme of Horizon 2020 in October 2017, the European Commission will now fully concentrate on the preparation of the next (9th) Framework Programme for Research & Innovation that will start in 2021. In early 2018, the European Commission will consult all stakeholders on their views. Taking account of the views of stakeholders, the Commission will present its proposals for the next EU Research & Innovation Framework by summer 2018. The position of TP Organics regarding the 9th Framework Programme is described in this paper. TP Organics is the European Technology Platform (ETP) for organic food and farming. Its mission is to strengthen research & innovation for organics and other agroecological approaches that contribute to sustainable food and farming systems. TP Organics unites companies, farmers, consumers, civil society organisations and researchers active in the organic value chain from production, input & supply to food processing, marketing and consumption in Europe.

TP Organics demands that the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) be the basis for the 9th Framework Programme’s architecture. The SDGs constitute a global vision for people, for the planet and for long-term prosperity. They chart a plan leading to more inclusive, dynamic and sustainable pathways of development. While all of the 17 SDGs have a link with agriculture in one way or another, four of them are directly linked to food and farming, making their transformation key to achieving the SDGs. To exploit the potential of organics and agroecology to transform food and farming and achieve the SDGs, the 9th Framework Programme should install:

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• A mission for the transformation of European food and farming systems towards more sustainability with at least 50% of EU agricultural land managed according to organic and agroecological principles by 2030

• A ring-fenced budget of 10% of the total budget for agricultural research for the organic sector

This paper describes what research & innovation should be carried out under the mission and the ring-fenced budget. In addition, the paper contains recommendations on the overall principles that should guide the 9th Framework Programme in the last section of the paper. These are not strictly related to food and farming research. Their starting point is the idea that public money should be invested in research & innovation for the public good.

Organics and agroecology as a response to the crisis of the food system

Agriculture and changing food consumption patterns related to income increase and urbanisation have contributed much to the crossing of several of our planet’s limits1. For example, the increase in fertiliser use and the local concentration of intensive livestock production in modern agriculture has caused us to exceed sustainable limits of human interference with the global nitrogen cycle. Agriculture also contributes to exceeding the planet’s carrying capacity to cope with interferences in the climate system, the phosphorous cycle, global and local freshwater cycles and land use. On the other hand, farming is heavily impacted by climate change and dramatic biodiversity losses, thus threatening food security and farmer livelihoods. In addition, food and feed imports of European countries are associated with great environmental and social problems in the countries of origin. Despite the intensity and scale of impact of agriculture around the world, almost one billion people still suffer from inadequate diets and insecure food supplies. In contrast, the increasing consumption of highly processed foods, refined sugars, fats, oils and meat has led to 2.1 billion people becoming overweight or obese2. The need for transforming not only our farming systems but also whole food value chains and consumption patterns is thus very strong and urgent3.

The organic food and farming system is built on the principles of health, fairness, ecology, and care which make it a perfect model for sustainable food and farming systems. Developed and promoted by social movements around the globe, organic agriculture is now also well defined in law. Its production rules, marketing requirements, and control procedures have legal status in many countries around the world as well as in the EU.

The principles of organic food and farming are closely connected to those of agroecology. Agroecology “is based on applying ecological concepts and principles to optimise interactions between plants, animals, humans and the environment while taking into consideration the social aspects that need to be addressed for a sustainable and fair food system”4. Organic agriculture is largely rooted in agroecological approaches, both in principles and actual practices, and most of the organic farmers respond to an ecological mission as part of their social undertaking. Agroecology and organic farming should be considered in their synergies and co-evolution.5 Organic and agroecological farmers are 1 Rockström J, Steffen W, Noone K et al. (2009). A safe operating space for humanity. Nature 461, 472-475 2 Tilman, D. & Clark, M. 2014. Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health. Nature, 515: 518–522. 3 IPES 2016. From Uniformity to Diversity: A paradigm shift from industrial agriculture to diversified agroecological systems 4 http://www.fao.org/agroecology/overview/en/ 5 Recommendations of the “Regional Symposium on Agroecology for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems in Europe and Central Asia”, 23-25 November 2016, Budapest. The symposium was co-organized by FAO and Hungary and was financed with the support of the French Government.





working to move and improve agricultural systems on the road towards greater sustainability. Both organics and agroecology promote closed or circular systems to minimize external inputs, use multiple and diverse crops/varieties and/or animals/breeds, and rely on biological processes for building soil fertility and controlling pests and diseases.6 Both cooperate or at least communicate more directly with their customers and engage with social movements. Both are open to learning and are ambitious to continuously improve and develop their practices towards their principles. Finally, organic agriculture and agroecology both challenge dominant food and farming systems and propose ways to better engage farmers and citizens.

EU Research & Innovation Policy for Food and Farming

In the last two years, the European Commission did several exercises to define a framework or strategy for future research & innovation in agriculture, rural economy and food. In 2016, DG Agriculture and Rural Development published its “Strategic Approach to EU agricultural research & innovation”. Later that year, DG Research & Innovation launched the FOOD 2030 initiative, which is a policy framework to better structure, connect and scale-up research & innovation for Food and Nutrition Security in Europe. Both initiatives underline the importance of a systems approach that takes account of the dynamic interactions of the different components of production systems and value chains at various temporal and spatial scales.7 The aim of FOOD 2030 is to underpin the transformation of food systems in Europe to make them 'future-proof'. In the context of FOOD 2030, food systems include entire 'value chains': from inputs to primary production (agriculture, aquaculture & fisheries), harvesting, storage, processing, packaging, distribution, waste streams to consumer intake and back.

In July 2017, the European Commission published the report of a High-Level Group, chaired by Pascal Lamy, on a vision for future EU research & innovation. The report outlines strategic recommendations to maximise the impact of future EU research & innovation programmes. One of the main recommendations of the High-Level Group for the European Commission is to define research & innovation missions that address global challenges and mobilise researchers, innovators and other stakeholders to realise them. According to the High-Level Group, the missions should be central to the pillar that is now the Societal Challenges pillar in Horizon 2020. The post-2020 EU Research & Innovation programme should thus translate global societal challenges (social, economic, environmental) into a limited number of large-scale missions. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) should serve as a global reference framework for defining Europe’s R&I missions.8

Transforming food and farming is key to achieving Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to tackle global challenges by 2030. The 17 SDGs aim at ending poverty and hunger, while restoring and sustainably managing natural resources. They are expected to guide actions of governments, international agencies, civil society and other institutions, both in developed and developing nations. Four of the SDGs are directly related to food and farming, namely:

6 Bellon S, Lamine C, Ollivier G, de Abreu LS (2011) The relationships between organic farming and agroecology. 3rd ISOFAR Scientific Conference - 17th IFOAM Organic World Congress, Gyeonggi Paldang, 2011. Organic is Life. Knowledge for tomorrow: proceedings. ISOFAR, Bonn, p. 235-238. 7 European Commission (2016) A strategic approach to EU agricultural research & innovation – final paper. Brussels, 40 pp. 8 European Commission (2017) LAB – FAB – APP — Investing in the European future we want. Brussels, 36 pp.





• Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

• Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

• Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

• Goal 15: Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss

Yet, each of the 17 SDGs has a link with food and farming9. It is not wrong to state that transforming food and agriculture is key to achieving the complete set of SDGs. TP Organics believes that the organic principles and agroecology should be taken as a basis for this endeavour.

To exploit the potential of organics and agroecology to transform food and farming and achieve the SDGs, the EU should set up a mission to transform European food and farming systems towards sustainability by 2030 with at least 50 % agroecological and organic farming and highly increased eco-efficiency on the other 50%. In addition, a special, ring-fenced budget needs to be dedicated to support the implementation of organic standards and find solutions to specific challenges of farmers and companies operating in the organic certified market.

Mission for the transformation of European food and farming systems towards sustainability by 2030 with at least 50 % agroecological and organic agriculture

The Mission will build on organic and agroecological principles as a source of inspiration for interdisciplinary research, for innovation on farms and in the food industry and for building strong relations with farmers, consumers and citizens. Based on the narratives of efficiency, consistency and sufficiency, the Mission will fund research to re-shape and better integrate land, food and farming policies from the local to the global level, design diversified farming systems based on eco-functional intensification, set up transparent and fair supply chains, and promote healthy and sustainable diets. The aim of the Mission is that 50% of EU agricultural land be managed according to organic and agroecological principles by 2030.

Ring-fenced research & innovation budget for the organic sector

The production and marketing of organic food is regulated at EU level by the Council Regulation EC/834/2007. The EU regulation aims to safeguard consumer confidence in organic products and ensure fair competition between operators in the different Member States. Given the fact that there is a distinct market for organic food which must comply with specific EU regulations, and in view of the public goods delivered by organic farming, the sector has specific research & innovation needs which are not shared by other parts of the food and farming sector. A ring-fenced budget of 10% of the total budget for agricultural research should therefore be dedicated to the organic sector. This percentage corresponds to the short-term potential of the organic sector in terms of agricultural land within the next 5-10 years.

Mission for the transformation of European food and farming systems

The aim of the Mission is to build a holistic approach to sustainability, inspired by organic and agroecological principles which can be adopted by different farming systems. The Mission will produce innovations which are in line with ecological and societal goals, increase the diversity of food systems and life-styles, protect the environment and support public health. The Mission should be based on

9 FAO (2016). Food and Agriculture. Key to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Rome, 32 pp.





the understanding that sustainable food and farming systems are characterized by a proper integration of three different narratives:

• Efficiency narrative: the efficient use of natural and other resources (e.g. energy) is the dominant characteristic of this narrative. It also aims at producing more food with less waste, less environmental pollution and less land degradation (eco-efficiency). While the efficiency strategy dominates the research agenda of governments and most researchers, the implementation in practice is far behind state-of-the-art knowledge.

• The consistency narrative: food and farming systems need to be consistent with or adapted to their specific territorial, cultural and socio-economic context to be sustainable. Production and consumption need to be compatible with the carrying capacity of the ecosystems affected by it. Another essential element of consistency is the integration of production cycles and natural flows of materials according to the cradle-to-cradle principle. Integration of production cycles reduces waste and emissions of pollutants into the environment. Examples include the integration of plant and animal production to close nutrient cycles, or efforts to reduce food loss and food waste.

• Sufficiency narrative: food production and consumption should be based on the sufficiency narrative to avoid that reductions in environmental impact are nullified by increases in consumption (rebound effect). At farm level, synthetic nitrogen should for instance be replaced by legumes in the crop rotation, which will produce nitrogen and local proteins, while delivering environmental benefits. At consumption level, more efforts are needed to avoid over-purchase of food to reduce food waste, as well to reduce consumption of animal products.

The Mission will achieve the transformation to sustainable food and farming by a flexible and dynamic combination of the three narratives. It will promote a closer exchange of knowledge and innovation between organic, agroecological, integrated and conventional systems. It will eventually foster far more diversity in Europe’s food and farming systems striving to achieve the UN SDGs.

The Mission should be built on three research & innovation pillars:

• Pillar 1: Redesign of food and agricultural policies from local to EU level

• Pillar 2: Diversified farming systems based on ecological approaches

• Pillar 3: Sustainable food systems for sustainable consumption

The aim of the Mission is that 50% of EU agricultural land be managed according to organic and agroecological principles by 2030, which corresponds to the deadline of the SDGs. This does not necessarily mean all this land is certified organic. Rather the Mission will promote a closer exchange of knowledge and innovation between organic and conventional systems to foster a genuine transition of the whole food and farming sector.

Pillar 1: Redesign of food and agricultural policies from local to EU level

The goal of this pillar is to design new, more coherent and better targeted policy mixes.

Work in this pillar should start with a profound revision of the foundations of the European Common agricultural policy (CAP). The CAP was designed in the post-war period to set up a European ‘agricultural welfare system’, based on three principles: single market, food abundance, support to farmers’ incomes and maintain vitality of rural areas. Current challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, rural depopulation, hunger and obesity ask for a profound revision of these principles. Research plays a key role in analysing and proposing new frameworks and narratives.





Food and farming systems in Europe are also driven by other policies than the CAP. There is now growing awareness of the multidimensionality of food production and consumption. Farming, food processing, consumption and nutrition are all interrelated and are affected by a mix of agricultural, economic, social, health, spatial and environmental policies. This is also recognised by the FOOD 2030 initiative and DG AGRI’s “Strategic Approach to EU agricultural research & innovation”. It is fundamental to identify the critical policies that promote or prevent transition towards sustainability and to determine the scale they work at.

New policies should be built on the principle that sustainability requires not only much better standards but, in the first place, evolutionary mechanisms that allow food and farming system to evolve in the direction of sustainability and to adapt to new opportunities and threats. Policy mixes integrating the efficiency, consistency and efficiency narratives will have to combine ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ rules. ‘Hard’ rules should enforce the implementation of practices of which the effectiveness has been proven through experiments that are facilitated by ‘soft’ rules.

New policy mixes should also address the market failure which makes that the external costs associated with the negative environmental and health impacts of mainstream food production are not accounted for in market prices. Therefore, there is a need to better assess the synergies or trade-offs between agricultural practices, public goods and ecosystem services – especially considering practices that deliver multiple services. At the same time, methods should be developed for rewarding public goods provided by farmers, as well as penalising practices with negative impact on the environment and public health.

Stringent monitoring systems are needed to measure to what extent policy generates progress towards sustainability. Current monitoring systems focus too much on productivity indicators such as yield/ha or productivity/worker. New methods are needed to measure what matters on the long-term and for society as a whole, such as total outputs/ha, livelihood resilience & social equity and ecosystem services delivered10. These monitoring systems should be based on a common EU framework, yet differentiated according to national or regional context. They could for instance be built on the Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture (SAFA) method developed by the FAO11. The sustainability assessment should be a joint effort of administrations, operators in the value chain, and citizens. The outcomes of the assessments should serve the revision of policies at regular times to ensure policies deliver what they promise and stay focused on sustainability, environmental protection and public health.

Pillar 2: Diversified farming systems based on ecological approaches

The goal of this pillar is to design diversified, productive farming systems that are robust and resilient so they can better tackle the challenges of climate change, resource depletion, decline in biodiversity and uncertainty in markets.

These new farming systems should be based on the broad basis of agroecological and organic principles and aim at:

• Eco-functional intensification12 of the different components of farming systems, combining enhanced soil quality, diverse and healthy crops and livestock with higher economic revenue

10 IPES-Food 2016. From uniformity to diversity: a paradigm shift from industrial agriculture to diversified agroecological systems. International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems. 11 http://www.fao.org/nr/sustainability/sustainability-assessments-safa/en/ 12 Eco-functional intensification means improving yields and productivity through a more efficient use of natural resources and processes, improved nutrient recycling techniques, and innovative agroecological





• More autonomy of farmers in terms of animal feed, nutrient supply, genetic resources, plant and animal health and energy resources.

In the report “From Uniformity to Diversity”, IPES Food outlined the key characteristics of such diversified farming systems13:

• Temporal diversification (e.g. crop rotation) and spatial diversification (e.g. intercropping) at various scales

• Use of a wide range of species and more diverse, locally-adapted varieties/breeds

• Integration of production systems (e.g. mixed crop-livestock systems, agroforestry)

• More labour-intensive systems

• Maximisation of multiple outputs

• Low use of external inputs, closed nutrient cycles and circular economy approaches

Designing such diversified farming systems requires research & innovation at several scales, from field and herd to farm and landscape. At the landscape level, coordinated efforts are needed in terms of spatial planning and design of crop rotations. Better knowledge of the many interactions at landscape level is needed, for example the complex relationships between crop rotation and landscape infrastructures, and biodiversity and plant or animal health.

The overall improvement of farming systems depends on the ability to measure their multiple performances (from food production to ecosystem services). Specific methods, tools and indicators must be developed to enable their design.

Because the design of these new systems is complex, the collaboration of all actors is required. A multi-actor approach is needed, involving scientists, advisers, farmers and farmer organisations, enterprises, consumers and others. A genuine exchange of knowledge between those different actors must be organised to develop collaborative intelligence and systemic innovations.

Pillar 3: Sustainable food systems for sustainable consumption

The goal of this pillar is to embed sustainable farming systems in sustainable food systems, which requires action at the level of food processing, retail and consumption.

Work in this pillar should start with identifying the main drivers that can support the transition towards sustainable food systems. This can be done by investigating a range of different food systems that have undergone a transformation process. Research is needed to improve our understanding of the dynamics and trajectories of change and to design possible scenarios for sustainable food systems.

We need to better understand consumer behaviour and citizen engagement in relation to sustainable consumption and production. In this respect, the role of education should be studied. Common learning in farmer groups has proven to be very efficient to develop strategies for sustainable development and similar models are needed at citizen-level to increase food literacy. Attention should be paid to younger generations that are increasingly disconnected from food production. In many countries, the younger generations have grown up in a food system with decreasing numbers of farmers and rapid urbanisation. Also, the potential of modern communication tools, the Internet-of-Things and other interactive IT-based systems to re-connect people to food and farming should be

methods for enhancing the diversity and health of soils, crops and livestock. See: TP Organics (2014) Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda for Organic Food and Farming. p.11 13 IPES-Food 2016. From uniformity to diversity: a paradigm shift from industrial agriculture to diversified agroecological systems. International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems.





examined. Other relevant areas for research include strengthening rural-urban linkages, the role of urban farming, and public procurement.

To increase resilience against market volatility, farmers need to diversify marketing channels and build direct relations with consumers. Over the past decade, Europe has seen more initiatives to create closer proximity between food producers and consumers. These are often known as short-supply chains. Such initiatives have the potential to incentivise and remunerate organic and agroecological practices, but it is crucial to better understand under which conditions they thrive and how good initiatives can be multiplied in other local contexts.

Processing food ingredients to produce healthy foods with no synthetic additives, less fat, sugar and salt while keeping the original nutritional value still requires much technological development. Dominant processing techniques often break down and recompose food which results in a loss of nutritional value. At the same time, many industries and businesses are seeking to invest in minimal and mild processing because of consumer demand. This area of innovation involves food processing technologies which can be implemented at all levels and sizes of food processing businesses, including those working in rural environments or even on-farm.

The current globalised food system systematically turns huge amounts of resources into waste. Innovation is needed to avoid food loss and food waste, as well as to better recycle inevitable waste, e.g. use processing residuals as animal feed and compost. At the level of society, a new, better balance is needed between assuring food safety and preventing food waste. Reducing food waste and food loss is a shared responsibility of all actors in the food system. Processing companies and retailers need to speed up investments in circular economy technologies, while consumers need to be sensitised to avoid over-purchase of food. In terms of the latter, it is important to research attitudes, perceptions and practices.

Ring-fenced research & innovation budget for the organic sector

The production and marketing of organic food is regulated at EU level by Council Regulation EC/834/2007. The production of organic food is on the rise, and the demand for agricultural organic products is increasing even faster. The growing demand for organic food is an opportunity for the sector and represents a strong driving force for technical, managerial, and institutional changes in the sector. The organic sector faces the challenge of satisfying increasing demand without jeopardizing the sustainability of the sector while delivering the public goods that standards and principles promise. More research & innovation are key to address this challenge.

Research & innovation for organic agriculture remains insufficient. Increasing productivity and ensuring stable yields remains one of the main challenges of organic farming. Research is needed to increase systems resilience and better use the genetic diversity of plants and animals. Reducing the use of external inputs to the minimum is one of the key principles of organic farming. Current use of inputs, also of those that traditionally always have been used, needs to be re-evaluated and alternatives need to be put in place where needed. Exploring the potential of novel techniques and machinery, while maintaining the precautionary principle, is also an important and challenging task. These general questions can be broken down in many research & innovation actions, some of them requiring a generic approach for all European countries, some of them requiring specific regional research programmes. During the last ten years, the ERA-NET Core Organic has improved the cooperation between European countries and addressed few of the deficits successfully. This endeavour should be intensified to mainstream organic agriculture.

Research should not only focus on improving organic food production, but also on how the organic food sector could be better organised. There is also a need to strengthen innovation support and





advisory services for organic farming. The organic sector needs specific advisory services, which need to cover a large range of technical solutions. This also requires building closer relationships between advisers and farmers through direct contacts, farm visits, and on-farm experiments.

Finally, investing in research for the organic sector would also help to maintain a strong agronomic and ecological knowledge basis of soils, crops, animals and landscapes as technological development in food and farming is accelerating.

A ring-fenced budget of 10% of the total budget for agricultural research should therefore be dedicated to the organic sector. This percentage corresponds to the short-term potential the organic sector can reach in terms of agricultural land within the next 5-10 years. In 2015, 6.2% of EU agricultural land was organic, while the share of organic in Austria, Sweden and Estonia was already 21.3%, 16.9% and 16.3% respectively.14

An inclusive Framework Programme addressing social and environmental challenges

The 9th Framework Programme for Research & Innovation will be funded by public money. Thus, it should be directed towards achieving the greatest possible impact for society and public goods. Located under heading 1a (Smart and Inclusive Growth: Competitiveness for Growth and Jobs) of the 2014-2020 EU budget, Horizon 2020’s primary objective is geared towards increasing the competitiveness of European industry. The belief that boosting the industry’s competitiveness will create jobs and “trickle down” to the benefit of all people is misleading. Private profitability is not a sufficient measure of public return15. A sustainable planet needs alternatives to the high-growth, high-profit models of economic development. It is reasonable for EU citizens and taxpayers to expect a fair public return on public EU research investments, that goes beyond the creation of jobs, competitiveness and growth. The 9th Framework Programme should invest in those areas which will benefit all sections of society. Research that will make Europe (and the world) an environmentally sustainable, peaceful and healthy place to live must now be prioritised. Participatory approaches and social innovations that represent collective solutions should be boosted, involving public and private actors in the research for the public good. Together with a broad coalition of civil society organisations, TP Organics demands that the three dimensions (social, economic, environmental) of the SDGs become the basis for the 9th Framework Programme’s architecture. EU research & innovation policies should ensure they work for people, peace and the planet, leaving no one behind. Two thirds of the next EU research budget should directly address social and environmental challenges (up from the 39% dedicated to Societal Challenges Pillar in Horizon 2020). 16

Data and scientific knowledge produced by projects funded by public money should be openly shared. The European Commission has enthusiastically embraced open science and open innovation17. Although open access to scientific publications is mandatory under Horizon 2020, and open access to research data is being promoted, implementation falls behind expectations. Only 61-68% of scientific

14 http://www.ifoam-eu.org/en/organic-europe 15 Joseph Stiglitz, Inequality and Economic Growth, December 2015, https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/jstiglitz/sites/jstiglitz/files/Inequality%20and%20Economic%20Growth.pdf 16 EU Research Policy. For Peace, People and Planet. A Civil Society Perspective on the next EU Research Framework Programme (FP9). (2017). http://tporganics.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EU-Research-Policies-for-Peace-People-and-Planet.pdf 17 European Commission, Open innovation, open science, open to the world – a vision for Europe, 30 May 2016, https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/open-innovation-open-science-open-world-vision-europe





publications produced by means of Horizon 2020 funding are open access18, while beneficiaries of Horizon 2020 can easily opt-out of sharing research data at any stage. A stronger signal is required from the European Commission to enforce open access in the 9th Framework Programme.

The focus on public goods also means that grants are the most suitable form of financing. Public research should not be funded through loans or risk financing, because of the long timespan between research and exploitation, and the fact that exploitation does usually not result in economic benefits for the researcher. Research & innovation projects do require sustained financial commitments to ensure they produce conclusive results. Even following the close of a successful project, further financial support and follow-up promotion is often necessary to help disseminate new ideas and change practices.

Strengthening the multi-actor approach

In the framework of EIP-AGRI, Horizon 2020 put a great emphasis on the importance of the multi-actor approach, to ensure “more demand-driven innovation through the genuine and sufficient involvement of various actors (end-users such as farmers/farmers’ groups, […] advisors, enterprises, etc.)” in research & innovation projects.19 Bringing together experts with different backgrounds (advisory services, farmers, SMEs, social enterprises), not just purely researchers, results in much wider impact. To make this happen, researchers should engage in participatory research and ensure they use appropriate and understandable language for their communications and the publication of their results.

The multi-actor approach in Horizon 2020 has achieved some first successes. In the next framework programme, the multi-actor approach should be extended to include other actors in the agri-food chain, in particular food SMEs. Although 99% of Europe's food and drink sector is made up of small and medium-sized enterprises, their participation in research & innovation projects remains low. The benefits of participating in EU projects should be better communicated to them, while funding rules should facilitate their contribution rather than creating additional bureaucracy.

Advisers play an active role as bridging institutions for building capacity, raising awareness, and enhancing actors’ involvement. Their position as independent “innovation brokers” should be strengthened and additional funds should be devoted to on-farm or on-company experiments and extension activities. It is also important to include citizens in innovation partnerships alongside practitioners and scientists. This will help to renew public trust in Europe’s agri-food sector. Acceptance of new methods and innovations by consumers is crucial.

More flexibility in funding rules is needed that allows practitioners to be remunerated for the value they add and the knowledge they develop without them being formal partner in projects. This will allow projects to reach a real multi-actor approach. Whilst the multi-actor projects funded by Horizon 2020 demand genuine involvement of various actors and practitioners, the strict rules regarding subcontracting and third-party involvement make it complicated to achieve this. Multi-actor projects which depend on broad participation should include an extended preparation phase because, compared to the purely academic research, such projects need time to establish a solid basis of communication and trust. This aspect of the work must be recognised and budgeted for accordingly.

18 Daniel Spichtinger, Senior Policy Officer, European Commission (2017), Presentation on “Open Access in a European policy context”. http://openscience.ens.fr/MARIE_FARGE/2017_CONFERENCES_ON_OPEN_ACCESS/2017_05_03_EUROPEAN_PARLIAMENT_BRUSSELS/2017_05_03_EP_Slides_Daniel_Spichtinger.pdf 19 http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/ wp/2014_2015/main/h2020-wp1415-food_en.pdf





This can for example be done by providing seed money to projects that have passed a first application stage and will give multi-actor consortia financial breathing space to prepare a full project proposal.

Increasing participation

Despite efforts to widen participation in Horizon 2020, projects are still dominated by bigger institutes with a long history in collaborative EU projects, leaving little room for new players. This trend is being strengthened by the focus on large and broad calls, which makes it difficult for small organisations with specific expertise to join, let alone to coordinate projects. The expected impacts of the calls should be defined in a more detailed and focused way. The EU should ensure the right balance between big and small-scale collaborative project calls, i.e. more calls with less than 5 million euro. Funding rules and administrative requirements of these small-scale projects should be adapted to reduce bureaucratic workload for smaller organisations.

In addition, organisations from Central/Eastern Europe (CEE) countries remain underrepresented in the EU’s framework programme, which prevents the region to strengthen its scientific excellence. This is a threat for the sustainable growth of the whole EU. The European Union should develop in a cohesive way. This can be reached only if all regions are presented at an equal, balanced level. Therefore, the efforts to improve and “widen participation” - one of the horizontal issues complementing the strategic orientations of the 2018-2020 Work Programme of Horizon 2020- need to be strengthened. Cooperative actions are needed to reach synergies and improve the performance of CEE countries.20

A broad understanding of innovation

In developing more sustainable systems, there is a need to accept that there is no “one size fits all” research model. What works well in one context, cannot just be scaled-up and implemented elsewhere in the same way. Rather we need solutions adapted to specific circumstances. Research needs to consider the specific context in which the work is done by involving the relevant actors to reach “tailor-made” solutions.

It is important for the 9th Framework Programme to consider all kinds of innovation, some of which are often overlooked. Innovation describes a much wider range of interventions than simply the use of new technologies. Among these, the following areas of innovation are particularly significant:

• Technology innovation: generated mainly through lab-based science and technology, and then transferred to users such as farmers, advisory services, and policy makers

• Know-how innovation: knowledge around methods and practices, often the result of participatory research, spanning the normal boundary between knowledge producers and users; it makes “tacit knowledge” explicit and often combines new and traditional knowledge

• Organisational innovation: changes in management and cooperation among actors (e.g. researchers, extension services, farmers, retailers, consumers, civil society)

• Social innovation: change of behaviour of groups in wider society, establishing new relationships and allowing people and societies to better cope with complexity.

20 BIOEAST. (2016). BIOEAST – Central Eastern European Initiative for Knowledge-based Agriculture, Aquaculture and Forestry in Bioeconomy. Vision paper. 4 pp.





Acknowledgement

This position paper would not have existed without the contribution and support of following people:

Editors: Bram Moeskops, Urs Niggli

Contributors: Sophia Bartuschat, Gianluca Brunori, Miguel de Porras Acuña, Kata Gócs, Johannes Kahl, Vianney Le Pichon, Carola Strassner, Sébastrien Treyer, Mette Vaarst

TP Organics Steering Committee: Marian Blom, Jiří Lehejček, Urs Niggli, Marco Schlüter, Karin Ulmer



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