Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) of the European Commission issued a policy paper focused on research and innovation. The document is the result of efforts of a strategic approach to agricultural research and innovation in the EU and takes into account inputs from stakeholders from a number of seminars and conferences conducted in the period between June 2015 and January 2016. The strategy paper will serve a basis for discussion in the preparation of the H2020 work program 2018 – 2020 and the basis for discussions related to research and innovation in the EU in the long-term period.
The strategy focuses on land-based primary production from agriculture and forestry and extends to food and non-food chains and the rural economy.
Five priority areas for research and innovation have been identified, and clustered under two thematic headings.
Creating value from land - sustainable primary production:
• Priority 1: Resource management (notably soil, water and biodiversity)
• Priority 2: Healthier plants and animals
• Priority 3: Integrated ecological approaches from farm to landscape level.
Enhancing rural innovation - modernising rural areas and policies:
• Priority 4: New openings for rural growth
• Priority 5: Enhancing the human and social capital in rural areas.
