In preparation for the European Commission’s €100 billion Horizon Europe research and innovation framework programme, set to be launched in 2021, European institutes have come together with the ambitious target of moving towards chemical pesticide-free agriculture in Europe.
The institutes, including ENDURE partner organisations INRA (France’s National Institute for Agricultural Research) and Germany’s JKI (Julius Kühn Institute, German Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants), alongside the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), have produced a scoping paper to help provide “a common scientific perspective to the pivotal question of pesticide use in agriculture”.
INRA reports that this document is designed to be the cornerstone for future discussions on the topic and to get the ball rolling it recently staged a workshop on the topic ‘Towards Chemical Pesticide-Free Agriculture’ at its Paris headquarters.
This attracted 50 participants, says the INRA website, with the aims of:
INRA reports: “Participants first acknowledged that the ambition of this initiative was very bold and highly challenging, but at the same time equally important. All agreed that such a transversal scientific question could only be answered through a holistic response brought by a concerted European effort.”
INRA reports that following working group discussions participants identified forefront science to focus on and the associated scientific issues to be addressed with a transdisciplinary approach, including:
INRA notes that there was a consensus on the tasks required to provide actionable results in a clear timeframe. These include setting boundaries so research efforts remain sufficiently focused, establishing a roadmap for change clarifying the ambition and combining the timeline with short-, medium- and long-term objectives and involving the relevant additional actors, stakeholders and experts to achieve these objectives.
Over the next six months, sub-groups will produce scoping papers on four selected topics (biocontrol, insects and microbiomes; genetics and new species for new services; technology, modelling and agro-equipment; agri-food system transition and societal adoption) and an extra paper on economy and trade. Additionally, a representative of each Member State will produce a two-page summary of the relevant ongoing research and their country, including the societal context surrounding the topic. A second workshop will be organised next spring in Germany.
For more information:
Last update: 24/05/2023 - ENDURE © 2009 - Contact ENDURE - Disclaimer