SCAR CONFERENCE 2022 “Humans in transitions: towards agroecological approaches and sustainable food systems” 14 June 2022, Paris, France

The SCAR Conference 2022 was hosted and organised with the support of the French Presidency of the EU, in Paris, on 14 June 2022. It was built as an interactive SCAR-level event, structured around 4 parallel thematic workshops.

Paths for transitions are multiple and research has a major role to play in finding those. The way the SCAR Working Groups are addressing transitions is evolving from a silo-based to a more cross-cutting approach in which issues are tackled with a more holistic approach, allowing for closer cross-fertilisation among the various groups. The overarching goal of the conference was to engage and further motivate the SCAR Working Groups to tackle cross-cutting issues related to transitions.

The conference aimed to foster discussion between SCAR members regarding:

• Necessary changes that the agri-food sector needs to undergo in the current crisis context (COVID, climate change, war…) but also opportunities (e.g. animal well-being, promoting more resilient farming and food systems);
• How to manage the transitions (agroecosystems, food systems, knowledge systems…) simultaneously and put the human being at the centre.

Its specific objectives were:

• Sharing experiences to demonstrate that tools proposed to farmers and other stakeholders can help to prepare the necessary changes if the tools are appropriated;
• Building up on the paths for transitions identified in the 5th SCAR Foresight, identify key contributions from agricultural research.
• Defining focus points for R&I within different SCAR groups, steer their upcoming mandates.

The expected outcomes from this conference were the following:

• General agreement of the SCAR members on the research topics that can support the transitions;
• Identification of pragmatic and concrete actions for the SCAR to undertake (e.g., set up a task force, a working group, write a position paper, etc.).

Documents: REPORT SCAR CONFERENCE 2022 “Humans in transitions: towards agroecological approaches and sustainable food systems”   RESULTS SUMMARY