SCAR Agroecology“Accelerating Farming Systems Transition:
Agroecology Living Labs and Research Infrastructures
ORGANISATION
Co-Chairs:
 | |
Maria Luisa Tello Mariscal | Claire Rogel-Gaillard (INRAE, France), claire.rogel-gaillard@inrae.fr |
Mandate:
01/07/2023 to 30/06/2026
Members:
28 countries + EC and key Advisors
CONTEXT AND RATIONALE
The overall purpose of this Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) is to define the general framework for strategic research and innovation activities to be undertaken under the future partnership “Accelerating Farming Systems Transition: Agroecology Living Labs and Research Infrastructures’’ (“the Agroecology Partnership” hereafter). The partnership aims to promote a European large-scale endeavour for an agricultural sector that is fit to meet the targets and challenges in relation to climate change, biodiversity loss, food security and sovereignty and the environment, while ensuring a profitable and attractive activity for farmers.
It has been developed upon the mandate of the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) through its Strategic Working Group on Agroecology (SCAR-AE) which delivered at first a “partnership dossier”. This consolidated SRIA is the outcome of two years of work involving over 300 professionals from different domains, and building on the efforts of the 160 participants in the seven tasks forces defined by SCAR-AE in 2021, the comments provided by different observers of the SCAR-AE, European initiatives, the European Commission, and other experts through dedicated meetings or consultations. A consolidated draft was submitted for public consultation from July to October 2022, and the comments received were incorporated into this version of the SRIA...
MISSION AND AIMS
MISSION OF THE SCAR AE
Support research and innovation policy development for agroecology (AE) at national, EU and international levels by:
- Providing conceptual, methodological and practical frameworks on AE, AE Living Labs (LLs) and Research Infrastructures (RIs).
- Offering a platform for continuous strategic discussion between the EC, MS and AC as well as stakeholders on priorities in AE R&I.
OBJECTIVES
Preparing the concept of the candidate partnership on agroecology living labs and research infrastructures proposed under Horizon Europe (‘’Accelerating Farming Systems Transition: Agroecology Living Labs and Research Infrastructures’’), that will serve as a basis for the EC to:
- Request Member States and Associated Countries’ financial commitments to the partnership.
- Prepare the partnership call in the work programme 2023-2024.
Developing the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) for the partnership.
OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES
- Support transnational research and innovation activities on the challenges and potential of AE in addressing biophysical, environmental, climate, social and economic dimensions of sustainability, at farming, local environment and broader societal levels.
- Support research in and on LLs across Europe to support AE transition.
- Build and organise a European network of new and existing LLs and RIs for knowledge sharing and co-creation on AE innovations at various scales.
- Build capacities of various actors at the levels of networking, AE and LLs to foster AE transition.
- Improve access to and use of services provided by RIs and other relevant initiatives for long-term measurement, observation and experimentation in support of AE.
- Setup a framework, data management, indicators, and tools to monitor the AE transition, its impacts and social, economic, environmental and climate performance, for a variety of actors, contexts and scales.
- Design and implement communication and dissemination activities to support AE transition through increased uptake by practitioners and to improve stakeholder engagement, including the wider public.
- Put in place mechanisms for science-policy dialogue in support of the establishment and implementation of evidence-based policies (research and sectoral), that supports AE transition, including long-term funding for AE R&I.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
An Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) core team under Standing Committee on Agricultural Research Strategic Working Group on Agricultural Research and Innovation for Food Systems Transformation in Europe (SCAR-AE) prepared the first consolidated version of the SRIA between January and June 2022, taking into account inputs from the broader SCAR-AE group and from many relevant stakeholders.
DOCUMENTS
The Agroecology Partnership’s SRIA
The Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda for the candidate European partnership “Accelerating Farming Systems Transition: Agroecology Living Labs and Research Infrastructures’’
Version: 23.02.2023
RESEARCH & INNOVATION ANALYSIS REPORT
KARME PETRUTIS & IIRI RAA
Version: 30.12.2022
SCAR-AE Workshop to launch the process to develop the SRIA
MEETING MINUTES
Version: 29.04.2022
Terms of Reference for a 3 SCAR Strategic Working Group (SWG) on Agroecology 4 (SCAR-AE)
2021