European Research Area

Agri-environmental research priorities

Claudia NeubauerFondation Sciences Citoyennes

Co-operative Research on Environmental Problems in EuropeBrussels Meeting - June 8 2010

Sustainable agriculture is a central concept in agricultural policy and research.It is used by different actors – policy makers, scientists, industry, NGOs and social movements.

How do different actors

understand the concept?

analysis of discourses

analysis of budgets

analysis of publications

Semantic analysis of diverse documents

IAASTD - International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development, Summary Report, 2008

Independent, multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder process, directed by a board of 30 government representatives and 30 representatives of NGOs

SCAR - Standing Committee on Agricultural Research, 2nd foresight exercise, 2007

Report: New challenges for agricultural research: climate change, food security, rural development, agricultural knowledge systems -

Knowledge based bio-economy (KBBE) several documents : New perspectives on KBBE, 2005, KBBE WP 2009-3, KBBE WP 2010-4

European Technology Platform Plants for the Future

2025 - A European vision for plant genomics and biotechnology

IFOAM 2025 (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements)

Research vision: Food, Fairness and Ecology - An organic research agenda for a sustainable future

Diverse documents from NGOs (ex. NGO Sustainable Agriculture Treaty 1992, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Rainforest Alliance, Grain, Oxfam)

Semantic analysisbiotechnology, agronomy, (agro-)ecology, sustainable

IAASTDSCAR2nd foresight

KBBE pers-pectives

KBBE WP2009-3

Plants for the FuturSRA

IFOAM Vision for 2025

biotech* 18 6 43 94 51 0

agronomy 2 4 0 3 5 21

ecology 0 4 0 8 3 14

organic * 2 23 0 21 5 157

agro-ecolog* 2 2 0 2 0 2

sustainabl* 51 116 22 136 50 63

Semantic AnalysisOn sustainable agriculture

Some common principles shared by NGOs

Sustainable agriculture is ecologically sound, economically viable, socially just and inclusive, culturally appropriate and based on a holistic and participatory scientific approach.

It minimizes the use of external inputs and excludes the use of pesticides and GMOs.

It adapts farming practices to local and regional contexts (and not the other way around) in respecting the agroecosystems, provides a more efficient management and better conditions for farm workers.

It promotes a holistic approach to agriculture integrating traditional agricultural knowledge with modern scientific knowledge. It redirects scientific research towards sustainability and equity, it disseminates knowledge freely.

It ensures food available and suitable for all, and promotes sustainable consumption of local food.

It facilitates the empowerment of small farmers, family farms and rural communities (eg access to land, income stability).

It promotes fair trade with the countries of the global South.

It promotes food sovereignty.

IFOAM, SCAR, IAASTD

The issue of sustainable agricultural development is placed in a complex and plural context at the confluence of environment, society, health, economy and culture. IFOAM: long-term perspectives concerning the development of agricultural practices and sustainable food covering the following three fields: i) principles of organic farming, ii) scientific innovation and iii) integration of the knowledge of peasants

IAASTD, SCAR: integration of peasants in both defining research priorities and applying scientific results, thus giving a specific meaning to sustainable agriculture

KBBE, Plants for the Future

Sustainable agriculture is placed in a context of profitability, competitiveness and support for the European biotech industry. If Europe wants to improve the sustainability of its agriculture and its forestry, it must inevitably use genetic tools and biotechnology.

Semantic AnalysisOn sustainable agriculture

IFOAMOrganic agriculture and food as a highly innovative sector.Organic sector has led European agriculture to evolve towards greater sustainability, quality and use of less risky technology. Sustainable agriculture and organic farming are heavily based on knowledge (“highly knowledge-based agriculture”) and on the concept of common property.

SCAR, IAASTD and IFOAM Consider participatory research and the integration of peasants in the process of research and innovation (farmer-based participatory breeding, participatory or action research) as part of sustainable agriculture necessary to achieve its objectives.SCAR reminds that the involvement of peasants is critical to the innovation process in regard to the acceptance of new innovations and to research in ecology.

KBBE and Plants for the FutureThe sector allowing for significant advances in R & D and innovation is biotechnology;

regarding other partners in the innovation process, the integration of SMEs is highlighted.

Semantic AnalysisOn innovation, appropriation and participation

SCAR foresight reportCriticizes genomics and genetic engineering. Using the word 'biotechnology” only six times, the report acknowledges that 'advanced modern biotechnology' has got an interest in breeding and to open the space of innovation.

IAASTDGives a differentiated image of biotechnologies. It distinguishes between classical biotechnologies (breeding techniques, tissue cultivation fermentation...) and modern biotechnologies, such as GM plants. Reminds the controversies about GMO.Criticizes the concentration on biotechnologies, which could lead to the loss of expertise in other fundamental sciences in agriculture.

IFOAMEcology and agronomy are the central issues: ecological intensification, challenges, methods and production, ecological footprint, social and ecological cohesion.

KBBE and Plants for the FutureSustainable agriculture seems related to biotechnology and very little (if at all) to agronomy or ecology. Priority is given to the biotechnological approach over other approaches that may be systemic, agronomic, environmental.The simultaneous use of the words 'life sciences' and 'biotechnology' gives the impression that the two fields go automatically or naturally hand in hand, and that they are even interchangeable.The existence of controversies about biotechnology in agriculture is not mentioned.

Semantic AnalysisOn biotechnology, agronomy, (agro-)ecology

Research Funding in EC Framework Programmes

On organic farming (1/2)

Budgets: financing research for organic and biotechnological agriculture

Since FP3, European funding in total amount of money for organic agriculture research is constantly growing. However, since total FP budgets raised constantly as well, the relative support of the FPs to research for organic agriculture did not grow since 1994 and stays stable at a very low level under FP 4, 5 and 6.

Research Funding in EC Framework Programmes On organic farming (2/2)

In FP6-Food, project funding on BT projects (26 projects) was almost 4 fold higher than funding on organic agriculture projects (7 projects). (stacs)

Publications: organic farming research in the scientific literature

Indications to explain why Denmark has a strong publicaton activity in organic farming research:

A high market share of organic products of the total market (with 5 to 6 %). A high share of organic agriculturual land (6% of the country's agricultural land are organic). Development of organic production as an integrated part of Danish agricultural policies since the mid 1980s. An active research policy for the sector since the mid 1990s: creation of the Danish Agricultural Research Centre for Organic Farming (DARCOF, 1996), since 2008 International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems (ICROFS).

*Applied Biology: scientific discipline, where approx. 80% of the total number of articles in organic farming can be found. *Bibliographic database: Thomson Scientific's Web of Science

Latest news: FP7-KBBE-2010-4

Call from July 30 2009Indicative budget: 190 million €

Organics AND low input : 6 million € = 3.16%

Transition pathways : 1.5 million € = 0.79 %

Agroecological approaches : ?

organics 10 x

biotech* 66 x

sustainabl* 88 x

agro-ecology* 0 x

Technological paradigm

Genetic engineering / biotech agroecology

research model

« taylorized », standardised research (ex. sequencing), complexity at the gene and cell level, more short term, specialisation, restricted interdisciplinarity

context-dependent research, complexity up to the ecosystem level, more long term, large interdisciplinarity

implicite objectiveengineering plants: improvement of single elements of agroecosystems

engineering systems: improve the structure of the agroecosystem, rely on ecological interactions and synergisms

scientific paradigm positivism, reductionism ecology, holism

ex. of subtrajectoriesBT insect resistant plants, herbicide tolerant plants, etc.

biological control of pests, cultivar mixtures, agroforestry, habitat management techniques, etc.

underlying economic assumptions

growth, competitiveness, global finance, free trade, IPR systems (e.g. patents), creation of spin-offs

sustainability, not linked to growth and competitiveness, fair trade, open access to knowledge

other (technical) developments favoring it

use of pesticides, monoculture, standardisation of agriculture, IT

organic farming, small farms, IT

leitmotivmodernisation, little need for knowledge from past agricultural systems

improvement of current systems by valuing past systems

genetic engineering and agroecology are two different technological paradigms

(Vanloqueren, Baret, 2009)

« Is it just too simple, not making enough use of high technology? »

(Wolfe, 2000)

The overall organisation of research systems, the existing agricultural system, thedominant perception of progress and innovation are broadly more in favor of genetic engineering and biotechnological agriculture than of agroecology and

organic farming.

=> need of 'fair' forecasting exercises to explore the potential contributions of the two approaches and especially of agroecology (only very few scenarios exist on what would happen

by a massive promotion of agroecological innovations by S&T policy and agricultural policies)

=> innovation policies must take into account the importance of niches and the true value of agroecological innovations (climate change, rising costs of energy, externalities) and

should reflect on changes in the dominant technological regime

=> need of breaking off the lock-in situation to allow the development of agroecology

=> need for a shared definition of agricultural sustainability

(Vanloqueren, Baret, 2009)