AGRINATURA participation on EFARD 2015 meeting

  • 01st December 2015
  • by secretary
Agrinatura News

European Forum on Agricultural Research for Development (EFARD) 2015 annual Technical and Business Meeting was held on 23-24 November 2015 in Brussels.

 

AGRINATURA Association Board of Directors member, Torsten Rødel Berg (Aarhus University), who represents Agrinatura in EFARD took part in the recent EFARD meeting where he provided participants with an update on Agrinatura activities.

The objectives of the meetings were to deliberate on:

  • Mechanisms for strengthening the links between research, innovation and entrepreneurship for achieving societal and economic transformation through agriculture
  • EFARD road map on research, innovation and entrepreneurship for increasing the
  • The impact of agricultural research for development

True to its mandate as a forum, the EFARD meeting provided insights into a number of emerging agricultural research for development (ARD) programmes and policies, as well as institutional realignment processes. It also showcased success stories of research and innovation partnerships and agricultural entrepreneurship. It was evident from the proceedings that AGRINATURA is a key channel for implementation of European ARD initiatives.

At the policy level it appeared that the European research agendas on agriculture are becoming increasingly global. Agriculture’s role in emission, food production, carbon etc. and the global interactions of these factors, means a growing recognition that they are seen as global challenges that need to be addressed in partnership with the developing world, rather than as separate ‘development’ concerns. This trend is also clear from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) where the focus on global contexts. In effect this means that the Agricultural Research for Development (ARD) paradigm receives less attention in agriculture research agendas, in favor of more holistic Agricultural Research (AR) concerns. It would appear that the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) is emerging as an increasingly empowered body, with the global dimensions of AR increasingly embedded in the scope it its work.

Presentation can be downloaded HERE.

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