Sustainable food systems research and innovation
Business as usual is no longer an option in the way we produce, distribute and consume our food.
Population growth, urbanisation, migration, resource scarcity, climate change and environmental degradation are creating urgent and complex challenges.
Sustainable food systems are about making our food production system fairer, more sustainable and respectful to the environment and reconciling what we eat with the needs of the planet.
Research and innovation are key to making food systems more sustainable, resilient, inclusive and healthy. They are essential to reaching the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and to achieving the policy objectives of the Farm-to-Fork Strategy and the EU Green Deal.
Research and innovation accelerate the transformation of food systems, and contribute to the evidence-base for strengthening their governance.
They also help develop and test solutions, overcome barriers and uncover new market opportunities.
Policy focus
Funding opportunities
Horizon Europe
Calls for proposal on bioeconomy-related themes in Horizon Europe and information on the work programme.
European Investment Bank loans
Loans for projects in agriculture, forest-based, blue economy, waste management. Loansguaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments for high-risk investment in food production and processing
InnovFin
Loans and guarantees to innovative businesses for research and innovation activities
European Circular Bioeconomy Fund
The ECBF is part-funded by the Commission and invests in late-stage bioeconomy start-ups
European structural and investment funds
Bioeconomy research related calls can be found in national rural development programmes, European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, Cohesion Fund for renewable energy projects, European Regional Development Fund for smart specialisation
Innovation Fund
Funding supporting the deployment of biobased solutions in carbon intensive sectors
LIFE
The EU's funding instrument for the environment and climate action
Projects and results
Research project database (CORDIS)
The Commission's primary portal for results of EU-funded research projects in food-related areas.
Project success stories
Stories of particularly successful EU-funded food research projects
Results packs on food research
Thematic collections of innovative EU-funded research results in food innovation
Horizon Magazine
Latest news, interviews and features about thought-provoking science and innovative research projects funded by the EU.
Horizon 2020 dashboard
Access to real-time programme data with the ability to filter by country, region, theme and more.
Horizon Results Platform
Platform where framework programme participants present their results for you to search, contact their owners, and form partnerships.
Collaboration and jobs
Find project partners
Find partners for open EU calls for proposal
Biobased Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU)
BBI JU connects key biobased sectors to ultimately create a sustainable and competitive biobased economy in Europe.
Global partnerships
International cooperation in bioeconomy research and innovation helps tackle global challenges
Joint programming with EU countries
Partnerships with EU countries on food system related issues
European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Food
Innovation community of industry players, agrifood startups, research centres and universities from across Europe accelerating innovation to transform the food system
BIOEAST
Initiative offering a shared strategic research and innovation framework for working towards sustainable bioeconomies in Central and Eastern European countries
European Bioeconomy Network (EuroBioNet)
Alliance of EU-funded projects dealing with bioeconomy promotion and communication
Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) food systems working group
Strategic advice and orientation to support the EU Food 2030 policy
Jobs (EURAXESS)
Researcher jobs in related fields
Scientific publications, tools and databases
Towards a sustainable food system
Report by the Group of Chief Scientific Advisers on how to achieve a sustainable food system
Knowledge centre for bioeconomy
Platform supporting policy making by bringing together knowledge on the bioeconomy from a wide range of scientific disciplines and sources
Knowledge centre for global food and nutrition security
Platform bringing together experts and knowledge to help to tackle the root causes of food insecurity around the world.
Scientific publications
Scientific food systems related research publications by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC)
Research tools and databases
The Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) compiles databases and develops software and modelling tools. You can access bioeconomy, agricuture and food research related ones here
EU publications portal
Online library of EU bioeconomy, agriculture and food research publications
EU open data portal
Single point of access to open data produced by the EU institutions - all data free to use for commercial and non-commercial purposes
OpenAIRE
Access to all scientific publications from Horizon 2020 via OpenAIRE
Latest
Info days for Horizon Europe Cluster 6 to take place between 13 and 14 December 2022
The info-days will present the topics of the Horizon Europe Cluster 6 (Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment) work programme 2023 and will give the opportunity to prospective applicants to learn more about funding under the new programme.
Research and innovation to safeguard food security and reinforce the resilience of food systems
A factsheet showcases research and innovation success stories in important areas on food security
Everyone at the Table: Transforming food systems by connecting science, policy and society
Presenting the conclusions of a EC high-level expert group on more ambitious and interlinked science-policy interfaces for improved food systems governance
Food systems - Research and innovation investment gap study
Results of a comparative study on private & public research and innovation investment levels in the EU