Research; Innovation for Food and Nutrition Security – Transforming our food systems

14-15 June 2018. Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Research; Innovation for Food and Nutrition Security – Transforming our food systems. Second FOOD2030 High Level event. The Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of EU organised a Flagship Conference dedicated to Research and Innovation (Research and Innovation) as a driver of sustainable food systems transformation.

This was the second FOOD2030 High Level event. During this event the European drivers of sustainability, resilience, responsibility, diversity, competitiveness and inclusiveness, can deliver on the FOOD 2030 priorities and Sustainable Development Goals. It provided a platform for dialogue, feedback and recommendations towards:

Commission presented an update of the FOOD 2030 process and vision towards shaping tomorrow’s food and nutrition systems. The event discussed how the

• Understanding the complexity of food systems and the implications for Research and Innovation
• Building Research and Innovation ecosystems and place-based solutions to support food systems transformation
• Strengthening Research and Innovation alignment and investments through better governance
• Boosting future investments in Research and Innovation in Europe, leveraging private investments and increasing synergies with public funding
• Identifying how, who and what Research and Innovation is needed to transform our food systems

Extracts of the program:

• Recommendations and conclusions of the EC FOOD 2030 Expert Group Report Krijn Poppe, Senior economist and research manager, Wageningen University and Research, the Netherlands (Plenary 2)

  

  Tim Benton: We can go on with business as usual,
  staying in a vicious circle of food systems.
  Or we can dare to switch to "business unusual"
  Do we really have a choice?

• Progress towards the SDGs – for which food cuts across them all Patrick Caron, Chair of the United Nations High-level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (Plenary 2)
• How to tackle food system's complexity and deliver on SDGs Tim Benton, School of Biology of University of Leeds, United Kingdom (Plenary 3)
• Reducing food-related GHG to mitigate climate change Emile Frison, International, Environmental & Agricultural R and D, Belgium
• How food system transformation can increase the resilience of coastal communities Peter Bossier, Aquaculture Laboratory and Artemia Reference Center, Ghent University, Belgium 
  
• Innovative financing for food systems transformation Arnold Verbeek, European Investment Bank, Luxemburg

Breakout Session 6: How to strengthen diversity of food systems by 2030? 

See video recording Hall 7: http://food2030plovdiv.eu/

• Digital transformation of food systems Heike Bach, Vista Remote Sensing GmbH, Germany 
• New technologies in food systems linking land and sea Katerina Moutou, University of Thessaly, Greece 
• Role of culture in food system transformation Talis Tisenkopfs, University of Latvia, Latvia 
• Transformation of organic food chains 5 | Page Conference: " Research and Innovation for Food and Nutrition Security: Transforming our food systems" Jaakko Nuutila, Natural Resources Institute, Finland 
• How to foster diversity in diets and nutrition Laura Fernandez, EUFIC, Belgium 



Philippe Mauguin President INRA:
Participatory systemic research is needed
to tackle the urgency to transform foodsystems

• Role of women and gender in transforming food systems Iordanka Alexieva, University of Food Technology - Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Breakout Session 7 Strengthening Research and Innovation alignment and investments through better governance

• Strategic approaches to Research and Innovation policy alignment in view of MS national priorities in the eastern region Barna Kovács, BIOEAST Initiative, Hungary 
• Alignment of research networks through improved synergies between Member States Minna Huttunen, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Finland 
• Leveraging investment and increased Research and Innovation impact through public-private collaboration Philippe Mengal, BBI JU, Belgium 
• Leveraging investment and increased Research and Innovation impact through collaboration with philanthropic organisations Mathilde Douillet, Fondation Daniel et Nina Carasso, France 
• Role of European regions and smart specialisation to foster food system transformation Arjen Droog, Regio FoodValley, the Netherlands

Side event 3: “Workshop on Future-Proofing Food Systems”
13 June 2018. The FOOD 2030 side event entitled: “Workshop on Future-Proofing Food Systems” was jointly organised by SCAR Food Systems SWG and JPI HDHL, FACCE-JPI and JPI OCEANS. The objective was provide clear recommendations on how to move forward on sustainable food systems: to set the direction and to decide what the next steps are for future-proof food systems, in particular with a focus on the role of national Research and Innovation  funding bodies within the context of FOOD 2030.