Co-operative Research Programme: Sustainable Agricultural and Food Systems

Established in 1979, the CRP aims to strengthen scientific knowledge and provide scientific information relevant for the future policy decisions related to the sustainable use of natural resources in the areas of food, agriculture, forests and fisheries. International co-operation in these fields has become increasingly important as food production systems are increasingly globalised.

The CRP:

• helps achieve globally agreed policy objectives by facilitating international co-operation among research scientists and institutions. In doing so, it strengthens scientific knowledge and innovation.
•  places a policy emphasis on all the activities it funds. CRP findings provide valuable evidence and information to support policy makers in promoting the sustainable use of natural resources in food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
• focuses on global issues such as food security, climate change and the inter-connectedness of economies through trade and scientific co-operation. This enables CRP-funded research to generate benefits for people around the world, producing results that resonate within and beyond the programme’s member countries.

How does the CRP achieve its objectives?

• by funding fellowship awards from 6 to 26 weeks for individual scientists in other CRP member countries.;
• by sponsoring events (conferences or workshops)

These activities:

• promote co-ordination among stakeholders to ensure that their objectives do not overlap or contradict each other
• provide objective evidence of the possible outcomes of approaches and options
• support the definition of measurable policy objectives (e.g. the incorporation of soil security into national law)
• highlight the links between agriculture and diverse policy areas (e.g. the role of education in ensuring food security and sustainability).

The CRP promotes international co-operation annually by funding events (conferences, workshops and symposiums), and research fellowships related to three research themes. Operating on a five-year cycle, the CRP reviews, updates and amends the research themes and priority areas of research to keep abreast of new developments in agriculture, food, fisheries and forest research.

Theme 1: Managing natural capital to help ensure the availability and quality of natural resources.

Theme 2: Strengthening resilience in the face of multiple risks in a connected world to help anticipate, pre-empt, and cope with potential and real impacts on agricultural systems and food security. 

Theme 3: Transformational technologies and innovation to make it possible to achieve progressive changes.

The Governing Body comprises a representative from each member country. It agrees the programme of work, the budget, and selects the fellowships and conferences to be funded. Forum Sessions on different topics are hosted by the Governing Body of the Co-operative Research Programme at its annual meetings.

The Scientific Advisory Body is composed of six eminent scientists with agricultural research administration experience nominated by the Governing Body. It is responsible for the scientific contents of the programme, reviews applications for funding to ensure their scientific quality, and makes recommendations to the Governing Body for funding priorities.

National Correspondents are responsible for promoting the CRP among scientists and institutions in their countries. There is a national correspondent for each member country (for some, it is the same person as the Governing Body representative).

The Secretariat, at OECD headquarters in Paris, is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the programme and provides a central contact point. 

Funding for the CRP is provided through the financial contributions of the CRP’s member countries.

The Co-operative Research Programme (CRP) currently has 30 participating countries.

• Biochar as a tool for the mitigation of microplastics from soil to the food chain

• Ecological resilience in future farming landscapes; an assessment of spatial priorities, trade-offs, and implications for management and policy

• Ecotoxicological modelling of honeybee mortality in the neotropics: parameterising an individual-based model for environmental risk assessment

• Harnessing plant-microbe interactions for sustainable nitrogen cycling and climate-smart agriculture

• Jointly resolving the spatiotemporal dynamics of recharge and plant water use through a deep root zone

• The effects of forest fire on soil bacterial, fungal and nematode communities and their interactions

• Assessment of climate crisis effects on spreading strategy of insect-borne yellow dwarf virus disease on cereals

• Designing sustainable and climate-resilient lentils (Lens culinaris) applying machine learning, deep learning, and artificial intelligence

• Development of novel resilience indicators using lactation curves and machine learning

• Enhancing citrus crop resilience through plant defense induction and conservation biological control

• Optimising resilience in Western US Corn Belt to climate variability/change

• Physiologically-based toxicokinetic modelling of the transfer of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to growing lambs

• Phytosanitary risk science to support global trade: a collaborative approach

• To quantify changing climatic requirements to develop policy decisions for identifying and expanding citrus production regions

• Biologically informed deep learning for identifying genetic mutations key to agronomy

• Enhancing conceptual and theoretical foundations for multi-stakeholder innovations in complex sociotechnical systems

• Utilization of B-type gelatin of salmon/cod scales by mixing A-type Tilapia gelatin

• Water observatory: Hterogeneous data integration towards enhancing sustainable water ecosystem

 Download the full list of fellowships [pdf].

Theme 1

• A multidimensional assessment of insects for sustainable agri-food systems

• Bridging current knowledge gaps to identify the metrics that best support sustainability in agroecosystems

• Ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation in cultural landscapes of temperate mountain regions

• Engineering climate resilience in mussel aquaculture

• Managing the risk of soil phosphorus to the environment and food production

• Modelling complex socio-ecosystems for the conservation of marine ecosystem services: a transcontinental connection between Australia and Spain

• New ecological analysis and synthesis of the Guadalquivir LTER (1997-2023): lessons from NCEAS and US-LTER. 

• Progressing access to healthy, sustainable and local fresh food for Quebec remote areas through public procurement. Lessons from France (Confidential)

• The effects of tillage practice on carbon sequestration mechanisms: a comparison between cool-temperate and Mediterranean soils

• The implementation of green chemistry applications to enhance the efficiency of food safety sample throughput

Theme 2

• Developing an eco-epidemiological model of disease transmission from wildlife to livestock and humans

• Emerging Phytophthora diseases that threaten Irish crop and forest ecosystems (Confidential)

• Reinforcing Climate Risk Management from Farmers’ Behavior and User-Driven Indicators (FRISBE) 

• Solving the root dilemma in saline soils: evaluating root responses under combined salinity stress and phosphorus deficiency (Confidential)

• The effect of dietary bioactives from sustainable food systems on gut microbiome diversity and metabolic profile

Theme 3

• Bringing aquaculture into the circular bioeconomy: optimising production efficiencies in aquaponics 

• Challenges and opportunities for privatised agricultural advice in the AKIS – a case study from the UK

• Effect of carbon sources and temperature on DHA production and yield by Aurantiochytrium mangrovei

• Evaluating the effectiveness of different bio-based sensors from food industry secondary streams in smart biodegradable packaging

• Sustainable conversion potential of wet agri-food wastes to intermediate energy carriers and its influencing factors

• Sustainable plant-based solutions for gel-type dairy alternative products (Confidential)

• The social ecological-resilience of mid-scale farming systems in mountain and hill country areas

Download the full list of fellowships for detailed information (pdf).

Theme 1

• Accelerating locally-developed freshwater management practices across global growing regions through innovation ecosystems
• Cost-effective controls for mitigating agricultural soil N₂O emissions: Opportunities and uncertainties (Confidential)
• Developing a mountain peatland restoration manual: combining lessons from the UK and the USA
• Ecological rhizosphere management for enhanced nutrient efficiency, stress resilience and biodiversity in sustainable agro(ecosystems)
• Environmental monitoring using honey bee colonies and a novel sampling tool
• How does scientific information and traditional ecological knowledge shape forest restoration policy and practice?
• Land tenure models for carbon positive land use: comparative case studies between Scotland and New Zealand
• Near-Real time irrigation scheduling and crop biomass estimation through remote sensing images with high spatial and temporal resolution

Theme 2

• Analysing the economic impact of sustainable dietary diversification on consumer choices in the MED countries using nudging strategies
• Developing a potent kairomone for the European grapevine moth, Lobesia botrana (Confidential)
• Innovative approach to remove seafood pathogens along the seafood chain
• Transcriptomic analysis of the Vibrio vulnificus pv. piscis exposed to fish mucus

Theme 3

• Adapting crops to changing environments using related species and innovative pre-breeding approaches
• Advanced breeding tools for meeting sustainable production and resilience: from satellites to genes
• Dairy farms’ optimal nutrient allocation to maximise profitability and minimise environmental impacts
• Innovative eco-friendly Bio-basEd processes to recover BioactivE compoundS from agri-food wasTe (BE BEST)
• Smart farming technologies and transformation in the work of farmers and advisers: Implications for technology adoption and policy

Download the full list of fellowships for detailed information (pdf).

Theme 1

• Advancing processes of local agroecological practices inclusion in Climate Change global solutions: "4 per 1000" Initiative lessons for and from Scotland
• Belowground carbon allocation by rice plants: exploring the trade-off between soil carbon sequestration and methane emissions
• Capturing the drivers of crop water footprints in Africa and its regional patterns. Looking backward to move forward
• Connecting hydraulics and growth dynamics in maize leaves to improve drought tolerance
• Environmental and nutritional sustainability of urban value chains : case studies in France and Switzerland
• Intermediate wheatgrass – developing a resilient perennial grain and forage crop for Sweden
• Investigating the humane killing of CRUStaceans through science-based INdicators (CRUSIN)
• Modelling microbially-driven nitrogen and carbon dynamics in soil amended with nano-biochar
• New advances in remote sensing driven forest phenotyping
• Opening plant variety protection to diverse plant reproductive material and drought tolerant varieties to counter climate change in the EU (Confidential)
• Predicting and improving catch welfare in wild-capture fisheries

Theme 2

• Building a climate change resilience index: a tool instrument to prioritise policies in the agrifood sector
• Disturbance and resilience of Quercus ilex and Quercus suber in response to individual and combined water stress and Phytophthora cinnamomi infection
• Evaluation and calibration of CERES-maize (DSSAT) for maize silage production in northern Spain: Seasonal analysis and modeling climate change impacts
• Expanding genome editing-based approaches for durable resistance to destructive begomoviruses
• Prioritising sustainable food and repurposing food waste for human and planetary health
• Understanding the ecology of Mediterranean Hyalomma ticks in new areas (ECOTICKS)

Theme 3

• A safe genome editing to develop sporeless mushrooms – for sustainable agriculture without genetic pollution
• Assessment and improvement of carbon sequestration in greenhouse horticultural crops
• Estimating the drivers of household food waste: bridging econometrics and simulation modelling
• Exploring stakeholder collaboration in a transition towards a circular economy for food (Confidential)
• Investigation of a spectrometric tool for consumer and food standard agency use on site
• Potato tuber periderm onthogenesis: a cell resolution map of gene expression (Confidential)
• Redesigning the functionality of hexaploid cereal grain (oats) using CRISPR/Cas technology
• Sustainable extraction of bioactive compounds from food by-products

Download the full list of fellowships for detailed information (pdf).

Theme 1

• Acquisition of Primordial Germ Cell (PGC) technologies to enable secure preservation and reliable utilization of chicken genetic resources
• Design principles for improved innovation and knowledge systems for forests and natural resource management in a changing climate (Confidential report)
• Evidence-based policy and husbandry interventions for protecting livestock and biodiversity
• Global virtual water trade: unraveling complexity in the international food-water nexus (Confidential report)
• Managing semi-natural habitats for sustainable agricultural production in France - lessons from Sweden
• New approaches to improving food security in a post-COVID world

Theme 2

• Biological control of invasive pests: implications for biodiversity and ecological stability
• Has the invasive Chinese mitten crab evolved into a novel threat? Understanding the contribution of multiple introductions to invasive success
• Modelling impact of aerial and trade dispersal on transmission of plant pathogens in networks 
• New approach methods to assess chemical in food and other supply chains
• Rethinking resilient agriculture: From climate-smart agriculture to climate-functional farming
• Wildland fire management during COVID-19

Theme 3

• Curcumin-nanospheres as a feed additive to improve the pig’s growth performances and health
• Genetically engineering Toxoplasma gondii as a novel vaccine delivery system
• How do maternal reproductive biofluids affect the epigenome of developing embryos?
• Integrating non timber forest products into a forest-based bioeconomy
• Merging engineering and plant breeding: Bendable electronics and sensing technologies to improve plant productivity

» Download the full list of 2020 fellowships (pdf) 

» 8th European Veterinary Immunology Workshop (EVIW 2024) | Dublin, Ireland, 4-6 September 2024

 Infectious diseases threaten rural communities which are heavily dependent on agriculture and many current disease control measures are societally divisive. Urgent action is required to reduce the burden of disease and thereby support sectoral sustainability. This sustainability will foster improved disease control and animal resilience which secures the food chain and protects human health. While there are many potential routes to improved disease diagnosis, control and therapies, the development of new vaccines is likely to have the greatest impact and therefore this is a central focus of EVIW2024. EVIW2024 will bring together relevant experts with policy makers to help accelerate the translation of the latest science into effective tools on the ground for disease control

» Fertilizers from waste: Recovering and reusing nutrients via circular processing of agricultural residues | Lincoln, USA, 10-12 September 2024

 This workshop brings together researchers working on developing innovative new products and building infrastructure to harness the nutrients in manures, biosolids, and other organic materials for use as fertilisers for food crops. The ability to recycle nutrients is key to sustainable agricultural production, however key nutrients from land-applied manures and other agricultural residues are often lost to runoff or volatilisation, devaluing these materials as a fertiliser, and contributing to environmental contamination. The recent focus on the global phosphorus shortage highlights the urgent need for creative solutions to harness and recycle these nutrients. This conference will bring together a mix of engineers, agricultural scientists and practitioners together with stakeholders, such as farmers or biogas producers, and mineral and organic fertiliser producers to discuss the transition from mineral derived fertilisers to waste derived fertilisers. There is growing interest in developing sustainable strategies to do this, however successful on-the-ground implementation will require close collaboration between the engineers and scientists designing the new technologies, and the policy makers designing the new institutional, economic, and legal frameworks required for adoption. This workshop is structured to catalyse long-term professional working relationships between technical and policy experts.

This workshop is timely, given that the EU commission recently announced new rules that prepare the ground for more use of organic and waste-based fertilisers. Other countries are also following the same path. However, the rules and conditions that govern such organic fertiliser safety, quality and labelling remain to be developed and harmonised. The decisions made in this conference will directly guide agro-food policies since participation of local and international agencies, including USDA, will be ensured.

Presentations

» Comparative agroecology: a paradigm to upscale climate-smart food and water system transformations? | Alnarp, Sweden, Postponed to 5-7 February 2025

This conference plans to look at the potential contribution of agroecology to the food systems challenge, taking a comparative approach across OECD countries. Agroecology is defined as the “integration of research, education, action and change that brings sustainability to all parts of the food system: ecological, economic, and social” (Gliessman, 2018). In more specific terms, agroecological practices include crop diversification, intercropping, agroforestry, integrated crop and livestock production, and soil management measures (Bezner Kerr et al, 2021). In line with the ongoing global discussion on the role of agroecology in sustainability transitions, the proposed conference will bring together researchers from OECD countries to discuss the definition of the ‘comparative agroecology’ approach. This conference is a timely effort to approach agroecology as a means to catalyse and upscale food and water system transformations across geographies, and to contribute to climate change policy for agriculture. Thus, the objective of the conference is to produce more nuanced understandings of the potential of agroecology for food and water system transformations and climate policy.

The conference will take advantage of the knowledge and research of both social scientists and natural scientists working at the intersection of agroecology, water management, and food production. Although the importance of society-environment interconnectedness is well recognised within the concept of ‘socio-ecological systems’, this concept lacks specific grounding and tools to enable a truly comparative approach. Hence defining and enabling a ‘comparative agroecology’ approach, through incorporation of a social science lens, will allow the participants to explore more deeply how diverse governance systems, policies, population demographics, etc interact with biotic and abiotic components across agroecological systems.

» ISMOM Soil organics  | Tsukuba, Japan, 14-18 October 2024

The objective of ISMOM is to provide a platform for in-depth discussions on the fundamental aspects of soil organic matter-mineral-microbe interactions between scientists and students from soil sciences, chemistry, biology, biochemistry, physics, ecology or environmental sciences. Soil organic matter is important both in the context of food security and in the context of climate change mitigation and adaptation. Soil organic matter in large part determines soil fertility and water holding capacity, properties important to food and fiber production. Soils also contain more carbon than the atmosphere and aboveground vegetation combined. Therefore, from the perspective of climate change projections, understanding the properties and processes driving soil C accumulation or loss are of the utmost importance. To implement policies of enhancing soil C and its persistence, however, we need to have a better understanding of how soil C is stabilised and decomposed and also carefully assess the long-term consequences to the soil ecosystem. For instance, there is still a debate regarding whether soil’s capacity to store C has a limit (C saturation) and, if so, what soil property controls it. Answers to these questions have direct impact on soil management policies. This symposium will discuss these issues and plan to identify the knowledge gap (e.g., what policy makers want to know and what scientists know).

» Antimicrobial resistance and wastewater reuse in agriculture | Dijon, France, 22-24 October 2024

 Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an important global public health challenge. It is estimated that in 2019 antibiotic-resistant infections contributed to the death of 5 million people. If the current rate of resistance development is left unchecked, by 2050 mortality due to resistant infections will outstrip those due to all cancers combined. Mitigating the pace of AMR development will require action across the One Health continuum, in the human, agricultural and environmental realms.

Effluent from wastewater treatments plants is increasingly being used to irrigate crops. Effluent can contain antibiotics and other chemicals, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are shed by people. There is therefore the potential that consumers eating raw vegetables or fruits are irrigated with effluent will be exposed to antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Irrigation with reused wastewater may increase the reservoir of AMR in crop production systems, and increase the likelihood of transmission to humans via contaminated foodstuffs, in particular vegetables or fruits that are eaten raw. Within this context, the aim of this workshop is to review the current state of knowledge and identify gaps regarding risks related to the reservoir of AMR in plant-based food production systems, what impact wastewater reuse might be having on that reservoir, and the risks of AMR transmission to humans through consumption of vegetables or fruits produced in these systems, with the overt objective in this workshop of having a dialogue between the science and regulatory and policy communities so that each understands the needs and knowledge of each.

» Measuring agricultural sustainable productivity: data, methods, practices and policies | OECD, Paris, France, 28 October 2024

 Around the world, food systems are facing a triple challenge: ensuring food security and nutrition for a growing population, supporting the livelihoods of millions of farmers and others in the food chain, and doing so in an environmentally sustainable way. Measuring the performance of countries in terms of agricultural productivity and sustainability in a consistent manner is the first step to make sure that food systems move in the right direction, and to understand how natural capital is managed in relation to economic performance. However, there are not many indicators that capture the complexity and multifaceted character of agriculture’s triple challenge. This workshop seeks to trigger a fruitful conversation between policymakers and experts focused around questions about measuring success or progress on sustainable productivity. The measurement is the first step to grasp the impact of different policies, practices and innovations on sustainable productivity, and what are the innovations, practices and policies in agriculture that best work to respond to the triple challenge. Having robust and agreed measures of sustainable productivity will allow governments to better target and design their policies guided by performance, and scientists working on innovations in agriculture to use the same indicator to benchmark those innovations according to their contribution to sustainable productivity and the different aspects of the triple challenge

» Bridging selective breeding and cutting-edge biotechnologies: transformative technological innovations for strengthening aquaculture resilience |  Tokyo, Japan, 28-30 October 2024

 To meet the increasing global food demand, aquaculture production has been growing steadily. However, this expansion can impose negative impacts on the environment. Therefore, it is important to prioritise the innovation of transformative technologies that can simultaneously increase productivity and strengthen the long-term sustainability of the industry. One such promising avenue is selective breeding. Selective breeding exploits natural polymorphisms and genetically improves economic traits such as growth rates, disease resistance, and food conversion efficiency. These advances, in turn, can help reduce feed consumption, nitrogen/phosphate emissions, and reliance on pesticides and vaccines. Selective breeding also holds the promise of producing new breeds that are resilient to climate change. Biotechnology, such as gene editing and surrogate breeding technologies, is another powerful tool in the development of new breeds. However, such a new technology must be responsibly regulated, necessitating the engagement of policy makers and experts on the ethical, legal, and social aspects of its development. With this in mind, we propose a conference for the exchange of knowledge between professionals and policy makers in these fields. It is expected that the resulting knowledge exchange and discourse will provide policy makers with the basis for formulating comprehensive, science-based policies. These policies will stimulate further investment in research and development of transformative technologies that simultaneously improve the productivity and the sustainability of aquaculture simultaneously. This conference will be an important step towards the innovation of such a transformative technology, in line with the Sustainable Development Goal of creating a better world.

» OECD workshop on critical innovations in pesticides safety testing and chemical risk assessment, for developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) | OECD, Paris, France, 28-30 October 2024

This workshop will focus on critical innovations in safety testing and chemical risk assessment, with special attention on chemical exposure, food safety, and developmental neurotoxicity-DNT- hazard assessment of chemicals and pesticides. Chemicals with hazardous properties can cause harm to human health and the environment. In order to develop and deploy the sustainable chemicals that enable the green and digital transitions and to protect the environment and human health, in particular that of vulnerable groups (i.e. pregnant and nursing women, the unborn, infants and children, the elderly people as well as workers and residents subject to high and/or long term chemical exposure), innovation for the green transition of the chemical industry and its value chains must be stepped up. Ensuring the protection of the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment is one of the key components of the European Green Deal, alongside the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. The European Green Deal has also set a goal to protect better human health and the environment as part of an ambitious approach to tackle pollution from all sources and move towards a toxic-free environment.

The desired outcome of this workshop is to improve the efficiency of regulatory processes by implementing non-animal testing methods for developmental neurotoxicity risk assessment of chemicals and pesticides in particular. The increased investment and innovative capacity of the chemicals industry to provide safe and sustainable chemicals will be vital to offer new solutions for the green and digital transitions of our economy and society. However, chemicals with hazardous properties can cause harm to human health and the environment. It is clear that the existing chemicals and pesticides policy must evolve and respond more rapidly and effectively to the challenges posed by hazardous chemicals. This workshop will increase policy makers’ understanding and support for appropriate test guidelines for faster and cheaper risk assessment methodologies to be applied to pesticides and chemicals in general.

» Reducing nitrogen losses and greenhouse gas emissions from arable agriculture: How can new modelling concepts help? | Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, 3-4 May 2023

The objective of this workshop is to bring together leading experts in the field of measurement and modelling of soil nitrogen processes to discuss what can be done to reduce nitrogen losses and N2O emissions from agricultural systems. It will cover the newest approaches and most relevant results of the current science on soil nitrogen dynamics, with a particular focus on soil denitrification. The use of synthetic nitrogen fertilisers has grown exponentially over the last century with severe environmental consequences. Most of the nitrogen applied will ultimately be removed by denitrification, but rates and controls of denitrification in soils are still highly uncertain. The outcomes of the workshop will serve to inform farmers and policy makers in making better nitrogen management decisions. Key issues in the workshop will be identifying missing or inadequately described processes and knowledge gaps of denitrification, N2 and N2O emissions, reducing uncertainty of flux estimates, and establishing consistent standards for model intercomparison methodologies. This workshop will provide a framework for international co-operation in key research areas of biogeochemical model development and improvement with proven international experts.

Proceedings: Schlüter S. et al., 2024, Biology and Fertility of Soils, "The anaerobic soil volume as a controlling factor of denitrification: a review", Springer; https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00374-024-01819-8

» Antimicrobial use and resistance in livestock production in a One Health context | Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, 22-24 May 2023

The overall theme and objective of the event is a focus on specific knowledge gaps related to the use of antimicrobials in livestock systems and the consequences for AMR. The magnitude and gravity of the AMR health crisis has been stressed by national and international commentators and it is clear that there is an imbalance between the attention given to management of AMU/AMR in clinical settings compared to that in livestock production. Since the latter could amount to more than half the global use of antimicrobials, it is important to understand the drivers of their use and the likely health consequences. There is a suspicion that drug use in this setting is subject to fewer controls than in clinical settings (i.e., hospitals and health centres). Indeed, animal uses have been relatively neglected compared to uses in clinical settings. More work is needed to understand better how these uses lead to resistance and how this can be controlled. This proposal will gather experts to what is known about effective use of antibiotics in agriculture and of the implications for overall resistance. The organisers will seek and test ideas on interventions to reduce uses without making society worse off in terms of agricultural production. Most current guidance is weak when it comes to prioritising livestock interventions, evaluating cost-effectiveness of interventions and setting priorities. This could be undermining efforts made in clinical settings. This proposal addresses this weakness and will target existing contacts with national action planning bodies in the UK, US, France, Australia, Canada. 

» Sustainability in agriculture and food systems – Innovation, Indicators and Implementation | Brussels, Belgium, 23-24 May 2023

Sustainability in agriculture and food systems is an important issue, featuring in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in many of the FAO’s activities and OECD Committee for Agriculture work. The main objective of this conference is to compare established sustainability concepts as well as innovations pertaining to new approaches to reach sustainability in agriculture across a range of countries and regions with a view to identifying indicators that can demonstrate the sustainability of a specific system or innovation application, taking into account ongoing uncertainties such as climate change and extreme weather conditions, as well as punctual uncertainties such as the conflict in Ukraine. Against this background, the Conference will bring together policy-makers, academia, civil society organisations and industrial decision-makers to engage in a balanced discussion of these issues, and ultimately arrive at a set of outcomes and recommendations to be taken forward by the decision makers. This conference will complement two previous CRP-sponsored events, Enhancing Food System Resilience and Challenges for Agroecology Development for the Building of Sustainable Agri-Food Systems.

» Drone spraying of pesticides | York, United Kingdom, 23-24  May 2023

This conference is being arranged to share latest thinking and to help develop a recommended approach to assessing and mitigating the risks associated with the application of pesticides by drone. Drones are recognised as a technology that affords an opportunity to apply pesticide in a more sustainable way than traditional methods, but there is a need to improve understanding of the risks to human health and the environment associated with their use. This conference contributes to the work of the OECD Working Party on Pesticides Drone sub-Group, which is overseeing a programme of work designed to develop a risk assessment framework that can be recommended to regulatory authorities.

» The future role of ley-farming in cropping systems | Vilnius, Lithuania, 11-14 June 2023

The proposed conference aims to discuss the sustainability of agroecosystems as a way to provide food security and quality, a very important and timely topic. This goes with challenges as many concurrent objectives must be met, for biodiversity and climate, food and livelihoods. Indeed, rotations between crops and grasslands, ley-farming, have been examined and tested in some agricultural systems and more is necessary to understand their benefits. The objective of this symposium is to highlight the futures of ley pasture in Europe in a context where animal production faces huge sustainability challenges and, more globally, society is calling for food systems to change. This social demand is relayed by ambitious political agenda (Green Deal, Farm to Fork Strategy, Biodiversity strategy). Researchers, farmers, stakeholders and policy makers are invited to share and discuss new knowledge, identify emerging issues, and offer innovative solutions to explore the potential economic and environmental benefits of ley-farming for a better understanding of the role of ley-farming in cropping and farming systems in order address increasing climatic variability with resilient agroecosystems.

Proceedings: Kadžiulienė Z.et al., (2023), Grassland Science in Europe, Volume 28, "EGF 203, The future role of ley-farming in cropping systems", Wageningen Academic Publishers; https://www.europeangrassland.org/en/infos/printed-matter/proceedings.html#; https://www.europeangrassland.org/fileadmin/documents/Infos/Printed_Matter/Proceedings/EGF2023.pdf

» Beyond growth: Fishing for the future | Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, 13-14 June 2023

The seafood sector is impacted by rapid and intense societal trends that include political, economic, sociocultural, technological, legal and environmental factors. Although challenging, they also bring opportunity to effect system-wide changes that improve human wellbeing and resilience within planetary boundaries. The aim of the symposium is to develop an improved understanding, vision and practical framework for “Beyond growth” – neither abandoning growth as an objective nor relying on it. The proposed symposium will bring together leading members of the scientific community working on the inter-disciplinary areas of “Beyond growth” and wellbeing across multiple but inter-related sectors, with industry representatives and policy makers, to collaboratively tackle the challenge of seafood production, consumption and governance through discussions on system-wide novel approaches to sustainability. Their expertise will cover a number of critical areas and representations, including transformative food policy, social equity, developing country wellbeing perspectives, the wellbeing economy, consumer behaviour, industry inputs, policy-making experience and gender studies.

» Food and feed for the future | Lyon, France, 1st September 2023

This workshop, a side-event of the World Congress on Animal Science, will cover various topics such as cellular agriculture (for instance to produce cultured meat), microbial engineering, synthetic biology and environmental biotech in addition to agroecology applied to production of any type of food (crops, plants, forages for animals, animal products including insects and so on). It aims to explore the modern nutritional approaches to healthy production of animal and human diets in a resource and carbon-constrained world (future proteins, dietary supplements and additives, insects, tissue engineering) and discuss various questions raised by microbial bioproduction: How will the global need for protein be met combining ethical and sustainable agriculture with microbial bioproduction? Can microbial bioproduction be considered safe, resilient and non-competitive with land farming? What are the socio-economic issues of future sustainable agricultural systems? How to address the ethical/societal acceptation challenges of food and feed microbial bioproduction?

Proceedings: Hoquette J-F et al, (2024), Proceedings of the workshop Food and Feed for the Future, 1 September 2023, Lyon, France, Association française de Zootechnie, HAL; https://hal.science/hal-04397943v2

» Combating antimicrobial resistance using bacteriophages for eco-sustainable agriculture and food systems | Valencia, Spain, 12-13 September 2023

Antimicrobial resistance is an important challenge for global health. The misuse of antimicrobials for intensive livestock and agriculture practices has been suggested to be one of the sources of AMR. The focus of this meeting will be the use of bacteriophages as alternative antimicrobials to achieve the sustainability of the agro-food sector against future food demand. The workshop will explore the possibilities of the implementation of this strategy on agriculture, animal husbandry, aquaculture and food production sectors. As result, important benefits including a reduction of the release of antimicrobial residues into the environment and therefore, a decrease in antimicrobial resistance are expected. This will help to make the food production system safer, more efficient, reduce environmental impact, and minimise the transmission of multiresistant pathogens through the food chain and to the environment; this will also contribute to potentially reduce the risk of human antibiotic-resistant infections (One Health approach). This will be the first workshop about the application of phages in the agro-food sector and will bring together all the stakeholders involved, including phage researchers, agro-food industry representatives, policy makers and farmers representatives, to debate the requirements for phage-based products approval.

Proceedings:: Garcia P. et al. (2023), Viruses, Vol. 15(11), 2224, Special Issue "Bacteriophage-Based Biocontrol in Agriculture, 2nd Edition", Article "ECOPHAGE: Combating Antimicrobial Resistance Using Bacteriophages for Eco-Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems", MDPI; https://doi.org/10.3390/v15112224

» Current and Future Challenges of Viral Genomics in Animal Health | Pirbright, Surrey, UK, 5-6 July 2022

Transboundary viral diseases have a serious impact on the global, highly connected, livestock industry. Moreover, emerging diseases in humanity have been frequently reported to be of animal origin as recently exemplified by the SARS-CoV2 pandemic. The focus of this meeting will be on using genomic technologies to improve surveillance of viral pathogens in agricultural animals, birds and livestock and in veterinary virus genomic research. The workshop will explore the role genomMay 2023ics has in veterinary research and diagnostic surveillance to see if there are transferrable aspects between the two disciplines. If diagnostic capabilities using genomic technologies can be improved, the ability to detect zoonotic agents in animal populations can be significantly impacted. Better genomic tools will help to better understand, manage and predict risk factors that contribute to potentially dangerous agents jumping between animal and human populations and provide an important information resource for developing better control strategies and tools, including vaccines and therapeutics. The workshop will bring together core facility experts and virology researchers, stakeholders and industry, including speakers from governance organisations in animal health.

» Towards Net Zero Emissions without Compromising Agricultural Sustainability: What is achievable? | Dublin, Ireland, 28-31 August 2022

This event will be a dedicated panel discussion during the 2022 International Symposium on Climate-Resilient Agri-Environmental Systems and will bring together academics, researchers, industry and policy makers to exchange ideas and expertise with the objective of developing climate-smart agricultural systems which are productive and profitable and can make agriculture carbon-neutral by 2050. It is timely given the introduction of the Climate Action Plan and similar initiatives and directives at EU and global levels for mitigating GHGs and reducing the environmental pressures associated with sustainability in agricultural production systems. The panellists will identify options and strategies to deal with how net-zero greenhouse emissions from agricultural systems can be achieved, and to highlight gaps in scientific and technological advancement, and the policies required for their implementation. The panel discussion will provide a platform for discussing and evaluating existing agricultural management interventions, as well as evidenced-based technological and policy options with economic and environmental benefits, together with the required infrastructure for adapting to, as well as mitigating, the effects of climate change. It will provide recommendations for ways to formulate policies and implement appropriate mitigation and environmental strategies. The panel discussion will also provide strategic approaches on how to reach emission reduction targets through the identification of measures for agricultural diversification that can contribute to carbon-neutrality by 2050 whilst maintaining biodiversity and essential ecosystems services.

Synthesis report

Proceedings: Special Issue: Towards net zero emissions without compromising agricultural sustainability: what is achievable? (2024) In Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, Ed. Springer Nature. Vol. 128;   https://link.springer.com/collections/hadegagecb

» Innovating Microbial Pesticide Testing | OECD, Paris, France, 13-16 September 2022

This conference will focus on critical innovations in hazard testing for microbial pesticides, i.e. microorganisms (e.g. bacteria, fungi, viruses) that are used to control a wide range of agricultural pests, including plant disease-causing microorganisms, insects and weeds. Microbial pesticide hazard testing is challenging, since the current testing guidelines are developed for chemical pesticides and do not take into account microbial pesticides’ unique properties. The conference will inform and increase international awareness of microbial pesticides and their benefits, and will also increase policy makers’ support for appropriate test guidelines for these products. Anticipated work products include updated and/or new testing guidelines that will aid regulators in microbial pesticide risk assessment, as well as assist in setting or revising scientifically based policies for pesticide testing, particularly where there are demands for non-animal methods. It will also increase policy makers’ confidence in safety of microbial pesticides for human health and the environment, promoting their acceptance and availability as a part of sustainable agriculture strategies.

Proceedings: OECD (2023), Innovating Microbial Pesticide Testing: Conference Proceedings, Series on Pesticides, No. 109 

» Peatlands for Climate Change Mitigation in Agriculture | Aarhus, Denmark, 4-5 October 2022

The objective of this workshop is to bring together leading experts in peatland ecology and management for agricultural and forestry purposes, to discuss what may be done to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and restore carbon stocks of drained organic soils. Globally, peatlands are estimated to store twice as much carbon as forests, and peatlands are being extensively drained for agricultural production, since many of these soils are highly fertile. Drainage of peat soils accelerate microbial carbon and nitrogen mineralization due to change from anoxic to oxic conditions, resulting in large emissions of CO2 and N2O from the organic matter stored in the peatland soils, and in some parts of the world organic soils contribute the major part of GHG emissions from agriculture and forestry. The workshop will bring together global experts from different scientific fields and policy spheres related to the agricultural, environmental and climate aspects of managed peatlands with the aim of summarising and significantly strengthening the current state of scientific knowledge on agricultural managed peatlands. It will also identify gaps in knowledge, data, models and tools, and provide a platform for future joint projects and efforts to address these gaps.

Proceedings: Butterbach-Bahl K., D. Zak, J.E. Olesen (2024),"Peatlands for climate change mitigation in agriculture", Biogeochemistry, Volume 167, Issue 4, Springer; https://link.springer.com/journal/10533/volumes-and-issues/167-4

» International workshop on innovative hydrothermal systems to valorize agricultural residuals: Roadmap towards implementation - achievements and barriers taking place | Seoul, Korea, 15-16 May 2023  (initially planned on 8-9 November 2021)

The aim of the workshop is to develop a roadmap for the implementation of hydrothermal technology in agricultural production systems to improve material use and recycling of agricultural wastes and residuals as well as surplus biomass. Many years of research have shown that hydrothermal technology can produce value-added products from agricultural materials, such as biomass, wastes and residuals (subsequently denoted as residuals for simplicity). It is potentially beneficial in recycling organic carbon and nutrients from plant and animal residuals to agricultural land, developing economic opportunities in rural areas for businesses valorising residuals, and avoiding negative health and environmental impacts from wet organic residuals. Developing hydrothermal carbonisation systems is one of the solutions to remedy agricultural waste and residuals releasing excess nutrients and pollutants in the environment, which are a problem for the sustainable production of food. The roadmap this workshop will produce will help resolve the many hurdles that exist to implementing both technological and policy systems for this technology.

Proceedings: Jeon H.-J et al. (2024), "Occurrence of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Pyrochar and Hydrochar during Thermal and Hydrothermal Processes", Agronomy 2024, 14, 2040; doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14092040

» Enhancing Food System Resilience | London, United Kingdom, 7-8 December 2021 and 5-6 April 2022

Food systems are complex and food system research links agriculture research with many disciplines. The conference has a multidisciplinary set up and will be structured around four key questions: (i) on what the resilience of food systems have to be oriented, (ii) to which threats food systems have to be resilient, (iii) who would benefit from an increased resilience and (iv) over what time frame this resilience should be organised. It will also question, from a policy viewpoint, the degree to which enhancing food system resilience needs to be based on negotiating resilience between different actors in the system rather than implementing a system-wide intervention. Addressing these topics needs to place agricultural and other interventions in a broader construct.

COVID-19 has brought into sharp focus risks to the food security and the negative impact for many. The UN World Food Programme warned that an estimated 265 million people would be facing acute food insecurity by the end of 2020, up from 135 million people before the crisis, because of income and remittance losses. COVID-19, coupled with other shocks and stresses to food security such as climate change and potential alterations in trade arrangements, has greatly heightened societal-level concerns about the resilience of the food system which underpins food security. The food systems framework explicitly recognises food consumers as key actors in the food system. This is important as new framings of food security (FAO HLPE) have included agency as a new dimension of food security, along with the traditional availability, accessibility, utilisation and stability dimensions. Empowering consumers, enhancing agency, particularly those less well endowed, is a promising strategy in improving food security for all. The food systems framework and resilience framing cycle provide a pathway for governments and the private sector to ensure their interventions leave no one behind.

Proceedings: Ingram J. et al., (2023), Nature Food, 4, 440-441, "Further concepts and approaches for enhancing food system resilience", Springer; https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-023-00762-5

» Forecasting and managing multi-risks in Mediterranean, temperate and boreal forests: comparison between North-American and European approaches | Bordeaux, France, 4-6 July 2022  (initially planned on 1-3 December 2021)

This workshop will draw together the current of knowledge on multi-risks in forests and the research perspectives that will help reduce exposure and vulnerability of forests to risks. North-American and European forests provide a wide range of economic and social benefits to humankind. These include contributions to the overall economy – for example through employment, processing and trade of forest products and energy – and investments in the forest sector. They also include the protection of sites and landscapes of high cultural, spiritual or recreational value. Maintaining and enhancing these functions is an integral part of sustainable forest management. Forests have experienced an intensification in disturbances in recent years, such as fires, insect outbreaks and windthrows. Significant advances have been made in understanding natural disturbances taken individually. Survey devices and strategies for risk mitigation have been developed for fire, diseases or windthrows. However multi-risks approaches remain incomplete, despite disturbances often being successive and that some disturbances increase susceptibility to other disturbances. Not only do calamities add up, but they also change in scale as with mega-fires and large pest outbreaks. This workshop is designed to bring together scientists and stakeholders to highlight different scientific problematics related to risk prevention and mitigation based on the issues raised by forest stakeholders. In particular, new public policies in multi-risks management would imply the implementation of devices for risks monitoring and alert. This also requires understanding the decision making process in risk management with its behavioural and economic dimensions.

Proceedings: C. Robin, K. Waldron, E. Rigolot, P. Deuffic, C. Durocher (2022), "Forecasting and managing multi-risks in Mediterranean, temperate and boreal forests: comparison between North-American and European approaches: conference proceedings", HAL; 10.17180/5s85-dt11, hal-040991;  doi.org/10.17180/5s85-dt11

» Overcoming the barriers to adoption of microbial bioherbicides | Bari, Italy, 25-29 September 2022 (initially planned 21-25 September 2021)

In the societal context of agriculture, non-chemical methods in crop protection are gaining importance, particularly as the use of synthetic chemicals is aimed to be substantially reduced in various regions of the world. Thus, biological plant protection is gaining importance, within which weed biocontrol is less applied than other biocontrol agents. Considering this, along with the facts that numerous herbicide active ingredients have been banned or withdrawn in several countries worldwide and no herbicides with new modes of action have been introduced during the last two decades, biological means of weed control are important to be surveyed, summarized and assessed. This workshop will bring together leading experts in biocontrol, plant physiology, microbiology, molecular biology and formulation technology to discuss potentials and perspectives of weed biocontrol, promising to be a good and effective dialogue among research specialists and policy-makers, and is intended to identify the critical technical problems and to propose solutions to overcome them, as well as to help regulatory boards and political bodies in taking proper science-based decisions about the use of microbial bioherbicides. It is, therefore, of particular interest to the OECD Expert Group on Biopesticides, which focuses on, among other things, developing methodologies and guidance to assess the safety of biological pesticides, including microbials, and identifying impediments in the registration process for both companies developing biocontrol products and governments regulating such products.

Proceedings: Special Issue: "The Future of Microbial Bioherbicides" (2024), Ed. Pest Management Science, Vol. 80, Issue 1, Pages: i, 1-191; 

» Assessing the State of Global Plant Health in Natural and Cultivated Ecosystems | Toulouse, France, 5-8 October 2021

This workshop will provide concrete examples of how plant health is essential to the health of individuals and societies, and will be a key step in developing synthetic knowledge of plant health globally. It will be an important step of the Global Plant Health Assessment (GPHA) initiated by the International Society of Plant Pathology (ISPP) in 2020, International Year of Plant Health. The workshop is an essential step in developing synthetic knowledge of plant health globally, which will include a description of the impact of plant diseases on the ecosystem services generated by important plant systems in the world. It will bring together members of the GPHA co-ordination group and the lead scientists of each PlantSystem-Ecoregion considered to analyse reports already commissioned and assemble them into a collective synthesis in order for policy recommendations to be developed. It will deliver, for the first time, information of plant health across regions and systems, thereby helping policy makers to set priorities in targeting practices to improve plant health.

Willocquet L., et al. (Eds.), (2022), Global Plant Health Assessment: An international peer-reviewed evaluation of the state of plant health across ecoregions of the world, and the effects of plant disease on ecosystem services, International Society for Plant Pathology (ISPP); https://www.isppweb.org/about_gpha.asp

Savary S. and Global Plant Health Assessment Project (GHPA), (2023), Plant Disease, Vol. 107, Issue 12, pp 3649-4034, "A Global Assessment of the State of Plant Health", The American Phytpathological Society; https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/PDIS-01-23-0166-FE

» First Conference on Farmer Centric On-farm Experimentation—Digital Tools for a Scalable Transformative Pathway | Montpellier, France, 13-15 October 2021

Technological innovations in agriculture, developed in a mainly top-down approach by the scientific community, are hardly adopted by many farmers. This conference aims to look how on-farm experimentation could bridge this gap. The organisers will hold four virtual workshops to prepare for the main conference on: how ‘on-farm experimentation’ can create value, how this value can be shared and what are the needs for legitimate arrangements to protect intellectual property; the technology fallacy exploring various examples of scalable changes offered by on-farm experimentation towards systemic goals of efficiency, profitability and environmental protection; the opportunity of on-farm experimentation with big data and agricultural analytics to position farmers in the centre of this digital evolution; and policy legislation and investment to support transformation by ‘on-farm experimentation’. The conference itself will discuss and synthesise the results of these virtual workshops with the aims of: congregating, exhibiting and expanding the international network around on-farm experimentation with farmers, researchers, policy, economic specialists; developing scientific, social guidelines and skills in relation to on-farm experimentation; identifying resources and tools to facilitate on-farm experimentation; and advising policy makers.

Proceedings: Bellon Maurel V. et al. (Eds.) (2022), Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Farmer-centric on-farm experimentation (OFE2021): Digital tools for a scalable transformative pathway, Oct. 2021, Montpellier, France, INRAE; DOI:10.17180/NP12-JB28

» Agriculture as an Actor of Social Inclusion (AGASI) | Nitra, Slovak Republic, 14-15 October 2021 

The aim of the conference is to draw the attention of politicians and decision-makers at various levels to the effects that social farming could bring. This issue concerns primarily, but not only, the domains of social affairs, social economy, employment and agriculture. The debate on policy issues that are to be addressed during the conference will contribute to national scientific and public debate. This will be the first international conference on social farming in the Slovak Republic. Its participants will discuss development of policies creating conditions for social farming. It will contribute to the scientific and public debate on forms, effects, added value of social farming, etc. This should help in the process of incorporating social farming into the social economy, social system and agricultural and regional policy of the state. Social farming and gardening could help in inclusion of different groups of disadvantaged people into society. It could bring innovative therapy, education and leisure activities and additional income for farmers.

Proceedings: Chreneková M. et al., (2022), European Countryside, Volume 14, Issue 3, Special Issue "Social Farming", Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Agronomy; https://sciendo.com/issue/euco/14/3

» Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) in lobster and crab fisheries | Fremantle, Australia, 23-24 October 2023 (initially planned on 19-20 October 2020)

Lobster and crab fisheries are some of the most valuable fisheries around the world and make an important contribution to the socio-economic benefit of the community. Society wants to see that the management of these fisheries  is undertaken sustainably for the benefit of local communities and society in general. EBFM is a holistic approach to fisheries management that recognises all the interactions within an ecosystem rather than considering a single species or issue in isolation. The conference will look at the ecological effects of fishing, economic and social issues as well as the sustainability of lobster and crab stocks. Using EBFM principles, inappropriate fishing of lobsters and crabs that lead to trophic cascades with dramatic ecological shifts and loss of productivity in important coastal ecosystems, would be avoided, damage to sensitive habitats reduced and interactions with protected species minimised.

 » Water use assessment of livestock production systems and supply chains | Berlin, Germany, 14-16 December 2022 (initially planned on 11-12 October 2020)

Pre-event of the 12th International Conference on Life Cycle Assessment of Food on the theme of Towards Sustainable Agri-Food Systems

This workshop will assess the implementation of guidelines for water use developed by the Technical Advisory Group for FAO’s Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance (LEAP) Partnership. The workshop will advance and harmonise methods and techniques to assess and improve water use in livestock productions systems and supply chains by analysing case studies in which the recently developed LEAP guidelines were applied. Different livestock water use assessment methodologies will be reviewed for their scientific robustness and practicality, focussing on the water scarcity footprint and water productivity indicators, the model calculations, data requirements and scale of analysis to help provide a sound understanding of the pressure exerted by the livestock production sector on water resources to support improvements to livestock water productivity and a reduction of its contribution to water scarcity.

Proceedings: Water | Special Issue : Assessment of Water Use in Livestock Production Systems and Supply Chains

» Climate Change and Food System - synergies of adaptation and mitigation, and advanced utilization of climate information for sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture | Tsukuba, Japan, 17-18 October 2022  (initially planned on 7-8 June 2020)

This symposium will bring together the latest information on climate change studies in all phases of the food system – growing, harvesting, processing, transporting, marketing, consumption and disposal. It will cover topics such as the impacts of climate change on various sectors related to the food system, the assessment of biophysical and social vulnerability, damage due to climate hazards and adaptation implementation. Implementation pathways to enhance synergies between adaptation and mitigation will be discussed, as well as the issues of current knowledge gaps and major obstacles to implementation pathways from technical and social standpoints. As the organisers plan to invite the Lead Authors of Working Group 2 of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change 6th Assessment Report to be speakers at the symposium, the discussions and information coming out of the symposium should feed into the report.

Proceedings: Special Issue, “Adaptations to climate change in food systems” (2024), Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 2024, 69:101450; Ed. Elsevier B.V., 101450 1877–3435; https://www.sciencedirect.com/special-issue/10LGWG712X4

 » International Workshop "Food security: managing risks in a connected world" | Santiago, Chile, 7-8 September 2022  (initially planned  28-30 September 2020)

This workshop is being organised as part of the International Conference on One Medicine One Science (iCOMOS), one of the first global forums of its kind to be organised in Latin America. The workshop will explore different methods of identifying emerging issues and measuring their impact on food systems using model, experimental and other empirical approaches. It will also explore the management implications of increased threats (e.g. pathogens, antimicrobial resistance, pollutants, etc.) and the related impacts of these strategies on ecosystem and societal health. The outputs of the workshop and conference more broadly, if the new knowledge presented is used, could lead to reduced illnesses and deaths, increased food quality, updated regulations and generally recognised safer products.

» New Futures for Satoyama and SEPLs - innovation in policy and practice to sustain cultural landscapes | Cirencester, United Kingdom, 27-29 June 2022 (initially planned 2-4 September 2020) 

The aim of this conference will be to showcase challenges, ideas and experience in how best to sustain and achieve resilience within cultural landscapes, strengthening positive nature-culture interlinkages and recognising the added value to society that these systems offer. It will provide policy makers with potential mechanisms and strategies to support moving away from a future of industrial agricultural landscapes managed in standardised ways by companies employing very few people and using high levels of capital, machinery and resource inputs. SEPLS (social-ecological production landscapes) allow people to gain multiple economic, socio-cultural and environmental benefits by sustaining a close relationship with the land and its productive management, working at a human scale and reflecting diversity in conditions and cultures. SEPLS seek to protect and enhance nature and functioning ecosystems and they offer mitigation and adaptation benefits via a reduced reliance on GHG-based technologies.

» Development of standard research methodologies for the mass rearing of insects fed waste organic residues for the production of novel animal feeds | Quebec, Canada, 14 June 2022 (workshop session of the Insects to Feed the World conference, 12-16 June 2022) (initially planned 2-6 June 2020)

A workshop within the 3rd International conference: Insects to Feed the World 2020

The objective of this workshop is to establish standard research and development standards in the growing field of the production of novel animal feeds from insects fed with waste organic matter.
To meet the current and future food challenges, the agri-food sector needs to find new ways of growing food, with inefficiencies addressed and novel approaches developed for alternative production practices. Although the direct consumption of insects by humans is not widely practiced in Western countries, using insects to convert waste organic biomass offers an interesting opportunity to produce high-quality feed ingredients for animal production. The growing international interest in this sector can be seen by the large increase in applied and fundamental research being conducted and published. However, a lack of methodological standards for research and development means that interpreting and comparing results from different studies are difficult. This results in consensus building on key issues within the scientific community being a challenge, and the ability of policy makers and regulators to adequately assess the state of this rapidly-evolving field being impeded. The planned outcome of the workshop is structured guidelines for research methodologies that would become industry standards, enabling co-ordination among researchers and increased confidence for public organisations to develop appropriate policy and regulatory guidelines and decisions.

Proceedings: OECD Workshop Special Issue: "Towards standard methodologies for black soldier fly research", edited by Grant Vandenberg and Laura Gasco, in Journal of Insects as Food and Feed, Volume 10 (2024), Issue 10 (Sep 2024), Online ISSN: 2352-4588, Publisher: Wageningen Academic

» Developing roadmaps for sustainable nitrogen management | Paris, France, 18-20 May 2022 (initially planned in New York, USA, 31 August-2 September 2020)

The central aim of this workshop is to establish the pillars of a new governance framework for addressing agricultural nutrient pollution, particularly of nitrogen and phosphorous. Most policies addressing agricultural nutrient pollution have failed because of the difficulties in implementing changing farmer behaviour, even though nutrient pollution is one of the most important environmental issues facing society, exacerbating air and water pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change. This workshop will take the novel approach of looking how a governance system can be designed that is aimed at the agri-food chain beyond the farm, from fertiliser producers to waste water treatment companies, and that is capable of changing the incentives driving farm-level nutrient use – i.e. how to reduce agricultural nutrient pollution without regulating farmers. The workshop will help expand the regulatory toolbox available to policymakers for addressing the issue of agricultural nutrient pollution and will provide a foundation for policymakers to compare the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of different options to help decide on a regulatory strategy most suited to particular political, economic and legal contexts. Nutrient pollution is directly to relevant to seven out of 17 Sustainable Development Goals and to national climate plans under the Paris Climate Agreement.

» Grazing in Future Multi-Scapes: From thoughtscapes to landscapes, creating health from the ground up | Lincoln, New Zealand, 31 May - 5 July 2021 (virtual conference)

New and innovative ways to manage the world’s pastoral agriculture systems are required to prevent the environmental degradation that pastoral farming can cause, and improve the health of the land, the animals and the people. This workshop will propose new approaches to pastoral agriculture which will underpin policy addressing future management of productive and recreational lands, leading to substantial impacts for society through improved nutrition and food resilience, as well as recreational, cultural and aesthetic values. The vision of this workshop will centre on improving the nutritional qualities of meat through less intensive pastoralism on more biodiverse healthy lands that are sustainably managed. 2020 has been declared by the UN as International Year of Plant Health, and plant health will be at the core of the workshop, with plant health underpinning healthy grazing and healthy animals. The workshop will think holistically about the role of plant health in pastoral landscapes and the economic, social and environmental impact of plant health on food security and ecosystem functions.

Proceedings: Gregorini P. et al (Eds.) (2022), Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, Grazing in Future Multi-scapes: From Thoughtscapes to Landscapes, Creating Health from the Ground Up, Frontiers Media SA, Lausanne; https://doi:10.3389/978-2-88976-463-1

The Governing Body of the Co-operative Research Programme hosted a forum on "Regenerative agriculture" at its annual meeting on 27 November 2023.

The programme for this forum included the following presentations:

1. Role of soil organism for soil regeneration - Dr. Ladislav MIKO, Counsellor to the Czech Minister of the Environment, Czechia

2. A snapshot of regenerative agriculture in Canada, and why it is important to a wildlife conservation organisation - Dr. Carolyn CALLAGHAN, The Canadian Wildlife Federation 

3. The role of agricultural systems conservation and regeneration to adapt to and mitigate climate change - Dr. Toshihiro HASEGAWA, NARO, Japan

4. From the lab to the farm: promoting regenerative agriculture by updating the “arena of change” - Mr. Eran ETTINGER, Department of Environmental Studies, The Hebrew University, Israel

5. Connecting with the regenerative agriculture “movement”: a 6-year journey into research impact - Dr. Gwen GRELET, Landcare Research, New Zealand

The Governing Body of the Co-operative Research Programme hosted a forum on "New ways of doing agriculture" at its annual meeting on 6 December 2022.

The programme for this forum was as follows:

1. "Urban agriculture and green infrastructure in urban landscapes"- Dr Attila Tóth, Head, Institute of Landscape Architecture, University of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovak Republic

2. "Are robotics mature enough to support new farming challenges?" - Mr Christophe Aubé, Président, RobAgri, France

• OECD Tractors Video
• AgreenCulture

3.  "NeoFarm: an agro-ecological and technological farm model for sustainable production" - Mr. Julien Sauvageon, Deployment & Development Manager, NeoFarm, France 

4. "Making vertical farming a true player in the supply chain"- Mr. James Lloyd-Jones, Founder and CEO, Jones Food Company (JFC), United Kingdom

The Governing Body of the Co-operative Research Programme hosted a forum on "Resilience in Agriculture" at its annual meeting on 6 December 2019.

The programme for this forum was as follows:

1. "OECD work on the global food system" - Mr. Koen Deconinck, OECD, Trade and Agriculture Directorate (TAD), Agro-food, Trade and Markets (ATM) Division 

2. "Reflections from the CRP Fellowship to the University of Queensland" - Dr. John Ingram, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, UK 

3. "A food systems approach to food loss and waste" - Ms. Morvarid Bagherzadeh, OECD, Trade and Agriculture Directorate (TAD), Agriculture and Resource Policy (ARP) Division 

The Governing Body of the Co-operative Research Programme hosted a forum on "Circular/Bio-economy in the Agri-food Sector"at its annual meeting on 30 November 2018.

The programme for this forum was as follows:

• An overview of STI's Work on Bio-economy - Mr. Jim Philp, OECD, Science, Technology and Innovation Directorate (STI)
• The Circular Bio-economy in Agriculture and Forestry - Dr. Ben Allen, Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), United Kingdom
• EU Research and Innovation for a Circular Agriculture - Mr. Fabio Cossu, European Commission, DG Agriculture and Rural Development, Belgium
• Sustainability: a Key Concept in the Development of the Agri-food Based Bio-economy - Dr. Fionnuala Murphy, School of Biosystems and Food Engineering, University College Dublin, Ireland

The Governing Body of the Co-operative Research Programme hosted a forum on "Visions of the Future in Food Production" at its annual meeting on 1 December 2017. The programme for this forum was as follows:

• "Synthetic meat production and its environmental and economic potentials" - Mr. Peter Verstrate, MosaMeat B.V., the Netherlands
• "Industralising land-based fish farming for a protein-hungry future: an interdisciplinary approach to environmental and economic success" - Mr. Trond-Inge Kvernevik, Niri AS, Fiskevegn AS, Norway
• "Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Agriculture" - Professor David Hughes, Penn State, CIDD, Department of Entomology and Biology, United States
•  An overview of TAD's work on the OECD Project on "Digital Opportunities in Agriculture"- Ms. Gwendolen Deboe, OECD, Trade and Agriculture Directorate, Natural Resources Policy Division

»"It was a fantastic experience for my whole team to see a researcher from a different background come and share his knowledge and expertise with generosity and enthusiasm."

UK host laboratory supervisor hosting an American fellow in 2023

»"This is the first time in my career that I have hosted an OECD CRP fellow. I found it to be an extremely rewarding experience and would be happy to host another." 

US host laboratory supervisor hosting a Hungarian fellow in 2018

»"This was a very useful conference that brought together leaders of the subject together. The size of he conference was just right to communicate with each other and receive excellent input. A good mixture of presentations and sessions where a direct communication was emphasised." Speaker at the conference on "Reducing nitrogen losses and greenhouse gas emissions from arable agriculture: How can new modelling concepts help?" in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, May 2023

»"It's been a pleasure to organise the workshop and the support from the OECD including from the CRP representative has been very positive and helpful." Organisers of the workshop on "Rapid evolution and the global spread of invasive species in Wallingford" in  Wallingford, United Kingdom, June 2019

»"This was an outstanding meeting that provided a unique opportunity to meet many world leaders in this field." Participant at the conference on "Natural products in pest management: Innovative approaches for increasing their use", in Bellagio, Italy, September 2018

» "Very good opportunity to see so many of the famous people on the field speak about their research!" Participant from the "4th International Workshop on Streptococcus suis" in Montreal, Canada, June 2019