8 October 2015, Brussels

On 8 October 2015 the European Commission, DG Research and Innovation in close cooperation with the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) is organising a conference on “Sustainable Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in the Bioeconomy – A Challenge for Europe” in Brussels,  in the  European Commission’s Charlemagne Building.

This conference is expected to be a cornerstone in the broader foresight process, initiated by the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) in 2006, aimed at identifying principles which would enable the primary production sectors (agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture) to cope with a range of complex and interlinked challenges over the next 30-40 years. The event will include a broad debate, based on the findings of the work carried out by the Fourth Foresight Expert Group (FEG4) aimed at reaching a common understanding on the state of the bioeconomy and principles leading to a sustainable bioeconomy. With an emphasis on possible future scenarios, the exercise aims to explore the possible outcomes of developing the paradigm of the bioeconomy, with the fundamental constraint of sustainability. The debate should help to set the research and innovation agenda, establish priorities, and provide a firm footing for future policy development.