Core Research Themes
The Governing Board determines the FACCE-JPI strategy and subsequent activities with support from the Scientific Advisory Board and the Stakeholder Advisory Board. The strategy is laid down in the Strategic Research Agenda, which elaborates four interdisciplinary Core Themes. These core research themes are gradually taken into account by national research agendas in view of aligning national programmes where much research is already undertaken, and inspire pilot joint actions on topics where research is lacking.
In 2020, the original five Core Themes, have been reviewed and reshuffled into four Core Themes in order to better reflect the current scientific, societal and political context. With the new Strategic Research Agenda outlines a path towards an agricultural sector that respects the planetary boundaries, preserves and encourages biodiversity, reduces emissions and inputs, embraces new approaches such as agroecology and at the same time provides a sufficient and healthy diet.
Core Theme 1: An agricultural sector that contributes to climate neutrality
- investigates the changes needed to reduce the agricultural contributions to climate change. This includes the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the improvement and conservation of carbon storage, driven by technological development and changes in agricultural practices and dietary habits
Core Theme 2: Sustainable & resilient agriculture
- focusses on the need to transition to more resilient farming practices, better adapted to the impacts of climate change. For this, major changes to adapt to societal and economic developments are needed and the value of ecosystem services has to be recognised. The associated risks require careful management in order to establish successful resilient farming enterprises fulfilling all dimensions of sustainability.
Core Theme 3: Nutrition-sensitive agricultural production for food security
- addresses the need to provide sufficient, healthy and nutritious food for all. It highlights the changes necessary to get away from a diet mainly based on available calories and to go towards diverse diets based on nutritional quality. Dietary diversification and a focus on nutritional quality will not only help to increase the diversification of production systems but also support attempts to tackle serious issues such as malnutrition and obesity.
Core Theme 4: Trade-offs and synergies between food production, ecosystems and climate
- will enhance our understanding of the trade-offs and synergies between food security, biodiversity, ecosystems and climate and decision support systems for end users. For this, better attention to ethical issues is needed as well as a closer connection between science and policy and the improvement of methodologies to establish the economic value of ecosystem services.
Cross-Cutting (valorisation) activities
The following two cross-cutting valorisation activities aim at better communicating and disseminating FACCE-JPI scientific results to national / EU policy makers and other stakeholders.
