Informal working document
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Cooperation
THEME 2
Food, agriculture and Fisheries, and biotechnology
Updated
Reflection paper
Activity 2.1
22 December 2011
Table of Content
Activity 2.1: Sustainable production and management of biological resources from land, forest and aquatic environment
Area 2.1.1 Enabling research
Main line 1.1:'Omics technologies', systems biology and other basic plant sciences
Main line 1.2:'Omics technologies', systems biology and other basic sciences in farm animals
Main line 1.3:Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
Main line 1.4: Novel technologies for agricultural practices
Area 2.1.2 Increased sustainability of all production systems (agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture); plant health and crop protection
Main line 2.1: Strategies for adaptation to and mitigation of, climate change
Main line 2.2: Interdisciplinary research on farming systems,agro- and forest-ecosystems (and other research integrating biological, agricultural, socio-economic and policy research)
Main line 2.3:Management and use of natural resources (e.g. water and soil and functional biodiversity) in agriculture and forestry
Main line 2.4:Sustainable and competitive plant production including low-input and organic farming
Main line 2.5:Increased plant resource efficiency; adaptation of plants, crops and forest trees to biotic and abiotic stress
Main line 2.6:Plant health & Plant protection
Main line2.7:Forestry systems,production and services (including bioenergy); tree related research
Main line2.8:Knowledge-base for an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM)
Main line 2.9:Investigating the socio and economic dimension of EU fisheries and aquaculture activities
Main line 2.10:New governance for the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and its inclusion in the EU Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP)
Main line 2.11:In depth understanding of essential biological functions of farmed aquatic animals and integration to the production cycle
Main line 2.12:Ecosystem approach to aquaculture
Main line 2.13:Cross thematic activities related to Marine research
Area 2.1.3 Optimised animal health, production and welfare across agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture
Main line 3.1: Animal health and non food-borne zoonoses
Main line 3.2: Food-borne zoonoses; antimicrobial resistance
Main line 3.3: Animal welfare
Main line 3.4: Farm animals; nutrition; optimising production efficiency and safety
Main line 3.5: Farm animals; breeding, including reproduction for optimised production efficiency
Area 2.1.4 Socio-economic research and support to policies
Main line 4.1: Developing/coordinating the KBBE
Main line 4.2: Strengthening the impact of agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture research: Communication and dissemination; Technology transfer and training
Main line 4.3: Support to Common Agricultural Policy
Main line 4.4: Support to Organic Farming Policy
Main line 4.5: Forestry action plan
Main line 4.6: Trade in agricultural products
Main line 4.7: Addressing new challenges of rural development
Main line 4.8: Support to other policies
List of criteria:
Introduction
This document describes the areas and mainlines of Activity 2.1 'Sustainable production and management of biological resources from land, forest and aquatic environment ' in terms of topics and projects, followed by a gap analysis per mainline and/or group of connected mainlines. Figures of topics and projects of Calls 1 to 6 per area and main line can be seen in table 1.
For the gap analysis, the topics and projects of Calls 1 to 6 of FP7 have been analysed in terms of the following documents and issues: Specific Programme, main lines, scientific developments, grand challenges[1], innovation, SMEs, international collaboration, European added value.
This reflection paper and its gap analyses will provide a basis to design the FP7 2013 Cooperation Work Programme - Theme FAFB. The gap analysis follows the structure of the document in areas and main lines. However, WP2013 will follow an approach aimed at tackling wider societal challenges and enhancing innovation. This calls for defining broad topics which will cover several gaps identified in different main lines, areas, activities, and potentially themes. Following the same approach, some gaps might not be covered in WP2013.
As a result of Work Programmes 2007 to 2011 (including calls 1 to 5), 182projectswithin the remit of Activity 2.1 have been funded (or are under negotiation) with a total contribution of EUR470million[2]. As regardsWP2012 (including Call 6), EUR108million have been earmarked for up to 36 projects to be funded within the 29 topics (25 KBBE,2 OCEAN, 1 ERA-NET, 1 ERA-NET+), plus EUR 3.35 million as a contribution to BONUS (Article 185).
All mainlines under Activity 2.1 were covered by at least one topic/project since the start of FP7. Although the scope of the areas mentioned in the Specific Programme for Activity 2.1 is extremely wide, it is fair to say that the most important aspects and indeed all the "Grand Challenges" have been covered to some extent although not necessarily in sufficient depth. Still a significant number of gaps were identified and it is unlikely that all of them will be filled before the end of FP7.
According to the Budget Review 2010, the European Added Value of funded research and other activities is ensured by:funding research where critical mass could only be achieved through multilateral efforts; addressing pan-European and global challenges; pooling and leveraging resources to address issues that go beyond national or bi-national interest; supporting EU policies, strategies and initiatives; providing EU scale dissemination of results; improving S&T capabilities; launching global initiatives. These criteria for European added value have been adequately fulfilled by funding so far within Activity 2.1, to various extents. As regards building of ERA, Activity 2.1 is home to a number of ERA-NETs many of which have been suggested by the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR). Under WP2011, a CSA was selected to support the implementation by participating states, of a Joint Programming Initiative on 'Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change'. Under WP2012, there is a topic for an ERA-NET Plus on innovation in the forest-based sector for increasing resource efficiency and tackling climate change with competitive customer solutions.
The Commission Communication 'Europe 2020'[3]and the 'Innovation Union Communication'[4] have served as guidelines to identify challenges, trends and drivers and to develop the strategy to be followed. Innovation should be seen in a broad context in the whole activity: not only for products and processes, but also organisational structures and the whole process of research and innovation itself. Other aspects could be addressed by looking at the demand side of innovation. Activity 2.1 is well suited to include research and innovation guidance towards any possible Innovation Partnership on 'Agricultural productivity and sustainability'.
Explicit statements on results of FP7 projects are difficult to make at this time: Projects of Call 4 are under negotiation, those of Call 3 are in their first period, and those of Calls 1 and 2 have only delivered their first periodic reports. From the first reports, no conclusions can be drawn that might help in drafting the next WP. However, results from FP6 projects have always been and will be taken in consideration along with other inputs for the formulation of topics.
In order to identify research needs in Activity 2.1, research priorities and other appropriate information have been collected from several sources during recent years. Research priorities identified by EU institutions/bodies were collected through communication between DG RTD services, as well as, with DG SANCO[5], DG MARE[6], DG AGRI[7], DG DEV[8], DG ENV[9], EFSA. Research recommendations and topic suggestions from Comitology bodies were obtained through the Programme Committee, the Advisory Group,the Standing Committee for Agriculture Research and its foresight activities. Furthermore, the 'Strategic Research Agendas' and 'Implementation Plans' of the relevant European Technology Platforms[10] and research priorities communicated to the EC have been consulted in order to incorporate the view of the European industry. Considerable opportunities for international S&T cooperation have been offered in past calls, with some large, sometimes global initiatives. Recommendations from completed/running projects and individual/groups of scientists have been taken into account, and relevant literature and outputs of International Conferences, workshops, have been screened. The input has been given in various ways, from very detailed topic texts to broad areas of research.
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Informal working document
Confidential
Historical overview of Activity 2.1 topics per mainline
Warning:
This table should be interpreted with caution: the total EC contributions mentioned above correspond tothe projects/topicsas they were referenced under the respective areas inthe work programmes. However,in this tablethe projects/topics have been attributed to their most relevant mainline(s) andany project/topic may have been under several relevant main lines (as in the boxes below each main line inthe reflection paper itself) . The main lines were subject to revision in October 2009 and November 2010 and topics/projects were reattributed according to the revised mainlines. Only the topics/projects referenced under activity 2.1 in the work programmes are taken into account in the table, even if some topics under activities 2.2 or 2.3 are relevant for certain mainlines under activity 2.1.
When a topic without a selected project in a given call was taken up again with success in a subsequent call, this topic is not listed in the column 'uncovered topics'.The projects/topics and EC contributions include the amounts for ERANETs selected in the horizontal calls under work programmes 2007-2010 (2selected under area 2.1.2, 1 under area 2.1.3 and 3selected under area 2.1.4): around 6 Mio€ in total.
Main Lines / Projects / Topics / Contribution Projects from calls 1 to 5(€ mio) / Uncovered Topics / Uncovered Topics
from Calls 1 to 5
1 (2007) / 2A (2007) / 2B (2008) / 3
(2009) / 4 (2010) / 5 (2011) / Total so far / 6 (2012) / 1 (2007) / 2A (2007) / 2B (2008) / 3 (2019) / 4 (2010)
5 (2011)
Area 2.1.1 Enabling research / 3 / 3 / 4 / 3 / 3 / 5 / 21 / 3 / 70,2 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
1 / 'Omics technologies', systems biology and other basic plant sciences / 2 / 1 / 2 / 1 / 1 / 3 / 10 / 1
2 / 'Omics technologies', systems biology and other basic sciences in farm animals / 1 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 5 / 0 / 1 / MRLs species to species
3 / Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity / 0 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 4 / 0
4 / Novel technologies for agricultural practices / 0 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 2 / 1* / Zoonotic GIS systems
Area 2.1.2 Increased sustainability of all production systems (agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture); plant health and crop protection / 15 / 4 / 13 / 21 / 15 / 21 / 89 / 13 / 227,3 / 3 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 0
1 / Strategies for adaptation to and mitigation of, climate change / 1 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 2 / 5 / 1
2 / Interdisciplinary research on farming systems, agro- and forest-ecosystems (and other research integrating biological, agricultural, socio-economic and policy research) / 2 / 0 / 3 / 4 / 1 / 0 / 10 / 1
3 / Management and use of natural resources (e.g. water and soil and functional biodiversity) in agriculture and forestry / 0 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 2 / 5 / 1
4 / Sustainable and competitive plant production including low-input and organic farming / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 8 / 1
5 / Increased plant resource efficiency; adaptation of plants, crops and forest trees to biotic and abiotic stress / 1 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 2 / 5 / 0
6 / Plant health & Plant protection / 3 / 0 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 2 / 11 / 1
7 / Forestry systems, production and services (including bioenergy); tree related research / 1 / 0 / 3 / 3 / 0 / 2 / 9 / 3 / 1 / Nonmarketable forest goods and services
8 / Knowledge-base for an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) / 2 / 0 / 0 / 3 / 0 / 1 / 6 / 1
9 / Investigating the socio and economic dimension of EU fisheries and aquaculture activities / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 2 / 0 / 1 / Cost efficiency
10 / New governance for the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and its inclusion in the EU Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP) / 4 / 0 / 1 / 3 / 2 / 0 / 10 / 0 / 1 / 1 / Bluefin tuna
Negative impacts
11 / In depth understanding of essential biological functions of farmed aquatic animals and integration to the production cycle / 0 / 2 / 0 / 2 / 2 / 1 / 7 / 2 / 1 / Inland extensive and semi-intensive aquaculture
12 / Ecosystem approach to aquaculture / 0 / 0 / 2 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 3 / 1
13 / Cross thematic activities related to marine research / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3 / 5 / 8 / 1 / 10
Area 2.1.3 Optimised animal health, production and welfare across agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture / 10 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 6 / 34 / 4 / 83,3 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0
1 / Animal health and non food-borne zoonoses / 6 / 2 / 2 / 4 / 4 / 4 / 22 / 2 / 1 / Zoonotic GIS systems
2 / Food-borne zoonoses; antimicrobial resistance / 0 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 1* / Zoonotic GIS systems
3 / Animal welfare / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 1 / 5 / 0
4 / Farm animals; nutrition; optimising production efficiency and safety / 1 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 1
5 / Farm animals; breeding, including reproduction for optimised production efficiency / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 3 / 1
Area 2.1.4 Socio-economic research and support to policies / 11 / 0 / 5 / 7 / 4 / 11 / 38 / 9 / 89,4 / 1 / 0 / 2 / 1 / 0
1 / Developing/coordinating the KBBE / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 3 / 4 / 1 / 1 / 0 / Developing KBBE
2 / Communication and dissemination; technology transfer and training / 1 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 2 / 5 / 2
3 / Support to Common Agricultural Policy / 3 / 0 / 1 / 2 / 1 / 2 / 9 / 0 / 1 / Quality assurance
4 / Support to Organic Farming Policy / 1 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 3 / 1 / 1 / Societal impact of Organic Farming
5 / Forestry action plan / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0
6 / Trade in agricultural products / 3 / 0 / 1 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 6 / 1 / 1 / Globalisation and trade in developing countries
7 / Addressing new challenges of rural development / 3 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 9 / 4
8 / Support to other policies / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 0
Total / 39 / 10 / 26 / 36 / 28 / 39 / 182 / 29 / 470,2 / 5 / 1 / 3 / 2 / 0
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Informal working document
Confidential
Activity 2.1: Sustainable production and management of biological resources from land, forest and aquatic environment
Area 2.1.1 Enabling research
Enabling research on the key long term drivers of sustainable production and management of biological resources (micro-organisms, plants and animals) including the exploitation of biodiversity and of novel bioactive molecules within these biological systems. Research will include 'omics' technologies, such as genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and converging technologies, and their integration within systems biology approaches, as well as the development of basic tools and technologies, including bioinformatics and relevant databases, and methodologies for identifying varieties within species groups.
Coverage 2007-2010 and gap analysis:Thematic coverage:
MLs 1.1, 1.2 and to a lesser extent ML 1.4 are of a cross-cutting nature serving research on plants/animals/micro-organisms both for food- and non-food uses, their ecosystems/production systems and ultimately to address the related challenges, , and thus are interconnected with many other MLs, in particular those under areas 2.1.2 and 2.1.3 and even activities 2.2 and 2.3. They deal with more fundamental biological questions and the creation of tools (for genetics, genomics and systems biology) as well as with the conservation and use of genetic resources in agriculture and forestry. The strategic importance of more fundamental research is reflected in the share of budget and number of projects allocated to ML 1.1.
Policy impact:
Enabling research has a medium to long term impact on a number of EU policies, such as Common Agriculture Policy (see area 2.1.4), but also on innovation, i.e. through impact on breeding activities, agricultural practices and technologies.Support to biodiversity is relevant to the implementation of international commitments such as the Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources in Agriculture. It is also essential to secure crop adaptation, and ultimately, food security.
Gap analysis:
Although ML 1.1 on "Omics technologies" in plant sciences has been reasonably well covered, gaps obviously exist, notably as regards research on (beneficial) (soil) microorganisms and the communication between those and the plant in agriculture and forestry systems. In addition, research addressing the biological/genetic basis of processes leading to increased productivity, resource efficiency and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses require continued attention. There is also a need to create, pool and make use of genomic resources for crops of strategic importance and for those not having yet benefited from technological advances.Contrary to ML 1.1, ML 1.3 on Biodiversity and its functions has received limited support and this imbalance requires to be addressed in upcoming calls.As regards livestock, the obvious gaps are mainly about epigenetics and systems biology and host-pathogen interactions, complex but promising domains.
In view of the increasing importance of data handling and related tools, it is importantto consider that genomic, genetic and bioinformatic resources created under major FP6 Integrated Projects or current FP7 initiatives, need further development, connection and maintenance to be able to capitalize on the significant investments undertaken. There may be complementary/overlapping aspects with the Integrated Infrastructures in Life Sciences (Capacities Programme): There are FP7 projects focussed on, or of (potential) interest for agriculture: e.g. ELIXIR (preparatory phase for European Life Sciences Infrastructure for biological information); NADIR (animal diseases); ERIN (ruminant physiology). The proposals submitted for the complementary action to ELIXIR and as a follow up to ERIN (INFRA WP2011) were not successful. Tentative topics in INFRA WP2010 on integrated centres for animal/plant genetic resources received eligible proposals but were not ranked high enough to be selected due to competition between topics. Topics on plant genetic resources, on biological resources centres for micro-organisms and on animal disease infectiology are part of INFRA WP2012.
The potential need for additional topics on biodiversity should be considered, in particular with regard to socio-economics.
The activities under ML1.4 on novel technologies for agricultural practices are now covered to a significant extent, with in particular two topics in WP2012.
Main line 1.1:
'Omics technologies', systems biology and other basic plant sciences
Description: The development of high-grade "omics" technologies has enabled plant scientists to gain new insights into the genetic basis of fundamental biological processes of plants and plant pathogens. The development of additional tools is crucial to gain a deeper understanding of the functioning and regulation of genes and their products in developmental, environmental and evolutionary contexts. Also, findings from model systems need to be transferred into plants of agronomic importance, with the aim of optimising the genetic makeup of crops, e.g. improving nutrient/water use efficiency, resistance to biotic/abiotic stresses, improving the quality of end products.
Bioinformatics is essential to exploit the huge amount of quantitative data generated by high-throughput analyses. The storage, organisation and interpretation of this information in standard and easily accessible forms as well as its configuration into interactive models represent a particular challenge.
Further advances in mathematical, computational and modelling tools are required to gain a systems understanding of plants by means of studying interacting proteins, metabolites, and cellularprocesses dynamically and by integrating information at various levels from the molecule to whole organisms and populations. The development of predictive models is expected to elucidate the complex steps from the genotype to the phenotype and facilitate the prediction of crop performance in relation to management practices and various ecological settings.