Entitled "Designing the path: a strategic approach to EU agricultural research and innovation", the conference builds on the outcomes of a 6-month process started in June 2015 in EXPO Milan and will be focused on discussing how such an approach can be implemented. Web-streaming will be available all through the conference.

On 19th June 2015, the European Commission launched, at a workshop in EXPO Milan, a process to start elaborating a long-term strategy for EU agricultural research and innovation. A background paper was proposed to the 100 participants of this first workshop. This first paper built already on numerous participatory activities which had been conducted in the twelve preceding months in the context of the Horizon 2020 strategic programming for 2016/2017, involving over 300 experts (scientists, farmers, advisors, technical institutes, rural developments organisations, environmental organisations, civil society organisations, industry representatives etc.)

The outcomes of the first EXPO Milan Workshop and of the on-line consultation that followed provided rich inputs into the elaboration of a draft paper on which the above-mentioned experts were consulted again in December 2015.

A large conference entitled "Designing the path: a strategic approach to EU agricultural research and innovation" organised on 26-28 January 2016 in Brussels, brings this process to a close. The conference is organised as a mix of pre-events, plenary sessions and parallel sessions which are expected to lead to concrete proposals that will help guide future activities.

Commissioner Phil Hogan will open the main conference which will start on 27/01 at 13:45 and close on 28/01 at 17:00 with the intervention of Commissioner Carlos Moedas.

The conference objectives are to present what a strategic approach to EU Agricultural research and innovation could be and to discuss various aspects of how it could be implemented.

A large and varied audience of over 500 people is expected in the course of the 3 days. Close to 100 speakers will inspire the debates in the pre-events and main conference.

For more information on the programme and webstreaming links consult the Conference page.