Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy

A new JRC report summarises the results of a scientific game on bioeconomy which engaged several stakeholders across EU in foresight thinking. Collaboration, policy coherence, inclusion of rural areas, effective communication and citizens’ engagement emerged among the main areas to consider for shaping the future bioeconomy policy.

The Integrated Modelling Platform for Agro-economic Commodity and Policy Analysis (iMAP) can assess a broad range of policies in the agricultural and food sector, particularly those related to the European Green Deal. This report evaluates the modelling needs which can be covered by the current iMAP model suite, as well as the gaps in model requirements to be filled by further developments or by new models, tools and approaches.

This foresight study, carried out by the European Commission, focuses on the implications of digital technologies for transformative resilience of agri-food systems and rural areas. A wide group of farmers, rural actors, experts and policymakers took part in this collective intelligence-building exercise, to inform digitalisation policy and strategy at the EU and/or national levels, help stress test policy options, and engage key stakeholders at the policy implementation stage.

In this report by the JRC, the authors focus on the agroecology/food system interface and identify a wide variety of links between agroecological principles and sustainability dimensions of food systems. They point out the subjects and segments of food value chains which would benefit from being further explored, to inform future research relevant to the agroecological transition towards the sustainability of food systems.

This outlook report considers the main drivers expected to affect the future of EU agriculture until 2035, keeping an unchanged policy framework. It gives an overview of arable and specialised crops, milk, dairy and meat products, presenting market trends and their impact on farmers’ income. Finally, it analyses two scenario alternatives and theoretical pathways.

Eurostat released the annual review of data and statistics regarding the European agriculture and fisheries sectors, as well as the wider farm to fork chain, including related environmental issues. The document gathers key messages for the EU, it highlights the main players and their key specialisations, accompanying the analysis with effective visualisations.

A new paper published in Nature, led by IIASA and co-authored by the JRC, makes further steps towards consistent accounting of land use CO₂ fluxes: it aims to ensure accurate assessment of progress and provides recommendations to ensure transparency and clarity in the accounting methods used at national level.

On 22 November 2023, the Commission issued a proposal for a Regulation on a monitoring framework for resilient European forests. This framework will enable the collection and sharing of timely and comparable forest data obtained through a combination of Earth Observation technology and ground measurements. Building on existing national efforts, it will offer better data and knowledge for decision making and policy implementation, including more up-to-date information on natural disturbances and forest disasters across Member States.

Created by two Bioeconomy Youth Ambassadors in the framework of the Horizon Europe project BioBeo, this podcast offers a multifaceted representation of the European bioeconomy. It addresses a wide public, offering groundbreaking insights and revelations from the younger generation’s perspective through a series of interviews with bioeconomy experts and stakeholders.