Agricultural knowledge and innovation systems towards the future : a foresight paper

The European Union's Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) is mandated by the EU Council to play a major role in the coordination of agricultural, food and bioeconomy research efforts across the European Research Area (currently composed of 37 countries). This includes questions of advisory services, education, training and innovation. SCAR set up a Strategic Working Group of civil servants from the European Commission and the Member States to reflect on Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems. This report investigates if Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) are fit to answer the challenges posed by the need to increase productivity and sustainability in agriculture and food production. The analysis focuses on potential disruptive changes due to developments in ICT and E-Science as well as in the bioeconomy and discusses the relation between agricultural research and research for development. Three scenarios (HighTech, Self-Organisation and Collapse) are developed as a foresight for potential future developments of AKIS. Recommendations on interactive innovation and the development of AKIS complement the analysis.