The EU’s new strategic approach to research and innovation also covers livestock systems and food safety and nutrition — areas directly relevant to dairy.
The European Commission has adopted a Communication on a new Strategic Approach to Research and Innovation for competitive, resilient and sustainable agriculture, forestry, rural areas and food systems, bringing together two frameworks — AgRI 2040 (agriculture, forestry, rural areas) and Food 2040 (food systems, including fisheries and aquaculture). It matters to dairy, as its areas of action include livestock systems and food and feed safety, nutrition and health, the European Commission reports.
What the frameworks cover
The Communication aims to strengthen the agri-food innovation ecosystem from early-stage research to market uptake, emphasising users’ needs and real-world impact by bringing together end users, researchers and businesses to co-create and test solutions — helping startups, scaleups and SMEs. Both frameworks will run under Horizon Europe 2028-2034 and parts of the European Competitiveness Fund.
AgRI 2040’s eight preliminary areas cover soils and agri-ecosystems, cropping and livestock systems, the bioeconomy, multifunctional forests, rural areas and stronger value chains, plus digitalisation, AI and robotics.
Food 2040’s six areas address place-based food systems, healthy and sustainable diets, resource efficiency and zero pollution, food environments and consumer empowerment, scaling innovations and fair solutions, and aquatic food.
Six shared priorities include competitiveness, food security and resilience, natural resources and circularity, food and feed safety, nutrition and health, fairness and global cooperation.
Quotes and what’s next
«Our task is to make sure these ideas do not stay in the laboratory, but are tested, adapted to local conditions and turned into practical solutions», said Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen.
«Too many breakthrough solutions still struggle to reach consumers and markets», added Startups, Research and Innovation Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva.
The next milestone is the EU AgRI 2040 Conference, «Future-proofing EU Agri-Food through research and innovation», in Brussels on 24–25 September 2026. The approach combines the Vision for Agriculture and Food and the Life Sciences Strategy and replaces the 2016 agricultural R&I approach and Food 2030
For dairy, the «livestock systems» and «safety and nutrition» areas open opportunities for research funding and innovation uptake.
Source: European Commission (DG AGRI)
