Research and innovation are essential in the plant breeding and seed sector to develop improved plant varieties that meet the challenging and ever-evolving needs of farmers and other agri-food chain actors, including consumer preferences and policy objectives.
Euroseeds is the voice of the European seed sector and represents the interests of more than 70 direct company members and others active in research, breeding, production and marketing of seeds of agricultural, horticultural and ornamental plant species.
In the shaping of the next European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP10), Euroseeds together with 109 European associations representing key European RD&I stakeholders, hereby urge the EU Institutions to increase the current budget in view of FP10 and to make pan-European collaborative research the cornerstone of FP10, answering industrial needs by excellence.
Public RD&I investments enabled through the EU Framework Programme are crucial to address market failures and to stimulate private RD&I investments by lowering the risks that such investments represent for the industry. To further support EU Competitiveness, FP10 must focus on excellent cross-border collaborative RD&I, with a strong industrial participation.
Plant breeding has a pivotal role in supporting the economic sustainability of Europe’s farming communities and the agri-food value chain. Strengthening the cooperation between public and private actors involved in plant RD&I activities is essential for the transition from basic scientific research to a marketable product.
The next EU Framework Programme needs to foster collaboration, drive technology maturation and innovation, and leverage the expertise of RD&I public and private actors to strengthen competitiveness and assert leadership in key technological domains.
#CompetitiveFP10
