One of the greatest challenges society faces, is food security. Nearly one billion people suffer from malnutrition, while another 500 million are obese. Meanwhile, climate change is already affecting agriculture and natural resources are dwindling. Europe must find solutions for its own agriculture and food security. At the same time, we have a responsibility to contribute to the implementation of global agendas such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) and the Paris Climate Agreement, particularly given the high quality of European research. These challenges are, however, much too complex for any country to handle alone.

Coherent programming for impact in society

While issues concerning food security, agriculture and climate change need a joint coordinated approach, almost 90% of European research is still planned and funded through national research programmes. Without coordination of efforts, there is a risk of research results becoming isolated and scattered across member states.

FACCE-JPI pulls together the research capacity required to tackle the challenges. It seeks to avoid unnecessary duplication and to align and integrate national programmes. The 24 participating countries are committed to building an integrated European Research Area and to address food security, agriculture and climate change. Since 2010, members have participated in about 18 joint research actions worth around 250 million Euro. FACCE-JPI will continue to strive for a shared vision, shared research priorities and more coherence, in order to increase the collective impact of European research on society.