Five of Europe’s leading institutions in agriculture, food, and life sciences have launched the European Science Alliance for Agriculture and Food (ESAAF) — a new coalition formed to support the transformation and resilience of the EU agri-food sector.
With a shared ambition to build sustainable, competitive, and resilient food systems, ESAAF seeks to contribute scientific insight to key policy challenges facing EU decision-makers, according to a press release.
The alliance will act as a central platform for independent, evidence-based input in food system policy, helping ensure that future strategies are grounded in sound science.
“Science must play a fundamental role in transforming Europe’s food systems,” said Sjoukje Heimovaara, president of Wageningen University & Research. “ESAAF will provide a critical bridge between research and policy, helping the EU navigate the complex challenges of the agri-food domain. We firmly believe food and agricultural policy needs a fertile ground of facts to bear fruit.”
Philippe Mauguin, CEO of INRAE said that despite ongoing efforts to strengthen Europe’s research and innovation ecosystem on agrifood sector, “there remains no single, coordinated entry point for engaging with the research sector at the European level.”
Eskild Holm Nielsen, Dean of Faculty of Technical Sciences at Aarhus University noted that as part of the founding team behind ESAAF, they are very keen to strengthen the link between research and policy to the benefit of the whole of Europe. “We are firmly convinced that the excellence and practice driven scientific expertise that we provide under the auspices of ESAAF will play a crucial role in the current and forthcoming transformation of the European agri-food sector.”
A United Scientific Front
The founding members of ESAAF include:
- Aarhus University (AU) – Denmark
- Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI) – Germany
- National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE) – France
- Wageningen University & Research (WUR) – The Netherlands
- Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS) – Poland
Together, these institutions bring decades of scientific expertise, innovation, and field-based knowledge to the service of EU policymakers in Brussels. While founded by five core members, ESAAF is open to expansion and welcomes contributions from academically recognized organizations across Europe working in agriculture and food.
Science, Structured for Impact
ESAAF aims to serve as a European representative body for agricultural and food research, providing independent, high-level scientific advice to support the European Commission and stakeholders engaged with the European Board for Agriculture and Food (EBAF).
By working alongside existing bodies such as the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Science Advice Mechanism (SAM), ESAAF offers a focused perspective on the complexity and diversity of Europe’s agriculture and food systems. Its approach ensures that regional realities and the latest scientific developments play a central role in shaping future EU policies.
Key Functions of ESAAF Include:
- Providing rapid and targeted most up-to date scientific input to policy discussions
- Acting as a platform for coordinated, cross-European agri-food research advice
- Serving as a way to ensure synergies for existing networks, and preventing duplication
- Supporting the coordination and launch of new research initiatives aligned with European challenges in the field of agriculture and food
