Top EU institutes launch ESAAF alliance to shape agri-food policy

Five of Europe’s most prominent research institutions have joined forces to launch a new scientific alliance aimed at reshaping EU agri-food policy. The European Science Alliance for Agriculture and Food (ESAAF) was formally established this week to support the EU’s push for a sustainable, competitive and resilient food system.

This announcement coincides with the opening of the Conference on the Vision for Agriculture and Food, taking place today, 8 May 2025, in Brussels. It comes at a crucial moment, as EU policymakers face mounting pressure to meet Green Deal and Vision for Agriculture objectives, implement new Common Agricultural Policy reforms and respond to climate-related food insecurity.

ESAAF seeks to ensure that these strategic decisions are grounded in high-quality, independent science.

Sjoukje Heimovaara, president of Wageningen University & Research said:

Science must play a fundamental role in transforming Europe’s food systems. 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.”

The founding institutions – Aarhus University (Denmark), Julius Kühn-Institut (Germany), INRAE (France), Wageningen University & Research (Netherlands), and Warsaw University of Life Sciences (Poland) – represent a geographically and scientifically diverse coalition. Together, they aim to serve as a trusted, unified voice for agri-food science in Brussels.

“Despite ongoing efforts to strengthen Europe’s research and innovation ecosystem on the agri-food sector, there remains no single, coordinated entry point for engaging with the research sector at the European level,” emphasised Philippe Mauguin, CEO of INRAE.

Positioning itself as a scientific counterpart to bodies such as the Joint Research Centre and the Science Advice Mechanism, ESAAF will focus specifically on agriculture and food systems, ensuring policies reflect regional realities and the latest scientific insights.

Key functions of the ESAAF

The new alliance aims to:

• Provide rapid and targeted up-to date scientific input to policy discussions  

• Act as a platform for coordinated, cross-European agri-food research advice 

• Serve as a mechanism to ensure synergies among existing networks and prevent duplication

• Support the coordination and launch of new research initiatives aligned with European challenges in agriculture and food

“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,” said Eskild Holm Nielsen, Dean of the Faculty of Technical Sciences at Aarhus University.

“We are very keen to strengthen the link between research and policy to the benefit of the whole of Europe.”