The European Commission has adopted its Communication on a new strategic approach to research and innovation for agriculture, forestry and food systems, which brings together two frameworks: AgRI 2040, focused on primary production, and Food 2040, which speaks directly to the food and drink industry, logistics, distribution, food service and consumption.
For agri-food businesses – from processing SMEs and cooperatives to the largest players in the supply chain – this is a signal that the next EU funding cycles (Horizon Europe 2028-2034 and the new European Competitiveness Fund) will carry dedicated priorities and tools for product, process and business-model innovation.
What the strategy provides for
AgRI 2040 covers agriculture, forestry and rural areas. Its eight preliminary areas of action address soil and agro-ecosystem health, cropping and livestock systems, the bioeconomy, multifunctional forests, rural areas and stronger agri-food value chains, as well as digitalisation, artificial intelligence and robotics.
Food 2040, by contrast, looks at the entire food system, including fisheries and aquaculture, through six areas of action: place-based food systems; healthy and sustainable diets; resource efficiency and zero pollution; food environments and consumer empowerment; scaling up innovations, business models and fair food systems solutions; and aquatic food.
The two frameworks share six common priorities: competitiveness of startups and scale-ups; food security, resilience and preparedness; natural resources and circularity; food and feed safety and nutritional quality; fairness along the value chain; and global cooperation.
Food 2040: the six areas that directly concern business
The Food 2040 framework identifies six areas of action that closely affect anyone who produces, processes or distributes food:
- Place-based food systems, with short supply chains and local value chains as a competitive lever;
- Healthy and sustainable diets, opening space for product reformulation, alternative proteins and new ingredients;
- Resource efficiency and zero pollution, meaning packaging, waste reduction and circular economy along the chain;
- Food environments and consumers, with attention to transparency, labelling and communication with the end consumer;
- Scaling innovations, business models and fair systems, the chapter most directly aimed at startups, scale-ups and companies looking to take an innovation from prototype to market;
- Aquatic food, covering fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing.
This framework works alongside AgRI 2040, which covers agricultural and livestock production further upstream: the two strategies are designed to connect along the whole chain, so that innovation generated in the field (new varieties, cropping practices, digitalisation) also finds an outlet in processing and the finished product.
Why now: a competitiveness problem, not just a sustainability one
The Commission puts a figure at the centre of its case that speaks directly to businesses: private investment in agri-food technologies in Europe fell by 67% between 2020 and 2024, a drop that leaves the continent well behind the United States and Canada, where technology spending in the sector was 50-70% higher.
At the same time, the food and drink industry remains the EU's largest manufacturing sector by number of companies – around 300,000, the vast majority SMEs – with 4.8 million jobs and €296 billion in value added, while Europe's agri-food trade surplus reached €50 billion in 2025. The strategy's underlying message is that, without a reversal in innovation investment, this trade leadership cannot be taken for granted going forward.
The tools designed for businesses
Several elements of the Communication are explicitly built with businesses in mind, not just academic research:
- Living Labs and shared experimentation environments, where companies, researchers and end users co-design and test new products or processes under real-world conditions, cutting time and risk before market launch.
- Regulatory sandboxes, to test innovative solutions more quickly – new ingredients, process technologies or packaging – ahead of full regulatory clearance.
- Simplified funding pathways for agritech and foodtech startups, scale-ups and SMEs, with support on intellectual property and capital for commercial validation – an area where the industry has long complained about the difficulty of moving from prototype to at-scale production.
- Mandatory multi-actor approach in most Horizon Europe calls (already required in over 70% of current calls, according to early sector analysis), requiring companies and end users to take part in EU-funded research projects, not just universities and research centres.
- A new Science for Policy Hub, run by the Joint Research Centre, as a scientific reference point also for shaping regulatory choices that affect the supply chain.
What agri-food businesses can do now
Monitor upcoming Horizon Europe calls, particularly those tied to Food 2040's six priorities (local supply chains, alternative proteins, packaging and circular economy, consumer transparency, scaling business models, the seafood chain).
Consider participating in multi-actor partnerships, now a central condition for accessing most EU research and innovation funding.
Follow the EU AgRI 2040 Conference – "Future-proofing EU Agri-Food through research and innovation" – taking place in Brussels on 24-25 September 2026, where concrete investment priorities for the coming years will be discussed.
Reach out to regional AKIS advisory services and agri-food technology clusters, identified by the Commission as the main bridge between research and business.
- rincipale ponte tra ricerca e impresa.