Discover the future(s)! Four scenarios for future-proof crops

December 5, 2019


Climate change, new biotechnologies and changing consumer habits and farming practices are just a few examples which illustrate the dramatic changes that agriculture in the EU may undergo until the year 2050. But how exactly will the challenges, trends and uncertainties develop? The answer to this question is of crucial importance for our society. The HORIZON 2020 project CropBooster-P is specifically looking at how to address this questions, and the project’s ambitious objective is to develop a future-proof roadmap for a sustainable food supply in Europe.

As no one can predict what will happen, the CropBooster-P team did the next best thing: creating a set of diverse learning scenarios to discuss what might happen and what this would mean for the development of the project roadmap. Over the course of the CropBooster-P Scenario Analysis, the project team explored 45 trends and a number of uncertainties that are related to the future of agriculture in Europe. The process resulted in four learning scenarios:

  • “Plantovation”: A success story of innovation in agriculture
  • Your Food. Your Health. Your Choice: How consumers became king
  • Foodmergency: A cautionary tale about food security
  • REJECTech: When science lost the people

On 14th April 2019, these scenarios were introduced to a large group of external stakeholders from science, politics and the food industry. The intensive one-day workshop took place in Brussels and was facilitated by the innovation consultancy SOMMERRUST and organised by the European Technology Platform (ETP) ‘Plants for the Future’, a partner of the project. In order to foster in-depth discussion about the scenarios, the group was asked to imagine specific aspects of the four future worlds — like the typical dinner of a French middle-class family or the required training of a farmer in 2050. Based on the gained intuitive understanding of the scenarios, the CropBooster-P team and the stakeholders jointly worked out the potential practical implications and challenges regarding the key topics of yield, sustainability and nutritional quality.

The four scenarios were also presented at the Euroseeds Congress in Stockholm on 13-15 October 2019.

Euroseeds is also member of the project consortium, involved in a number of activities.

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