Joint AU-EU Roadmap for the Research and Innovation Partnership on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) 2027–2036

Abstract

The roadmap renews the AU–EU research and innovation (R&I) partnership on food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture (FNSSA) for 2027–2036, under the political steer of the AU–EU High-Level Policy Dialogue on Science, Technology and Innovation. It builds on the 2016–2026 cycle, which established collaborative structures but suffered from fragmentation and uneven uptake of results. It sets four mutually reinforcing priorities: sustainable management of agriculture and food systems; agri-food systems transformation for healthy nutrition shaped by societal change; integrated agri-food markets, trade and innovation deployment; and the bioeconomy as an engine of sustainable transformation. Digitalisation and artificial intelligence, and the social sciences and humanities, are cross-cutting enablers. The roadmap treats innovation as a continuum from research to market deployment and stresses multi-actor co-design with farmers, SMEs, women, youth and Indigenous Peoples. It also emphasizes One Health and coordination through the FNSSA Working Group and IRC-FNSSA. It proposes an open-science knowledge repository, including a repository of null results and implementation failures, and a decision-oriented MEL framework. The aim is to move from fragmented, project-based cooperation to a coherent partnership with tangible benefits on both continents.