A GAME CHANGER
for the
AGRIFOOD SECTOR
FOR A COMPETITIVE AND SUSTAINABLE AGRIFOOD ECONOMY
The Food4All Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiative – ex artt. 185-187 TFEU – is a strategic, long-term tool to drive innovation and growth transforming the EU Agrifood System (EAS) through targeted investments in R&I&D, training, and education.
This initiative fosters competitiveness, sustainability, and collaboration to address sectoral challenges. While the EU ha invested in institutionalized partnerships across key sectors – digital, aviation, health hydrogen, bioeconomy – the agrifood sector lacks a dedicated structure for effective access to PPP funding.
Food4All acts as a catalyst for sustainable food systems, ensuring that European agrifood businesses remain globally competitive, technologically advanced, and aligned with the principles of sustainability and resilience.
What is the Food4All Partnership?
A significant gap exists in farmers’, food SMEs’, and agro-cooperatives’ access to R&I&D resources, limiting their ability to tackle climate change, eco-transition, digitalization, and global competitiveness.
The proposed Food4All institutionalized public-private partnership, to be recognized by the European Commission and the EU Council, is intended to establish a stable infrastructure to support R&I&D in the sector.
It is aimed at involving farmers, cooperatives, SMEs, large companies, universities, research agencies, and civil society to create practical solutions for all the supply chain, ensuring inclusive access to EU funding.
Challenge & Innovation needs driving Food4All
The agrifood sector is key to the European Green Deal and food safety strategies but faces major obstacles:
-
Sustainability & Climate Change: Adapting to climate change and optimizing the resource use recquires affordable investments for all businesses.
- Financial Costraints: SME’s and farmers struggle to access EU agrifood research funding due to a lack of resources and expertise.
- Digital & Technological Transition: Precision agriculture, AI, and automation are trasnforming the sector but many firms risk exclusion.
- Labor Shortages and Skills Development: The sector faces skills crisis and aging workforce, necessitating investments in training and attracting new talent (Pact4Skills)
The Draghi Report highlights Europe’s declining global competitiveness due to fragmented innovation funding and stringent regulations. Without targeted investments, the EU agrifood sector risks losing ground to region like the US, China and lower-cost comptetitors such as Morocco, Turkey, Brazil and India.
How the Food4All Partnership Works
Food4All is a strategic institutionalized PPP representing EU agrifood interests. By pooling investments, strengthening networks, and fostering innovation, it ensures efficient R&I&D management.
It is a collaborative enterprise associating the EU Commission with an extensive network of private agents to establish R&D priorities.
The outcome is a “joint undertaking” model management of the priorities and topics, and with its financial resources channeled through FP10 (funding instrument within DG RTD, DG AGRI, and other DGs for 2027-2035). Once approved by the EU Council, the Food4All partnership becomes an operational vehicle with large decisional autonomy.
The Food4All partnership translates ultimately into more financial support for the agrifood system within a coherent, effective framework controlled by the private sector.
Strategic Approach
To drive innovation, Food4All adopts a bottom-up strategy, prioritizing Mid-Cap enterprises, SMEs, cooperatives, and farmers by integrating local and national networks.
The partnership enables massive public-private funding, combining public-sector vision with private-sector innovation.
Core concepts:
- Granularity: Selecting the right tool for the right problem of all associates.
- Capillarity: Reaching all associates at different geographical levels with appropriate interventions.
This approach ensures a sustainable, long-term innovation framework, supporting EU agrifood businesses effectively.
Blueprint for 2040 Innovation: ETP/NFTPS Food4Life-SRIA
The Strategic Research & Innovation Agenda (SRIA) outlines sectoral needs and corresponding solutions. Key focus areas:
- Environment: Enhancing agrifood sustainability.
- Health & Well-being: Aligning food systems with societal health goals.
- Society: Improving public health through food innovation.
- Economy & Competitiveness: Ensuring a fair, profitable, and competitive agrifood value chain.
- New skills and talent attraction.
SRIA remains a dynamic strategy, continuously evolving to address emerging challenges.
Contact Information:
c/o Confagricoltura C.so Vittorio Emanuele II 101, 00186 Roma Italy 📞 0039 066852353 📧 info@PPP-food4all.eu | areaprogetti@confagricoltura.it 🌍 www.PPP-food4all.eu
Members and Structure
:Public members include the European Commission, represented by the main Directorates-General involved including: DG RTD, DG AGRI, DG GROW, DG EMPL, DG SANTE and DG ENVI.
Private members comprise key agrifood stakeholders:
- Copa-Cogeca: European Farmers and agro-cooperatives
- FoodDrinkEurope & ETP Food for Life: EU Food Industry and Eu Technology Platforms
- National Food Technologu Platforms & Agrifood Clusters: Linking Regional needs and cooperative representation at national level
- National Food and Industry & Farmers’ Federations: Ensuring Trade association and cooperative representation at national level
- Large Agribusiness Companies: Providing vision, infrastructure and expertise for technological development
- Civil Society Retailers: Philantropic foundations, credit institutions, NGOs, retailers and consumers associations facilitating the transition
Strategic collaborations extended to EIT Food, Pact4Skills, universities, research agencies and innovation-focused initiatives. Governance includes a General Assembly, Board of Directors, Executive Director and Specialized committees. (Technical Scientific Committee – Forum 20250, Territorial Advisory Group, Consiliation/Arbitration Committee)
