France/Conference "Innovation, one of the keys to tomorrow's agriculture" on 30 November in Hauts-de-France

As part of Public Innovation Month, many events are being held throughout France. On November 30, 2021, the seminar "Innovation, one of the keys to tomorrow's agriculture?" will be held in Amiens (Somme). Co-organized by the Agricultures du Futur platform (DRAAF / Region / Regional Chamber of Agriculture in Hauts-de-France), it will also be available by videoconference.

How can the various players in the agricultural world respond to the current challenges facing agriculture and do so through innovation?

In September 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, broken down into 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Among them is goal number 2, which is to "eradicate hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture". The Ministry of Agriculture and Food is leading the implementation of this goal.

It is in this context that the conference organized by ITerra (incubator and accelerator of start-ups) with the platform Agricultures du futur (whose objective is to capitalize and disseminate agricultural innovation in Hauts-de-France) and Rev'Agro (territorial cluster of partners in AgTech projects). The event is initiated by the Hauts-de-France Region and funded by the European Union.

Overview of the program

Several testimonies of farmers, start-ups, teachers and companies in the agricultural sector will be presented during the three highlights of the day:

• Round table 1: "Producing better with less

How can we produce more and more in terms of quantity and better in terms of quality, when resources are less and less available? This round table will be an opportunity to reflect on the solutions proposed by innovation to meet the objectives of sustainable development, while maintaining the primary mission of agriculture: to feed the population.

• Round table 2: "More autonomy and resilience

In recent years, the dynamics of short circuits and the verticalization of farms (production, processing and marketing stages combined) have intensified, particularly following the health crisis. Reducing intermediaries allows farmers to increase their room for manoeuvre and to innovate more, in terms of organisation and products. Various players support them in their day-to-day projects.

• Round table 3: "Training and innovation to communicate and raise awareness

The training of farmers, both initially and during their activity, is constantly evolving to meet the many challenges facing the agricultural world. To this end, higher education is developing educational innovations to train farmers but also to strengthen the link between farmers and citizens by responding to the latter's demands, i.e. to communicate more about agricultural practices.

Source: agriculture.gouv.fr