Technologies in agriculture and food safety

Abstract: The digitalisation of the EU agricultural sector is an essential part of the broader EU Digital Agenda and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) aiming to promote competitiveness, sustainability, and resilience in agriculture through digital transformation. This report analyses the current state of digitalisation in EU agriculture, covering the adoption of general IT and software tools and farm-specific technologies, key drivers and barriers, perceived sustainability aspects, and farm-level practices in data collection, management and sharing. The analysis is based on farm survey data from 1 444 respondents in nine EU Member States – Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Lithuania, Hungary and Poland – collected between June and October 2024. The results show that while general IT and software tools are widely used, more expensive technologies specific to crop or livestock production have been less widely adopted. Adoption rates are higher among larger farms, those with better internet connectivity and those with specialised training. Key drivers of adoption include efficiency gains, cost savings, regulatory pressures and improved quality of life, while high costs and limited skills remain notable barriers. Farmers expect digital technologies to have positive economic, environmental and social impacts. Farm-level data collection is still largely manual or based on basic digital tools, which increases the administrative burden on farmers. Farmers appear to take a selective approach to data sharing, mainly due to concerns about privacy, security and data control. Promoting transparent data policies, ensuring farmers benefit from sharing and adopting a targeted policy approach for advanced technologies can help build trust and support wider digital adoption.

Abstract: The JRC Farming Practices Evidence Library is an online platform providing user-friendly access to synthesized scientific evidence on the environmental, climate, and productivity impacts of diverse agricultural practices. The Evidence Library provides accessible, science-based evidence to analyse and compare data on farming practices impacts to policymakers, farmers, and researchers, while also summarizing key research findings. The Library facilitates the exploration of a comprehensive data collection derived from a systematic review of over 600 meta-analyses, summarizing the effects of various farming practices on multiple sustainability outcomes. Users can interactively filter results by farming practice categories, impact metrics, and other contextual variables, generating customized evidence maps and accessing detailed summaries of individual meta-analyses. The platform also highlights key quantitative effect size estimates and identifies knowledge gaps to guide future research and policy development. The interactive dashboard is backed by wiki-like pages reporting detailed information regarding the main results, factor influencing the effects and summaries of the original meta-analyses. This evidence-based tool supports informed decision-making in the context of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and other relevant EU policy frameworks. The library can also serve as a basis for sustainable agriculture benchmarking systems, supporting certification efforts aligned with the EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. Furthermore, researchers, farmers’ associations, and NGOs involved in sustainable agriculture would rely on this knowledge to gain insights into the effects of different farming practices on the environment and the climate. On the basis of the Library, the scientific community can also map knowledge gaps and address future research efforts.

Abstract: Plant pests and diseases can cause considerable impacts on crop yields, and in turn food and feed security. Pesticides are one of the most frequent tools used to control or eliminate these pests and diseases playing a crucial role to assure food security. However, pesticide use also leads to undesired environmental and health impacts. The European Commission´s Joint Research Centre organized a workshop in November 2023 to explore innovative alternative business models that are emerging to facilitate reductions in pesticide use and risk while minimizing impacts in food security. This report summarizes the contributions presented at the workshop covering the legislative framework for pesticide reduction, theoretical considerations on pesticide reduction behaviour, examples of new technologies and business models being developed and insights from research on their potential to facilitate the transition to a low-pesticide use agriculture. The overall message stemming from the workshop is that outcome-based services and insurance policies can be key tool to enable farmers to achieve this reduction. However, the existing empirical evidence of the performance of these tools is still very scarce and these new business models still have to show their potential when upscaling from pre-commercial stage.

Abstract: Future trajectories of agricultural productivity need to incorporate environmental targets, including the reduction of pesticides use. Landscape features supporting natural pest control (LF-NPC) offer a nature-based solution that can serve as a partial substitute for synthetic pesticides, thereby supporting future productivity levels. Here, we introduce a novel approach to quantify the contribution of LF-NPC to agricultural yields and its associated economic value to crop production in a broad-scale context. Using the European Union as case study, we combine granular farm-level data, a spatially explicit map of LF-NPC potential, and a regional agro-economic supply and market model. The results reveal that farms located in areas characterized by higher LF-NPC potential experience lower productivity losses in a context of reduced synthetic pesticides use. Our analysis suggests that LF-NPC reduces yield gaps on average by four percentage points, and increases income by a similar magnitude. These results highlight the significance of LF-NPC for agricultural production and income, and provide a valuable reference point for farmers and policymakers aiming to successfully invest in landscape features to achieve pesticides reduction targets.

Abstract: Highlights: • Current pesticide use in European agriculture has significant impacts on biodiversity. • This has cascading effects with potentially severe consequences to food security. • We observe a mismatch between pesticides’ externalities and policy decisions. • We highlight the urgency of implementing tangible and powerful policy measures now. • We outline pathways for better pesticide policies.

Abstract: This article assesses whether the European Union's (EU's) plant health regulations have had an impact on imports. A dynamic modelling approach was applied, using a two-step generalized method of moments estimator for panel data, and covering an 8-year period (2013–2020). The estimated equation includes volumes of trade, economic drivers, the trading partner, and variables capturing categories of import requirements (phytosanitary certificates, exemptions, restrictions) with regards to external border measures for enhanced biosecurity. Results From the analysis we can conclude that the import regime and its recent changes have had a limited impact, if any, on trade flows of the affected products. The most significant impact is found for products classified as high-risk plants, while the extension of the phytosanitary certificate requirement to new products seems to have had negligible effects on trade. Conclusion Therefore, the plant protection regime for extra-EU trade seems to be not trade distorting while supplying a framework to enhance plant health in the EU.

Abstract: Recent studies have estimated the potential yield impacts of pesticide reductions in the European Union. While these estimates guide policy design, they are often based on worst-case assumptions and rarely account for positive ecological feedbacks that would contribute to sustainable crop yields in the long term.

Abstract: Significant shares of harvests are lost to pests and diseases, therefore, minimizing these losses could solve part of the supply constraints to feed the world. Cisgenesis is defined as the insertion of genetic material into a recipient organism from a donor that is sexually compatible. Here, we review (i) conventional plant breeding, (ii) cisgenesis, (iii) current pesticide-based disease management, (iv) potential economic implications of cultivating cisgenic crops with durable disease resistances, and (v) potential environmental implications of cultivating such crops; focusing mostly on potatoes, but also apples, with resistances to Phytophthora infestans and Venturia inaequalis, respectively. Adopting cisgenic varieties could provide benefits to farmers and to the environment through lower pesticide use, thus contributing to the European Green Deal target.

Abstract: In the 2021 Study on the status of new genomic techniques under Union law and in light of the Court of Justice ruling in Case C-528/16, the European Commission defines New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) as techniques developed after the publication of Directive 2001/18/EC that are able to alter the genetic material of an organism. Also in 2021, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission published reports on the technological state-of-the-art and on current and future market applications of NGTs (Broothaerts et al., 2021; C. Parisi & Rodriguez-Cerezo, 2021). In this report, we present two case studies on crops with improved biotic resistances that were developed with an NGT. Namely, cisgenic potatoes resistant to Phytophthora infestans and cisgenic apples resistant to Venturia inaequalis. We discuss the potential advantages of cisgenesis in tackling the challenges breeders currently face in the development of varieties with improved biotic resistances, and assess potential impacts that these varieties could have for the European agri-food system.

Abstract: Advances in biotechnology in recent decades have led to the development of new genomic techniques (NGTs). In 2021, the Study on the status of new genomic techniques under Union law and in light of the Court of Justice ruling in Case C-528/16 was published, as requested by the Council of the European Union (Council Decision (EU) 2019/1904). The study defined NGTs as techniques which are able to alter the genetic material of an organism and which have been developed after the adoption of the current EU legislation on genetically modified organisms (EU Directive 2001/18/EC). In addition, last year, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission published two reports on the technological state-of-the-art and on current and future market applications of NGTs (Broothaerts et al., 2021; Parisi & Rodriguez-Cerezo, 2021). This report presents the case study of a product developed with an NGT – CRISPR/Cas targeted mutation – namely low-gluten, celiac-safe wheat. Here, a detailed description of the gene-edited low-gluten, celiac-safe wheat products currently under development in the EU is provided. Furthermore, we illustrate the potential contribution this product would make to ensure food security, nutrition and public health if it were approved for cultivation and marketing in the EU. This report is drafted to support the impact assessment accompanying the Commission proposal on legislation for plants produced by certain new genomic techniques.