Ensuring a steady food supply for European citizens is not a given. The Covid-19 pandemic crisis has shown the fragility of supply chains during the pandemic lockdown both for companies - who found themselves in a situation of scarcity of production inputs - and for citizens - who saw their supermarket shelves empty. Already today, many agri-food systems are subject to climatic stress due to atmospheric phenomena - which, moreover, are intensifying due to rising temperatures. In addition, in today's fluid world, geopolitical tensions and financial crises create problems of supply of raw materials that put food processing companies and food exports in great difficulty. The production system is also increasingly exposed to possible crashes due to computer systems and terrorist acts. All these elements imply and require a rethinking of models and technologies for the creation and management of agri-food resources, which must be matched by a careful work of research and innovation, carried out by both public and private actors, to prepare agri-food systems to face the challenges of the coming decades.
In the future, the development of new models in the agrifood supply chain may enable the creation of supply ecosystems and sustainable supply chains that are more resilient to sudden and unexpected events. To achieve this goal, it will be essential to create new synergies between industry, research, technology and urban policy makers.
The Digital Meeting "The role of research and innovation for a more resilient and sustainable agri-food system" will aim to stimulate a debate with the most qualified stakeholders for the implementation of new physical and digital strategies for the management and creation of an agri-food ecosystem able to withstand sudden distortions and future stresses and thus support a secure and continuous food supply.