Environment: ENEA in a project to improve food safety

Improving food safety in Europe by creating a real-time surveillance system in the form of an electronic platform and mobile application available to citizens, the scientific community and policy makers, is the main objective of the European project ECO-READY, funded by the Horizon Europe Program with more than 14million euro, in which ENEA is a partner.

Jointly with other European institutions ^[1], including Confagricoltura in Italy, ENEA has performed a comprehensive assessment of all European policy documents on climate change, food security and biodiversity, taken as a reference in the different European legislative measures, comparing them with the latest scientific data to identify the most suitable tools to facilitate the transition of the European agrifood supply chain towards sustainability.

 “The results of our study ^[2]show the progress made by the European Union in promoting sustainable agriculture and biodiversity through policies implemented over the past decade such as the Green Deal, Farm to Fork and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). But at the same time they point out weaknesses that suggest strengthening availability of food through the development of EU policies increasingly based on solid scientific evidence, showing the interconnectdeness of climate change, biodiversity and the agricultural system,” explained ENEA contact person for the ECO-READY project Annamaria Bevivino, researcher in the Sustainable Agrifood Systems Division.

Greater transparency and availability of scientific data in European policymaking shall be fostered to help improve the effectiveness of existing measures. “Our study also indicates the pressing need for real-time monitoring tools to ensure food security and scenario models that take into account the complexity of technical, economic and social conditions, to design tailored solutions for the complex European agrifood system,” said Bevivino.

 “Stakeholders’ engagement through a scoping group activity fostering dialogue with key policy makers, food industry professionals, farmers, consumers, regional associations, environmental NGOs and agribusinesses, enabled us to gather feedback and strengthen the link between data and policy, providing insights to fill data gaps and improve the relevance of European policies,” the researcher continued. In addition, the ENEA study encourages the use of Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve the sustainability of agricultural practices and help achieve food security.

One concrete example is precision agriculture, which employs advanced technologies like GPS and data analysis to optimize agricultural production while reducing water usage. But also the use of beneficial microorganisms like fungi and bacteria that fix atmospheric nitrogen, solubilize phosphorus and reduce sulfate, thereby reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. “The strategic use of these microorganisms in agriculture could, therefore, enhance productivity and stability even under adverse conditions, thus improving adaptation of agricultural production to climate change,” Bevivino concludes.

[1] JRC, ALTER-net, Cyprus University of Technology, Wageningen University Research

[2] Di Gregorio L, Nolfi L, Latini A, Nikoloudakis N, Bunnefeld N, Notarfonso M, Bernini R, Manikas I, Bevivino A. Getting (ECO)Ready: Does EU Legislation Integrate Up-to-Date Scientific Data for Food Security and Biodiversity Preservation Under Climate Change? Sustainability. 2024; 16(23):10749. https://doi.org/10.3390/su162310749