h ps://b igh space-p ojec .eu
Funded by he Eu opean Union. Ho izon Eu ope G an Ag eemen No 101060075. Views and
opinions exp essed a e howe e hose o he au ho s only and do no necessa ily e lec hose
o he Eu opean Union o he Eu opean Commission. Nei he he Eu opean Union no he
g an ing au ho i y can be held esponsible o hem.
PRESS RELEASE
The p ojec en i led he B igh Space unded unde Ho izon Eu ope o design a oadmap o
e ec i e and sus ainable s a egies o assessing and add essing he challenges o EU
ag icul u e o na iga e wi hin a Sa e and Jus Ope a ing Space had i s 1s S akeholde s’
Re ea be ween 23 and 24 Sep embe 2025 in Leu en, Belgium.
Ad ancing he B igh Space Roadmap o a Sa e and Jus Fu u e o EU Ag icul u e
The B igh Space p ojec , unded unde Ho izon Eu ope, aims o suppo e idence-based
policymaking by de eloping models and ansi ion pa hways ha help Eu opean ag icul u e
ope a e wi hin a Sa e and Jus Ope a ing Space (SJOS). This amewo k seeks o balance
economic iabili y, social equi y, and en i onmen al sus ainabili y, in he ans o ma ion o EU
ag i- ood sys ems. The 2nd S akeholde s’ Re ea , o ganised by he Thünen Ins i u e, b ough
oge he p ojec pa ne s, policymake s, and expe s om ac oss Eu ope o a lunch- o-lunch
e en o in e ac i e discussions. The mee ing se ed o e iew p og ess since he i s e ea
in 2024, explo e analy ical de elopmen s, and co-design u u e-o ien ed scena ios o EU
ag icul u e.
Re iewing he analy ical ounda ion
The e ea opened wi h an o e iew o he Business-as-Usual (BAU) baseline, which ou lines
p ojec ed de elopmen s o EU ag icul u e up o 2050 unde cu en policies and mode a e
economic and demog aphic ends. This baseline p o ides a e e ence poin o assessing long-
e m sus ainabili y challenges such as biodi e si y loss, clima e impac s, p oduc i i y shi s,
and ood secu i y.
Alongside his, pa icipan s discussed he Challenging Baseline, which explo es al e na i e
condi ions cha ac e ised by highe ene gy and inpu cos s, mode a e clima e change impac s,
and po en ial ade ba ie s. Compa ing hese baselines allows B igh Space o examine he
esilience o he ag icul u al sec o unde a ying u u e p essu es and policy esponses.
These analy ical ounda ions o m he basis o scena io modelling ha will assis he
iden i ica ion o e ec i e and equi able ansi ion pa hways o he u u e Common
Ag icul u al Policy (CAP) and ela ed s a egies.
Designing e ec i e and sus ainable
s a egies o assessing and add essing he
challenges o EU ag icul u e o na iga e
wi hin a sa e and jus ope a ing space
2nd S akeholde s’ Re ea , 23 -24 Sep embe 2025
24 Sep embe 2025
Funded by he Eu opean Union. Ho izon Eu ope G an Ag eemen No 101060075. Views and
opinions exp essed a e howe e hose o he au ho s only and do no necessa ily e lec hose
o he Eu opean Union o he Eu opean Commission. Nei he he Eu opean Union no he
g an ing au ho i y can be held esponsible o hem.
Co-de eloping ansi ion na a i es
Building on he baseline analysis, pa icipan s engaged in a s uc u ed s akeholde consul a ion o
co-de elop ou explo a o y ansi ion na a i es o EU ag icul u e. These na a i es we e
designed along wo majo unce ain y axes:
1. The deg ee o eliance on local e sus global ood ma ke s, and
2. The balance be ween al uis ic, collec i e app oaches and na ow sel -in e es in policymaking
and socie y.
The ou esul ing na a i es cap u e dis inc u u e di ec ions o Eu opean ag icul u e:
•Go Global – a ma ke -d i en, ee- ade scena io ocused on compe i i eness and g ow h;
•Fo ess EU – a p o ec ionis , p oduc ion- i s app oach p io i ising sel -su iciency;
•Food So e eign y – a localised, en i onmen ally conscious sys em ocused on ci izen needs;
•Sus ainable Compe i i eness – a balanced model combining sus ainabili y ambi ion wi h
inno a ion and openness.
Du ing g oup exe cises, s akeholde s explo ed how ag icul u al, en i onmen al, and ade policies
migh e ol e unde each scena io. Discussions examined he po en ial size and s uc u e o he
CAP budge , he ole o eco-schemes and coupled paymen s, in eg a ion o ca bon and bioene gy
ma ke s, and echnological adap a ion a a m le el. The esul ing quali a i e insigh s p o ide
essen ial inpu o he B igh Space scena io modelling wo k, ensu ing ha quan i a i e
simula ions e lec ealis ic policy challenges and s akeholde pe spec i es.
Fu he in o ma ion
B igh Space P ojec coo dina ion: Wageningen Social & Economic Resea ch, The Hague, NL
Con ac : [email p o ec ed] | Websi e: www.b igh space-p ojec .eu
linkedin.com/company/b igh space-eu-p ojec / | h ps://bsky.app/p o ile/b igh space-p ojec .eu
B igh Space Zenodo Communi y: zenodo.o g/communi ies/b igh space-eu-p ojec /
PRESS RELEASE
h ps://b igh space-p ojec .eu
This e ea demons a ed
he impo ance o combining
scien i ic e idence wi h
pa icipa o y o esigh o
co-c ea e pa hways o a
mo e sus ainable, esilien ,
and ai ag icul u al sys em
in Eu ope.
S eng hening s akeholde collabo a ion
The e ea concluded wi h e lec ions on s akeholde engagemen and nex s eps o he p ojec .
Pa icipan s emphasised he alue o sus ained dialogue be ween esea che s, policymake s, and
sec o ep esen a i es o ensu e ha he p ojec ’s ou pu s emain policy- ele an and g ounded in
p ac ical expe ience.
Insigh s om he discussions will di ec ly in o m he nex phase o B igh Space, whe e scena io
esul s will be quan i ied and assessed in he con ex o he Sa e and Jus Ope a ing Space by 2050.
