The evolutive process of European Agricultural Research Policies and key strategies for development

he world is changing quickly and dramatically, bringing a range of challenges to European agriculture, including climate change, impact on the environment, pressures on natural resources, increasing competition and demographic changes. Therefore, Agricultural research(AR) is being asked to address issues that are both multi- and interdisciplinary: convergence of knowledge from different disciplines is important to achieve a better understanding of these complex and interlinked problems. The aim of this paper is to analyse the framework of European Agricultural Research activities (mechanisms, policies, strategies) and to reflect on how to further implement the Lisbon key concept of making EU the most dynamic and competitive knowledge based economy in the world. In this knowledge based economy, research and scientific innovation will be the drivers for human wellness and health and, therefore, research within agribusiness sector and nutrition will have an increasing role in this strategy. The remarks in the first section of the paper are the starting point for the analysis in the following sections and intend to summarize the present literature at European Community level. The statements expressed are compared with the current framework of agricultural research and supported by the investigation on the evolutionary process. On the basis of these premises, the present paper could be considered as a first contribution to the debate that could be developed at national and local level on themes related to the objectives of improving the European Agricultural Research System.