Food is a central need of all human societies. Key global trends are shaping the demands that modern agriculture and food production have to meet.

A rising global population requires access to safe and reliable sources of nutrition. Aging and more health-conscious societies need different types of food products, with new functional characteristics. And a global ecosystem under intense pressure asks for an agrofood industry that significantly reduces its environmental impact.

Agrofood is also an important economic driver for European many regions. It emerged as one of the most prominent domains wit EU regions smart specialization strategies. It is also one of the key thematic orientations of applications and selected cluster projects for new industrial value chains under Horizon2020.