What the New EU AgRI 2040 Strategy Means for NEXRUR

On 8 September 2026, the European Commission presented its new AgRI 2040 and Food 2040 Strategy, setting out a long-term vision for research and innovation in agriculture, forestry and food systems. Two weeks later, policymakers, researchers, farmers, businesses and Horizon Europe projects gathered in Brussels and online for the EU AgRI 2040 Conference (24–25 September) to discuss how the strategy can be translated into action. The discussions provided valuable insights into the direction of future EU research and innovation policy and highlighted several priorities that closely align with the ambitions of the NEXRUR project.

From research outputs to impact

One of the strongest messages emerging from both the strategy and the conference is that Europe must move beyond generating knowledge towards ensuring that innovation creates tangible benefits for farmers, rural communities and society. As European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen noted during the conference, the value of innovation is ultimately measured by the impact it creates on the ground.

The strategy therefore places a strong emphasis on accelerating the uptake and scaling of successful innovations, ensuring that promising research results do not remain confined to pilot projects, but become practical solutions adopted across Europe. For NEXRUR, this reinforces the importance of supporting rural communities not only in developing innovative approaches but also in facilitating their long-term adoption and replication.

Farmers at the centre of innovation

Another central principle of the new strategy is to place farmers and local stakeholders at the heart of innovation. Rather than being passive recipients of new technologies, farmers are expected to become active partners in designing, testing and improving solutions that respond to real challenges. This approach mirrors NEXRUR’s Community Cases, where rural stakeholders co-create solutions adapted to local contexts, helping bridge the gap between research, policy and practice.

Making innovation easier to deploy

Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva highlighted the need to transform Europe’s scientific excellence into innovations that successfully reach the market. Measures announced under the new strategy include stronger support for scaling innovative companies, improving knowledge transfer and exploring regulatory sandboxes to accelerate the deployment of promising technologies, including bio-based solutions. These developments underline the growing importance of exploitation activities within Horizon Europe projects and create new opportunities for projects such as NEXRUR to maximise the long-term impact of their results.

Looking ahead

The AgRI 2040 Strategy signals a clear shift in European research and innovation policy: from funding excellent research to ensuring measurable impact in rural areas. Greater emphasis will be placed on stakeholder participation, innovation uptake, market deployment and collaboration between research, policy and practice.

For NEXRUR, these priorities are already reflected in the project’s approach. By supporting co-created solutions, fostering collaboration between rural actors and promoting knowledge exchange across Europe, NEXRUR is well positioned to contribute to the objectives of the new European vision for agriculture and rural innovation.