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As EU agriculture ministers prepare to meet in Dublin for the informal meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council (AGRIFISH), research and innovation will be central to discussions on how to build a more sustainable, resilient and competitive European agriculture sector.
Taking place from 6 to 8 September under Ireland's 2026 Presidency of the Council of the EU the meeting will focus on two key questions:
- How can research and innovation be leveraged to support the EU livestock and protein sectors across the three dimensions of sustainability: economic, social and environmental?
- How can the EU and Member States best support farmers, particularly smaller farmers, in adopting new technologies and innovative practices?
These priorities closely reflect the work of CBE JU-funded projects, demonstrating how innovation can create value from agricultural resources and residues and develop new bio-based products, processes and protein sources. With agriculture and food systems facing growing pressure to become more resource-efficient and robust, CBE JU projects show how innovation can help maintain economic viability while creating new opportunities for farmers and rural communities.
Advancing Europe's protein autonomy
The EU Protein Action Plan, published last July, sets out measures to reduce the EU's reliance on imported protein and strengthen resilience across food and feed systems. In 2023/24 the EU imported around 19 million tonnes of crude protein to cover gaps in domestic supply, most of it used as feed for livestock, which consumes around 74 million tonnes of plant protein annually. The plan recognises CBE JU, together with its working group on primary producers, as a driver of innovation in advancing Europe's bioeconomy and unlocking the potential of new protein sources. Several CBE JU-funded projects are already delivering the kind of innovation the plan calls for.
ALEHOOP developed biorefinery processes that convert agricultural residues, legume by-products and red and green macroalgae into protein-rich ingredients for the food and feed sectors, helping reduce Europe’s dependence on imported proteins.
Rural BioReFarmeries is producing a grass-derived leaf protein concentrate (LPC) able to replace soybean meal in pig nutrition, drawing on one of Europe's largest underutilised resources. Clover grass can yield three times more protein per hectare than soy, while LPC can cut CO2 emissions by up to 80% compared to soybean meal. The project has already produced samples of over 70% crude protein and is also developing a RuBisCo protein fraction suitable for human consumption alongside animal feed.
CleanAlgae2Value is scaling up microalgae as a protein source. Using patented technology, the project extracts food-grade protein isolates, oils, starches and natural pigments that can partially replace or complement conventional plant proteins such as soy. With five pilot lines already in progress, it is moving microalgae-derived protein from a niche ingredient towards mainstream, market-ready use.
MycoStruct is advancing fermentation-based protein production, using scalable mycelium fermentation to deliver whole-cut foods that replicate the structure of animal tissue. The project, which has one patent approved and two filed internationally, converts low-value agricultural and food industry side streams into nutrient-rich protein inputs, and has been recognised with a STEP Seal by the European Commission for its alignment with EU economic and climate goals.
Together, these projects are reducing dependence on imported feed and fossil-based inputs while creating local supply chains and opening new markets for European producers
Supporting primary producers in the transition
Developing new technologies is only part of the challenge. Their impact ultimately depends on whether they can be adopted and put into practice by the people and businesses they are designed to support. This is particularly relevant for smaller farmers, who may face specific barriers when adopting new technologies, including investment costs, access to knowledge and infrastructure and the need to integrate new practices into existing farming systems.
CBE JU-funded projects provide examples of how collaboration across research organisations, industry and primary producers can help bridge this gap. By developing and demonstrating solutions in real-world settings, projects can help move innovations beyond the laboratory and towards practical applications. Since 2022, CBE JU has channelled around €130 million into integrating primary producers in bio-based value chains, engaging 84 organisations from the agricultural, forestry and aquatic sectors, 61 of which represent farmers.
This data is highlighted in a recent analysis of CBE JU’s role in sustainable agriculture and rural development, which also identifies several barriers to the uptake of bio-based innovation. These include limited awareness among primary producers of the opportunities offered by these solutions, technical terminology that can make innovation harder to understand, and the time needed to build new supply chains.
CBE JU's model addresses these barriers in two ways:
- First, through flexible participation: around 40% of farmers involved are direct project beneficiaries helping to ensure that innovation addresses practical needs, while the majority take part more informally, for example by supplying biomass or contributing to advisory boards, allowing them to engage in projects without the administrative burden of formal participation.
- Second, through collective engagement: individual farmers often find it easier to engage with the bioeconomy through cooperatives, which can create a multiplier effect and generate value beyond what any single producer could achieve alone.
CBE JU’s Working Group on Primary Producers (WGPP), complements this engagement by bringing together representatives from agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture to develop practical actions for strengthening the role of primary producers in the bioeconomy. Its mandate covers challenges including awareness, integration into value chains, financial barriers and equitable benefit sharing. The group has co-created an Action Plan for this purpose, with implementation due to begin in autumn 2026. As part of its recommendations, it highlights primary producers as key actors, rather than sole biomass suppliers. It also stresses the importance of building stronger collaboration between primary producers and other players across the value chain, including industry, research organisations and regional or national authorities. Finally, it calls for creating synergies with existing EU networks and initiatives.
The following projects illustrate how cooperative models can help primary producers connect with the bioeconomy.
BRILIAN is testing a cooperative approach through three pilots in Denmark, Italy and Spain, using existing rural infrastructure to build short supply chains and forge what the project calls "robust rural bio-communities." It aims to validate 10 bio-based value chains producing everything from animal feed to fertilisers and cosmetics, targeting more than 30 new jobs and 42 agreements between farmers and industrial partners, while involving around 100 farmers and primary producers directly.
ROBOCOOP-EU takes a similar cooperative model to three regions built around specific crops: Extremadura in Spain (grapes), Apulia in Italy (olives) and West Macedonia in Greece (stone fruit). Farmers and cooperatives work alongside research institutions and technology providers in "living labs" to design a shared, zero-waste biorefinery that converts agricultural waste into food, feed, cosmetic and fertiliser products, giving small and medium-sized farms a route into higher-value markets they could not access alone.
The potential of these approaches is also demonstrated by CBE JU-funded biorefineries that are transforming rural industries and creating new value from local resources.
In Spain's Extremadura region, SUSTAINEXT has converted a former tobacco-growing plant into a digitalised, solar-powered biorefinery producing plant extracts and functional ingredients from rosemary, camomile and lemon verbena, alongside side streams from olives, cardoons and pomegranates. Designed to be zero-waste and circular by design, the project is intended to be a model that can be replicated elsewhere in rural Europe.
In Saint-Avold, France, AFTERBIOCHEM has built the EU's first biorefinery converting sugar beet pulp and other non-food residues into bio-based molecules used in flavourings, fragrances, hygiene products, pharmaceuticals and polymers. The project works with a sector that supports around 140,000 sugar beet growers and 27,000 direct processing jobs across the EU, the world's largest sugar beet producer. By giving growers a new, higher-value outlet for their residues, the project has created 80 direct and 200 indirect local jobs.
A shared agenda
CBE JU's work reflects the priorities set out by the Irish Presidency for the Dublin meeting: research and innovation that deliver across economic, social and environmental sustainability, and models designed to bring farmers, including smaller ones, into the bioeconomy.
As EU agriculture ministers discuss the future of European livestock, protein production and the adoption of new technologies, CBE JU-funded projects offer practical examples of what this transition can look like in practice: from the farm and the field to innovative processing technologies and new bio-based products, building the foundations for a more competitive and resilient European bioeconomy.
