Plant ETP’s EU Green Week 2022 Partner Event

The role of EU protein crops in reaching the Green Deal goals

The EU Green week is an annual event taking place during the first week of June. It is an opportunity for citizens, stakeholders and policymakers to come together and debate European environmental policies.

This year’s EU Green Week 2022 theme was “EU Green Deal – Make it Real” and focussed on circular economy, zero pollution, and biodiversity.

As part of the EU Green Week, Plant ETP usually contributes to the debate by organising a partner event. This year Plant ETP organised a webinar on “The role of EU protein crops in reaching the Green Deal goals” on 2nd June.

Short program description

The Green Deal sets ambitious targets for all sectors, including the agri-food sector. Protein crops can play a crucial role in diversifying our agri-food systems, reducing dependency on imports, particularly for the feed sector, and, in the case of legumes (e.g. soy and pea), contributing to restoring soil fertility and reducing the need for nitrogen fertilisers. During this webinar we will dive into the state of the art of EU protein crops and how we can increase the production of protein crops in Europe, considering the contributions of research, plant breeding, farming and policy.

Webinar programme

Opening remarks
Amrit Nanda, Executive Manager, Plants for the Future ETP

State of the art of EU plant protein
Laurent Mercier, EU Commission DG AGRI, Unit E.4 Arable crops and olive oil

How protein crops can contribute to the Green Deal goals – The role of plant breeding and innovation
Pete Iannetta, Head of Ecological Food Systems, The James Hutton Institute

Views from the plant breeding sector and the farming community
Virginie Bortolussi, Global Program Leader canola & sunflower seeds, Corteva Agriscience
Benjamin Lammert, French farmer of maize, wheat and soy in Ensisheim, Alsace

Panel discussion and Q&A

Concluding remarks
Amrit Nanda, Executive Manager, Plants for the Future ETP