b'communication across the business-web about shifts in demands,or broader policy requirements. In the field of sustainability, improvement options, or radical product or production changes,that introduces a long-term benefit dimension, one may expect and thereby enabling an agile implementation of a disruptivethat the innovation in scope will often increase costs in todays business strategy.balance sheet. Tailored policies, risk funding and a further In agriculture, open innovation takes place in two mainactivation of informed consumer choice are amongst the most clusters and is common between academia, R&D companiespromising enablers of the desirable market development under-and breeders and between academia, farmers, processors andlying the Green Deal, and they need to complement seamlessly end-product producers. A next step would be to open up suchthe EU innovation goals and resources with the proper time order interactions across the value chain, and in addition to includein mind.players that are outside the current scope and wish to rethink their sourcing, production and product range from a holistic starting point.ES: IS THE EU USING ITS INNOVATION CAPACITY WELL, AND, IF NOT, WHAT ARE ROADBLOCKS? IT IS ALL OF US COLLECTIVELY MC:The EC published in 2017 a report2 revealing that scienceWHO ARE SLOWING DOWNin the EU stands at a relatively high level and that this does not show in the output of innovation when compared to e.g., the US.THE MIGRATION TO A This may relate to how the innovation ecosystems in the EU func-tion. For instance, to meaningfully contribute to the EU GreenSUSTAINABLE WORLD.Deal, a rejuvenation of the agricultural ecosystem including academia, breeding and R&D companies, farm supply industry and farmers, is desirable: It is critical to recognize that agri-culture is progressively turning into a business field where big data approaches can create the competitive edge. Integration of data coming from plant, microbial, soil, agronomy, robotization,ES: BUT IT IS NOT JUST THE SEED SECTOR THAT NEEDS machine learning, modelling and weather/climate disciplinesTO MAKE CHANGES. WHICH ACTORS ARE ALSO combined with machine learning approaches, smart data queriesINVOLVED?and visualizations, may offer cutting edge insights. For academia,MC:I think it is all of us collectively. We are the ones that slow it enables data-based feedback loops with farmers and breedersdown the migration to a sustainable world, and we do that at and may prompt scientists to start or revisit experimental ques- three levels: with our job in the economic system, as a consumer tions. Breeders may integrate outcomes from science, farmingwhen shopping, and as a small shareholder looking for financial and down-stream producers, and develop evidence-based breed- returns. To put it in other words: an abrupt migration to a sus-ing strategies. Farmers instead may incorporate into their deci- tainable world is unthinkable because the majority of society sion-making the best available information on nearly any aspectderives their welfare and income from the existing business that influences productivity, farm sustainability, and productenvironment. composition, residues and quality.Society as a whole is locked into a complex socio-economic For this to be a success, an open innovation governanceequilibrium, and migration to a sustainable future needs to deal concept is needed that serves the interest of all stakeholders inwith business continuity at macro-level. This implies a grad-the ecosystem and goes beyond the proposition of installing anual shift is the best that can happen. Society also delivers the EU-wide virtual predictive workflow as described in figure 3. Itconsumer groups, and their buying behavior is often based on should be able to deal with pre-competitive and competitive biga price-quality-volume decision, thereby sustaining the market data information and activities and run on FAIR access and fairspace for todays type of products. And lastly, society also pro-reward principles. Importantly, such a data platform will drawvides the subgroup that invests in stocks and futures based on a significant resource, even if it succeeds to build on and inter- the highest growth perspective of the market cap, or the high-face with existing data platforms and initiatives. For instance,est pay-out of dividend. Recent examples show that traditional it would need an enterprise component with a robust 24/7 per- manufacturers announcing to redirect earnings into e.g., R&D to formance, as well as an R&D component provided by specializeddevelop EVs (Electrical Vehicles) and thereby reduce dividend, research institutes that together cover the agricultural sciencetend to get punished in the stock market. field. Such a platform should ultimately derive its own sustaina- An aligned, understandable communication on sustainabil-bility by delivering better varieties and the best possible harvest,ity from academia to value chain to society will be critical to and ideally offer a lever to improve farm economics structurallydrive change as it enables societal expectations and consumer through product branding and traceability. It requires howeverdemand to connect with agricultural production and output. an extension of the skillsets of all participants, and this mayPreferably, an aligned communication reaches us in each of the create participation barriers to small scale companies and organ- three roles we have, and is combined with associable benefits at izations. The big data trend in agriculture may also lead to forma- work, when shopping, or when selecting stocks. Collective, small tion of multiple parallel closed value chains, where players startshifts in personal behavior are necessary to create the inflection cooperating based on pre-agreed working principles. point where suddenly the socio-economic system starts moving Smooth adoption of innovation interlinks with pricing andinto the right direction. The Green Deal and sadly enough also fair economics. It is a must have for all parties involved. Anythe economic recession following COVID19, offer a proper frame new sustainability attribute should therefore either (1) reduceto shape a future EU market in which agricultural sustainability cost, (2) be cost neutral and have a convincing use benefit, ordelivers consumer value, but I think it is really up to society to (3) trigger a surplus cost that is paid for because of benefitsmake it work.1. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/DDN-20180719-1?inheritRedirect=true 2. EC LAB-FAB_APP (2017) http://ec.europa.eu/research/evaluations/pdf/archive/other_reports_studies_and_documents/hlg_2017_report.pdf 34IEUROPEAN SEEDIEUROPEAN-SEED.COM'