On 3^rd July 2018 OECD and FAO launched their latest joint Agricultural Outlook document. The publication, this year on its fourteenth joint edition, provides market projections relating to the years 2018-2027, covering the major agricultural commodities, biofuels and fish, resulting from a consensus assessment based on input from experts at national, regional and global level. This year’s edition includes a special feature on the prospects and challenges of agriculture and fisheries in the Middle East and North Africa.

On 2^nd May 2018, the European Commission published its proposal for Horizon Europe, an ambitious €100 billion research and innovation programme that will replace Horizon 2020. This programme was presented as part of the EU's proposal for the next EU long-term budget, the Multiannual financial framework (MFF). The new MFF has been presented as a response to today's reality in which Europe is expected to play a greater role in providing security and stability in an unstable world, at a time when Brexit will leave a sizeable gap in EU budget.

Horizon 2020 project Smart-AKIS delivers policy recommendations leveraging 30 months of exchanges between stakeholders

Brussels, 13 July 2018 – The EU Horizon 2020 project Smart-AKIS (www.smart-akis.com) released Policy Recommendations for mainstreaming Smart Farming in Europe. CEMA, the trade association representing the producers of agricultural machinery in Europe, is a partner of the project and contributed to the Policy Recommendations.

Submitted in 2017 and responding to a Horizon 2020 call, the NEFERTITI project was launched in January 2018 with its kick off meeting in Almeria (Spain). Coordinated by Acta and Adrien Guichaoua, NEFERTITI focuses on AKIS(Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems) and the stimulation of innovation by promoting knowledge exchange, peer-to-peer learning and connection between actors. Demonstration activities are at the core of NEFERTITI, to foster innovation uptake.