By Uli Schurr
The European Technology Platform (ETP) ?Plants for the Future? launched
its Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) on 25 June 2007 at the European
Parliament. This is yet another milestone on the road to putting plant
sciences back on the agenda in Europe and its Member States. EPSO as an
organisation and with the help of its members has played a crucial role
in shaping this SRA. Now we need your support to implement the European
SRA for plant research.
ETP ?Plants for the Future? has a short but successful history: it was
established in 2004 as one of the first European technology platforms
with the publication of ?2025, a European vision for plant genomics and
biotechnology?. This vision was signed by 21 European stakeholder
organisations representing academia, farmers, industry and consumers ? a
clear indication of the broad impact and recognition of plant science in
Europe. ETP then mobilised representatives of all stakeholders to
discuss the development of a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) in their
Member States.

The first impact of the SRA is already evident: 25% of Theme 2 funding
for the 2007 Work Programme of the Seventh Framework Programme was
dedicated to plant research. In addition, national funding programmes in
a growing number of Member States now refer to SRA and ERA-NET Plant
Genomics for closer collaborations with future technology platform
activities.

The SRA launch is also the appropriate occasion to thank all EPSO
members who have contributed to ?Plants for the Future? and Member State
consultations in 19 European countries during the last few years. We are
especially grateful to the former EPSO president Marc Zabeau and
previous EPSO Board members Mike Bevan and Mark Stitt. Special thanks
also goes to Karin Metzlaff, who serves as Executive Director for both
?Plants for the Future? and EPSO, and her team for their dedicated and
successful efforts in bringing European plant sciences back to the
front.

Our work, however, has just started. Today, just three years after its
launch, the broad representation of stakeholders in ETP ?Plants for the
Future? is one of its strongest assets. The ETP continues to have an
important mission in Europe, which is increasingly becoming aware of the
importance of plants for its future. ETP ?Plants for the Future? belongs
to the family of technology platforms that are working towards a
European knowledge-based bio-economy. Joining forces with these
platforms will provide the necessary momentum for plant research.

ETP ?Plants for the Future? will continue its efforts to integrate plant
sciences with emerging European research strategies. ETP will use and
urge to direct new financial instruments, encourage the development of
national plant research platforms and become the reference point for the
agricultural and plant-based sectors.

ETP ?Plants for the Future? will need your continuing support and
support from its stakeholders, industry, academia and farmers, to
achieve these goals. EPSO members will provide this support from the
academic side. The SRA has been launched, now it must be implemented.

[www.epsoweb.org]