ENDURE foresight study goes global

GFAR identified, analysed and selected more than 40 recent foresight studies for further discussion at October’s Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD) 2012 in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Foresight study authors were asked to produce briefing papers based on their work which will be used to communicate with wider audiences, such as policy makers, civil society organisations, researchers and funders, as part of The Futures of Agriculture series.

Based on ENDURE’s foresight study European Crop Protection in 2030, the new brief ‘Foresight prompts researchers in pest management to look beyond research’ explores the lessons learned from the production of the study.

Author Marco Barzman notes: “The study shows that many of the driving forces impacting crop protection are outside and beyond the sphere of influence of the crop protection world itself. These regard macro-economic choices affecting the role of European agriculture on the world market or the place that Europe wishes to give to local development.

“It will be up to researchers to pass messages on to the pertinent decision makers that public policies discussed in terms of broad economic objectives affecting agriculture also have consequences in terms of the health and environmental sustainability of future crop protection strategies.”

The scenarios developed in ENDURE's foresight study
Above: The commodity market player	Above: The community-conscious farmer	Above: The energy-saving producer (rural)
Above: The energy-saving producer (urban)	Above: The specialised high-tech grower	Above: The sustainable food provider

Regarding the impact of the study, he writes: “It became clear to foresight builders that the study had become a powerful tool to engage in constructive debate among stakeholders with conflicting points of view.

“When the foresight study was completed, ENDURE participants received a number of requests to present it in national arenas in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands and among research, farm adviser, policy and industry audiences. The scenarios also attracted attention from more local actors such as regionally based farm advisory groups. The workshops served to create new linkages between researchers and other stakeholders. A comprehensive multi-audience book was produced and is available online [see below].”

GFAR’s work on forward thinking is designed to complement the ongoing activities in GFAR’s Global Foresight Hub, which seeks to stimulate forward-thinking debates in agriculture and rural development, to connect science and society, and build the capacity for forward-thinking in all stakeholders.

For more information:

• Download Barzman, M. 2012. Foresight prompts researchers in pest management to look beyond research. The Futures of Agriculture . Brief No. 05 - English. Rome: Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR):
  Marco Barzman_Brief 05_Final [pdf - 468.22 kB]
• Download European Crop Protection in 2030:
  ENDURE Foresight Study [pdf - 1.58 MB]
• Read more briefs in this series.
• Read more about the Global Foresight Hub.