EFFAB and FABRE TP AGM 2024
15 July 2024
The EFFAB and FABRE TP 2024 Annual General Meeting took place June 12-13 in Bologna, Italy, at the University of Bologna. Our members, the EFFAB Steering Committee, and the FABRE TP Board engaged in discussions and shared valuable insights during our time in Bologna.
Prior to EFFAB and FABRE TP’s AGM, the COST Action project, EU-LI-PHE, had its first annual meeting. The activities occurred two days before our AGM, during which FABRE TP participated. EU-LI-PHE, is an interdisciplinary research network funded under the EU COST organisation which aims to drive advancements and transfer livestock precision technologies to improve animal breeding and farming.
The Scientific and Networking session, chaired by Luca Fontanesi and Tomas Norton, provided an excellent opportunity to present FABRE TP's missions in the context of the COST Action. Ana Granados, Secretary General of FABRE TP and Geena Cartick, Genetics and Breeding Advisor, discussed the importance of promoting scientific collaboration to enhance sustainability and competitiveness at the EU level.
The first session of the AGM focused on EU research and innovation.
We were delighted to have:
- Nathalie Vanderheijden discussing the EU Partnership on AHW. We had the opportunity to exchange about the role of Animal Breeding and Genetics in improving the health and welfare of terrestrial and aquatic farm animals and opportunities for FABRE TP to contribute further.
- Luca Fontanesi and Luca Buttazzoni (CREA) sharing insights on current Italian research on animal breeding. We had interesting discussions, in particular on the role of local and commercial breeds in addressing challenges of animal farming and how to accelerate the knowledge and technologies uptake already used in commercial breeds to improve local ones.
- and our own Geena Cartick, Çağla Yüksel KAYA and Sinéad Phillips updating our members on the EU research projects EFFAB is a partner of.
The second session delved into the regulatory and ethical dimensions of gene editing (NGTs). Another set of impressive speakers shared their insights:
- Frank Swartenbroux from DG Sante discussed the EU regulatory perspective on GM & NGT animals.
- Michele Ardizzone from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) presented the EC mandate concerning NGTs applied to farm animals.
- Daniel Pearsall provided updates on the UK’s progress towards regulating precision breeding in farmed animals.
- Caitlin Cooper presented research on using gene editing for sex sorting in layer chickens and the views on the potential use of the technology by breeders.
- Emily Clark and Geena Cartick shared the success of the ongoing Think Tank on Gene Editing under the umbrella of the EuroFAANG RI project.
- Frederic Debode represented the DETECTIVE project and its mission to develop innovative detection methods for plants and animals obtained with NGTs.
- Last but not least, Lluis Montoliu offered insights on the work of the network GenE-Humdi COST Action in human gene editing.
The third session shifted focus to the intersection of science and policy in the EU. We heard from speakers:
- Fabiana Monti, who shared her views as a farmer managing her family's farm in the hills of Riolo Terme, specializing in breeding Romagnola beef cattle.
- Brigitte Misonne presented insights from DG AGRI on Sustainable Livestock Systems.
- Birgit Van Tongelen from DG MARE discussed how the EC is developing the implementation of the Strategic Guidelines.
- Andrea Gavinelli from DG SANTE shared insights from The Policy Process from Risk Assessment to Risk Management.
Lastly, an interactive workshop was held with the support of Cynthia Benites from Aliénor, where our EFFAB and FABRE TP members had fruitful discussions on setting the agenda for the animal breeding sector in the next 5 years.
EFFAB and FABRE TP actively promote the benefits of balanced and responsible breeding and R&I in the sector. Our objective is to increase knowledge about the potential of responsible breeding on increasing the sustainability and competitiveness of the sector in the EU.
The EFFAB and FABRE TP AGMs are essential for sharing insights and connecting with and exchanging views.
A special thank you goes to the University of Bologna and Luca Fontanesi and his team at the Agricultural and Food Sciences campus for their exceptional support in hosting the event.
We hope to see you all next year for more meaningful and fruitful discussions!