About us

Who we are

The European Science Alliance for Agriculture and Food (ESAAF) is a European coalition of leading agricultural and life sciences institutions, established to support the transformation and resilience of the EU agri-food sector. By providing independent, high-level scientific input, ESAAF aims to strengthen the link between research and policy, ensuring that future strategies are grounded in evidence and regional realities.

What we do

ESAAF aims to support the transformation of Europe’s agri-food systems toward greater sustainability, resilience, and competitiveness. We seek to strengthen the connection between science and policy, ensuring that decisions are informed by robust, regionally relevant evidence. Our ambition is to contribute to the development of inclusive, future-oriented policies that address the complex challenges facing agriculture and food production across the EU.

The Members of the ESAAF intend to conduct diverse collaborative activities, which may include one or more of the following:
  • Providing rapid and targeted most up-to-date scientific input to policy discussions.
  • Acting as a platform for coordinated, cross-European agri-food research advice.
  • Supporting the coordination and launch of new research initiatives aligned with European challenges in the field of agriculture and food.

Our governance

ESAAF will operate on the basis of three governance bodies, to ensure a good balance and fluid interaction between strategic decision-making and management of the Alliance as well as operational agility.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is responsible for reviewing and adopting the ESAAF strategy and orientations. The Board examines the overall progress of the Alliance, provides strategic vision and may propose directions or complementary activities to be pursued and developed.

Chair of the Board

Sjoukje Heimovaara

President, Wageningen
University & Research (WUR)

Vice-Chair of the Board

Phillippe Mauguin

President & CEO, National Research Institute for Agriculture (INRAE)

Board member

Eskild Holm Nielsen

Dean at the Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University (AU)

Board member

Michal Jerzy Zasada

Rector, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS)

Board member

Frank Ordon

President, Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI)

Board member

Ernesto Igartua Arregui

Head of Department, The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee (EC) is the body responsible for developing and proposing strategic orientations for the Alliance to the Board of Directors.

Chair of the EC

Joost De Laat

Managing Director of the Social Sciences Group, Wageningen University & Research (WUR)

Vice-Chair of the EC

Thierry Caquet

Vice-President International, National Research Institute for Agriculture (INRAE)

Member of the EC

Brian Vinter

Vice-Dean at the Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University (AU)

Member of the EC

Marta Mendel

Vice-rector for Internationalisation, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS)

Member of the EC

Frank Ordon

President, Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI)

Member of the EC

Cristina Óvilo Martín

Director of INIA, The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Support Group

The overarching goal of the Support Group is to facilitate the development, implementation, and success of the Alliance by managing operational activities. The Support Group currently consists of staff from the six founding members.

Aarhus University (Denmark)

CSIC (Spain)

INRAE (France)

Julius Kühn-Institut (Germany)

Wageningen University & Research (the Netherlands)

Warsaw University of Life Sciences (Poland)