We can now present conclusions from the joint workshop between FACCE-JPI and JPI Urban Europe, held on 21 January 2020 with practitioners and experts in the burgeoning field of urban agriculture and climate change. It was designed to explore and identify key issues and themes for research and innovation at the intersection of various forms of urban agriculture and the needs in climate action.

The world population is projected to reach almost 10 billion by 2050. The share of world’s population living in cities and urban areas is already very large and growing. Urban agriculture can offer possibilities to ensure food and nutrition security in the face of climate change. Urban agriculture, particularly vertical farming, is increasingly being discussed as a promising food production system of the future. Unclear is the extent to which such system can potentially contribute to food and nutrition security and climate change.

FACCE-JPI Governing Board (GB) identified urban (vertical) agriculture as a subject for an exploratory workshop to identify key future farming issues in FACCE-JPI’s remit (the intersection of agriculture, food security and climate change) and to explore what role FACCE-JPI can take in realising the potential of urban agriculture both through future research projects and through taking actions to address challenges in this area.

Urban agriculture is therefore a subject that interlinks the remit of both JPIs in its potential importance to food security, climate change and sustainability issues, as well as land-use dilemmas. In jointly organising this workshop and presenting conclusions from it, both JPIs see an opportunity to join forces and share expertise and experiences.