Agrifood
Welcome to the heart of Europe's agrifood innovation hub. Flanders is a global leader in agriculture and food biotechnology, driving sustainable solutions for global challenges like food security, resource efficiency, and environmental resilience. Supported by flanders.bio, this vibrant ecosystem connects research institutions, startups, and industry leaders, empowering innovation and fostering collaboration.
At flanders.bio, we are proud to support and showcase this ecosystem. Through networking events, expertise sharing, and access to international platforms, we help our members turn groundbreaking ideas into impactful solutions. Together, we contribute to a sustainable and prosperous agrifood future.
A Legacy of Excellence
Flanders stands out as a key European hub for agrifood research and development, both in plant or 'green' biotechnology and industrial or ‘white’ biotechnology. Over the past four decades, the region has driven significant advancements through collaboration among researchers, companies, and universities. This ensures that innovative solutions are translated into practical applications, benefiting farmers, food producers, consumers, … and contributing to economic growth.
In agriculture, Flanders emphasizes sustainable practices, developing resilient crop varieties and implementing precision agriculture to enhance yields while protecting the environment. These efforts reflect a strong commitment to sustainable farming.
In biomanufacturing, Flanders focuses on improving the resilience of food supply and valorization of side streams through innovative technologies. The region promotes value-added products and encourages circular economy principles, ensuring our industry can benefit from enhanced productivity and environmental stewardship.
Facilities driving Innovation
Flanders has cultivated a vibrant ecosystem that drives innovation in the agrifood sector, supported by a robust research and development
framework. Notable initiatives such as Biotope by VIB play a crucial role in nurturing startups, providing them with the resources and support
necessary for growth.
In addition to fostering startups, Flanders is home to several pilot and demonstration facilities that are essential for translating research into practical applications.
Ecosystem support
A member-driven organization dedicated to fostering innovation and growth in the life sciences ecosystem.
An innovation hub that supports agrifood startups with access to world-class labs, mentorship, and a collaborative network, ensuring they can scale their breakthroughs effectively.
Bridges research and industry, focusing on transformative food technologies and sustainability practices.
Facilitates innovations and accelerates the further development of a really unique fermentation-based protein ecosystem.
Pilot & Demonstration facilities
Offers advanced bioprocessing technologies to support the scale-up of innovative biotechnological processes.
A hub for food product development and process innovation, enabling startups and established companies to bring novel products to market.
Projects & Initiatives
flanders.bio is member of EuropaBio’s Industrial Biotechnology Council which develops sector-specific strategy, formal advocacy and biotech positioning within teams of companies, national biotech association representatives and sector experts.
flanders.bio is official partner of B-Trust. This consortium advances biotechnology in agri-food and biobased sectors by fostering consumer trust and stakeholder acceptance. Recognising trust issues as critical as technological and regulatory challenges, B-Trust ensures biotech solutions can deliver a sustainable European future at scale.
Agri-foodtech Flanders is a non-profit strategy-driven agrifood science and technology platform initiated by flanders.bio, in collaboration with VIB, ILVO, VITO, Flanders’FOOD, UGent, KU Leuven, UHasselt, BASF, Biotalys, Aphea.Bio and Urban Crop Solutions.
Background & publications
Biotech in Flanders
Jo Bury, Johan Cardoen and Dirk Reyn have been closely involved in the development of the Flemish biotech industry as the driving forces behind the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) and flanders.bio. When they realised that some of the iconic pioneers of the Flemish biotech story were quietly retreating and becoming less visible, they decided to write down the story of Flemish biotech in a book.
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