EMPHASIS-GO: Bringing Emphasis to Operation: European Infrastructure for Multi-Scale Plant Phenomics and Simulation for Food Security in a Changing Climate

植物和作物生产是农业、粮食系统和生物经济应用的核心，对于应对与人口增长、气候变化、农业用地稀缺、生物多样性丧失等相关的未来挑战至关重要。在农业部门、农业和种业的知识驱动型创新的基础上，需要综合解决方案和新技术来改善植物和作物生产。因此，分析植物和作物在结构、功能、质量和与环境相互作用方面的表现（“表型”）是利用植物和作物遗传多样性以提高植物生产力和在植物和作物育种方面取得进展的关键。这需要采取实质性和协调一致的行动，发展和增加表型基础设施的可用性。因此，欧洲研究基础设施战略论坛（ESFRI）已将“植物表型”确定为欧洲研究领域的优先事项，并在ESFRI路线图上列出了重点，将初级植物和作物生产作为未来欧洲农业粮食系统和生物经济转型的关键步骤。筹备阶段项目（强调- prep， 2017-2021）为实施和后续运营铺平了道路。它制定了一项商业计划，并设立了临时大会作为主要决策机构，由政策和研究方面的高级代表组成。强调- go将以筹备阶段的成功工作为基础，与11个国家的合作伙伴一起扩大成员资格，充分致力于支持强调，并使强调投入运营，通过i)开发和部署服务，ii)实施法律，财务和组织框架，iii)巩固未来运营的商业计划，充分探索欧洲植物和作物表型的潜力。

Plant and crop production is central in agriculture, food systems, and in bio-economy applications, which is essential to address future challenges related to growing population, climate change, scarcity of agricultural land, loss of biodiversity, etc. Integrated solutions and new technologies are needed to improve plant and crop production, based on knowledge-driven innovation to the farming sector, agricultural and seed industries. Therein, the analysis of plant and crop performance with respect to structure, function, quality and interaction with the environment (“phenotyping”) is key for the exploitation of plant and crop genetic diversity required for the enhancement of plant productivity and progress in plant and crop breeding. This requires substantial and concerted action to develop and to increase the availability of phenotyping infrastructures. The European Strategic Forum for Research Infrastructure (ESFRI) has thus identified “Plant Phenotyping” as a priority for the European research area and EMPHASIS has been listed on the ESFRI ROADMAP, addressing primary plant and crop production as the key step in future European agro-food-systems and bio-economy transformation. The Preparatory Phase project (EMPHASIS-PREP, 2017-2021) paved the way towards implementation and subsequent operation. It developed a business plan and established the Interim General Assembly, as main decision-making body, comprising high-level representation from policy and research. EMPHASIS-GO will build on the successful work in the Preparatory Phase, extend the membership with partners from eleven countries fully committed to support EMPHASIS and bring EMPHASIS into operation to fully explore the potential European plant and crop phenotyping by i) developing and deploying services, ii) implement the legal, financial and organisational framework and iii) consolidating the business plan for future operations.