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Energy prices do not stop at the farm gate. For agriculture, changes in crude oil prices, fuel markets, energy policy and decarbonisation pathways can quickly affect production costs, input choices and resilience. This is why, for the AgEnRes modelling toolbox, one of the project’s key results, the focus is not on modelling agriculture in isolation, but on connecting farm-level and land-use analysis with the wider energy system.

What happens to European agriculture when energy prices rise sharply? The answer depends on where we look.

Agrotica Fair 2026, held in Thessaloniki on 12–15 March 2026, is one of Southeast Europe’s leading agricultural exhibitions, bringing together farmers, agribusinesses, and technology providers with a strong focus on digital transformation and sustainability.

 

Part 3 of Our “Securing European Agriculture” Session Insights - This final blog post recaps the discussions on the future outlook of energy resilience, where our experts addressed scalability, adoption, and policy impact of the solutions discussed: 

Part 2 of Our “Securing European Agriculture” Session Insights - In the second part of our session, which focused on the challenge of energy resilience, our panellists explored potential solutions.

Part 1 of Our “Securing European Agriculture” Session Insights - Last April, AgEnRes hosted a special session at the 99th AES Annual Conference. Under the title “Securing European Agriculture: From Cost Stability to Energy Freedom”, this discussion brought together experts in diverse fields to tackle the challenge of energy resilience, with the first block of discussions focusing on barriers to overcome this challenge.

AgEnRes spoke with Fiona Njeri Macharia, co-founder and Social Impact, Purpose, and Sustainability Manager at Kiasili Farm, to learn how the initiative is empowering smallholder farmers, elevating Indigenous and Traditional Food Crops (ITFCs), and tackling food waste through technology and sustainable practices.

Modern agriculture is heavily dependent on fossil fuels and mineral fertilisers, both in direct and indirect forms. Directly farmers use diesel to power tractors, harvesters, and other machinery that is essential for planting, maintaining, and harvesting crops. Electricity, which is often generated from fossil fuels, is also critical for running irrigation systems, especially in greenhouse agriculture or in areas where water must be pumped over long distances. Also, livestock operations similarly rely on electricity for heating, cooling, lighting and mechanised feeding systems. The production of key agricultural inputs, such as synthetic fertilisers, especially those containing nitrogen, require large amounts of energy to produce, and natural gas is often a major fuel used in this process.

We’re pleased to share that the prototype of an EU-wide database of on-farm energy-saving technologies is now live, developed under the AgEnRes Horizon Europe project. This work is being led by the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA) in collaboration with partners at SGGW, IIASA, and E3M.

In an era of rising energy prices and growing environmental concerns, the agricultural sector faces mounting pressure to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and mineral fertilisers. AgEnRes is leading the way in addressing this challenge by designing sustainable policy pathways that enhance the resilience of European agriculture