We must sustainably increase the yield, nutritional value, and biodiversity of major crop species, choose climate-ready crops that are adapted to future weather dynamics, and increase resource use efficiency if we are to achieve the full objectives of international policies targeting global food security and climate change mitigation, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Climate Agreement COP21, and the European Green Deal. In the end, agriculture's biggest problem is to sustainably feed a growing global population with an adequate supply of wholesome food while also promoting the circular bio-based economy. Providing adaptable crop-breeding solutions within larger socio-economic-ecological systems is a complex but important task that involves a variety of crop species in various agricultural regimes and environmental forces. Only an extensive, global scientific collaboration can achieve this objective. We urge global action and suggest the Crop Booster Program, a pan-European research programmed, to activate the European plant research community and connect it with the interdisciplinary knowledge required to meet the problem.
