Jitka Götzová

Director of the Food Safety Department
Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic

Jitka Götzová graduated in Economy and Management – Marketing of Foodstuff Production in 2002 at South Bohemian University, Faculty of Agriculture. Since 2003, she has been working for the Ministry of Agriculture in several positions. In 2004, she was appointed as Head of the Food Safety Unit and since 2008, she is leading the Food Safety Department as its Director.

Since 2008, Mrs. Götzová represents the Czech Republic as a Member of the Advisory Forum of EFSA.

She is acting Vice-Chair of the Food Safety Coordination Unit, which has been assigned to coordinate and set priorities in the field of food safety in the Czech Republic.

She also represents the Czech Republic as a Member of the EIT Food RIS Policy Council. EIT Food accelerates innovation to build a future-fit food system that produces healthy and sustainable food for all, www.eitfood.eu.

Safety of Agri-Food Chain & Innovation

Abstract

To ensure sustainable agricultural and food production in the EU as a contribution to global food security, the viability and competitiveness of European agri-food industry need to be maintained. Given the ambitions to reduce agricultural inputs and the use of chemical pesticides significantly, in line with the F2F and Biodiversity strategies, this will be a huge challenge for both farmers and food producers as well as suppliers of agricultural inputs in the whole of the EU. Studies on NGTs carried out by the European Commission so far show that they have the potential to positively influence food security, sustainable agriculture, and food systems in the context of the European Green Deal and the F2F Strategy by reducing the use of agricultural inputs.