At the time when the citizens of the European Union express their concern about the quality of the environment, agricultural products hold a card as raw materials in industries which have always used chemical or oil derivatives.

Major crops and especially cereals have the qualities required to meet this objective. Cereals which are rich in biodegradable vegetal carbon and represent an endlessly-renewable production have all the assets of a raw material fit for use in the 21st century chemistry.

Céréaliers de France and AGPM which are fully aware of such assets have focused their strategy on these new channels. They want to incite the European researchers to develop their efforts toward non-food uses of cereals.

So, since 1990, they propose to young researchers and laboratories in the European Union the Cereal Prize which yearly rewards innovative research work in this sector.