EUCARPIA aims to promote scientific and technical co-operation in the field of plant breeding in order to foster its further development. To achieve this purpose, the Association arranges and sponsors meetings of members, or groups of members, to discuss general or specific problems from all fields of plant breeding and genetic research. Any activity in connection with a predominantly commercial interest is excluded, as EUCARPIA is a non profit organization. The Association has 10 sections and a number of working groups focusing on particular crop species.

EUCARPIA organizes section meetings, open conferences and colloquia throughout Europe each year.

Every four years, the General Congress is held together with the general assembly. These congresses are an open forum for all EUCARPIA members to discuss subjects of a wider interest. They provide a forum for presentation of the problems and challenges facing plant breeding both for today and in the future.

Founded in 1956 in Wageningen (The Netherlands), EUCARPIA can look back on considerable contributions to improving international contacts in plant breeding research for nearly fifty years. Nowadays EUCARPIA is more active than ever before with more than a thousand members of various nationalities and interests in Europe and world-wide.