1st Call projects
The Green ERA-Hub has selected 10 projects for funding under the 2023 joint call for proposals. GEH brought together 19 funding organizations from 16 countries from 3 continents, to support basic and applied research. The call was focused on ‘Contributions to a sustainable and resilient agri-food system’. Emphasizing resource utilization, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and assessing impacts on yields, product quality, human nutrition, and profitability, the initiative seeks holistic solutions for both organic and conventional farming and/or food approaches. Each project is a collaboration between researchers from multiple countries and continents. The projects will run for 3 years and will start in 2024.
Four topics were identified and proposed to applicants
NutriSTORM: Nutrient Soil Stoichiometry Transformation for Optimized Resource Management
NutriSTORM aims to manage soil stoichiometry to improve soil nutrient cycling processes and reduce loss of nutrients entering the soil by fertiliser application via leaching, surface runoff or in the form of gaseous emissions. This will involve the improvements of soil (C) carbon stocks and soil organic matter of microbial origin. C rich feedstock to improve soil C stocks (SOM) will include organic materials of waste origin from the circular economy model. We aim to improve nutrient-use efficiencies through better soil multi-functionality with the help of soil microbiota that make nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) plant available, while at the same time immobilise excess N and P that is at risk of loss to ground- and surface-waters. We will reduce linear economy dependencies by engaging the circular economy for the sustainable supply of C, N and P. We will utilise long-term field scale research sites to demonstrate the feasibility of these approaches, where the multi-functionality of the soil microbiota will be analysed. In addition, NutriSTORM will conduct short-term trials to close specific knowledge gaps. We will establish practical approaches in an agronomic context and provide supporting mechanistic understanding so that the principles can be applied widely, as well as modified to suit local soil conditions and farming needs with a wide range of amendments.
HiGa: Hermetia illucens for a Green agriculture
Each year the EU has to import 17 Mt of protein and an estimated 129 Mt of food waste is produced. Black soldier fly larvae (BSF) could be a part of the solution. The industry is growing fast, but is still in it’s infancy. This project aims to improve the economic viability, increase the protein self-sufficiency and reduce the need for mineral fertilizers.
Rearing BSF: the industry works with a (near) wild fly. Selection will improve production parameters. Furthermore, farming practices will be tailored to the larvae to boost production.
As feed: the digestibility of BSF protein meal in aquaculture will be optimized. The fat fraction of BSF as ruminant feed is assessed as it may reduce methane production.
Frass: has the potential to replace mineral fertilizers. Yet, the composition of frass is variable. Synergies between frass and other used soil fertilizers will be assessed.
Emissions: quantifying and reducing emissions.
Sustainability: an environmental and economic assessment will be made ensuring a bright future for the farmers.
HiGa will result in a more productive, greener, sustainable agro-economy, reducing our protein deficiency and mineral fertilizer use.
NSmartSystems: Smart Nitrogen Management for Diverse Cropping Systems
This project aims to 1) support farmers with tools for diversifying the farming systems with improved crop rotations and smart use of cover crops 2) develop improved nitrogen and soil property maps to support variable rate application decisions 3) Improve the accuracy of variable rate nitrogen application by developing machine specific application maps 4) Develop analysis tools for farmers to analyze the effect of their management decisions over time.
LeFaSus: Uncovering Legume Soil Fatigue for Sustainable Expansion of European Grain Legume Cultivation
LeFaSus will conduct a comprehensive investigation into the occurrence and causes of 'legume soil fatigue' and identify successful management practices that can help prevent it. In addition, LeFaSus will deliver a reliable set of indicators for ‘legume fatigue’ and suppressive soils and connect these indicators to the management practices that likely led to them. To achieve this, LeFaSus will utilize both well-established and newly incorporated farm networks covering a north to south European transect. LeFaSus will selectively target farms with documented cases of 'legume fatigue' as well as those that have effectively managed frequent legume cropping without encountering major fatigue problems. Moreover, Farms withou any legume cultivation in the past decades will be comprised. The investigation will involve comprehensive documentation and comparison of these sites e.g. yield, management practices, cropping history, soil chemical, physical and biological properties, and other relevant factors.
FERTIGO: Uncovering Legume Soil Fatigue for Sustainable Expansion of European Grain Legume Cultivation
The FERTIGO project aims at identifying and integrating new species (and cultivars) of cover crops and companion crops to stabilize nitrogen in soils, to improve phosphorus mobilization, and preserve high amounts of nutrients. Species with proven potential to improve nitrogen stability and phosphorus availability will be screened in order to identify the best performing genotypes. The study will focus on plantain because of its reported biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) activities as well as red fescue, Lolium spp. and phacelia for their capacity to mobilize phosphorus. Those species have also the potential to increase below-ground biodiversity, while trapping more carbon and improving soil water holding capacity. We will characterize the diversity of the selected species in their capacity to fulfill their rhizospheric functions (i.e. BNI and P mobilization). We will investigate the potential of the BNI and P mobilizing species using two relevant agrosystems: 1) incorporation in temporary grasslands preceding spring barley and 2) use as companion crop of a cash crop (e.g. maize). Their selection and assessment with bioassays and field trials will be co-designed with stakeholders who will be integrated in a stakeholder board at the initial stage of the project to increase the adoption rate of novel nature-based approaches aiming at improving plant nutrition in both conventional and organic agrosystems.
DARE2CYCLE: DAiry Waste and REsidues upCYCLing into Microbial ProtEin
The DARE2CYCLE project aims to boost the European protein supply while contributing to a more sustainable and resilient dairy and agricultural sector. It plans to do this by developing a biorefinery system that sources alternative proteins from overabundant dairy waste and residues through efficient and safe recovery and upcycling processes. In DARE2CYCLE, waste such as leftover whey, waste milk and manure, will be treated through a series of bioprocesses to recover nutrients, carbon and energy to be subsequently valorised into useful alternative protein also known as microbial protein. The latter will be obtained from microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast and filamentous fungi cultured under specific conditions and monitored through innovative and advanced techniques. The obtained protein will be evaluated for their suitability as human food or animal feed, and further tested to make biodegradable plastics for food packaging. The project involves a complementary consortium of research and industry partners spanning across six European countries and connecting the dairy and alternative protein value chains together.
LIFE: Climate-Resilient, Water-Efficient, and Self-Sustainable Agri-Food Systems
Due to climate change, the agri-food system is increasingly exposed to risks which contribute to food and nutrition insecurity. Climate-resilient, water-efficient, and self-sustainable agri-food systems are the only viable approach for the future. Locally sourced fertilizers and closed-looped hydroponic farming systems are attractive solutions for several reasons: reuse (and reduction) of water resources, use of natural and optimized fertilizers, and controlled, more predictable and improved food security. Hydroponics systems, while being efficient technologies, still require a source of fertilizers.
The LIFE project aims to transform traditional agricultural waste (i.e. animal manure) into sanitary, rich, water-soluble nutrient solutions for hydroponic farms by using novel bacterial and/or chemical transformation technologies. Since such fertilizers may entail risks, and may have an unstable nutrient concentration, the project leverages on the Digital Twin (DT) technology to control both the transformation process and crop evolution in the farm. The project will demonstrate the technical and commercial feasibility of the proposed approach in a Pilot farm, in Luxembourg.
AMD-GAS in maize: Harnessing African Microbial Diversity to mitigate Green House Gas emissions in maize production
Rapid population growth and decreased availability of arable land drives farmers’ reliance on inorganic fertilizer to increase crop productivity. This intensified use of inorganic fertilizer is seen as one of the main contributors to increased emissions of Green House Gas (GHG).
The project aims to assess the use of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) isolated from natural environments in South Africa and Cameroon as a potential “bio-solution” to increase crop productivity in maize without increasing GHG emissions.
In phase I, bacteria with bioactivities associated with plant growth promotion will be formulated into inoculums, and tested in maize cultivated under normal and drought conditions. GHG emissions will be monitored to investigate whether these inoculums will enhance plant productivity while reducing GHG emissions. Phase II will focus on studying physiological parameters and molecular changes related to maize growth promotion. The ability of the PGPB to control maize pathogens will also be assessed.
The project is an inter-continental collaboration between five teams and presents a novel approach to studying the influence of PBPB on crop productivity and GHG emissions.
Sustain Sheep: Reducing sheep methane emissions: sustainability in practice via new breeding goals
This project aims to create an infrastructure for the incorporation of genetic merit for low environmental impact into national breeding schemes that dovetails into the IPCC inventory and provides a mechanism for national and global comparison. Key benefits would be the incorporation of methane emissions, feed intake and efficiency measures. As all partner countries have invested in the same technology to measure methane emissions (portable accumulationchambers, PACs) from individual sheep, we have the perfect platform for synergistic research and investment has been made in developing an impactful team.Each country has its own investment program, this piece of work would specifically be for cross country alignment.
ProRMAS: Producing valuable proteins and organic fertilizers from saline water sources using a recirculating multitrophic aquaponic system
Seafood supplies about 17% of animal protein and 7% of total protein, with aquaculture projected to provide 60% of global seafood by 2030. Euryhaline species, like shrimp, are the most economically important in global aquaculture. In Europe, Penaeus vannamei production in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems is growing, but nutrients in waste remain unused, adding inefficiency and cost. A solution is developing recirculating multi-trophic aquaponic systems (RMAS) where aquatic species, filter feeders, and plants grow in a fully circular saline water system.
ProRMAS aims to innovate RMAS to close the cycle, produce high-quality protein, and optimize water and nutrient use. Shrimp will be the high-value food; polychaetes will serve as alternative feed, while recovering nutrients and reducing organic waste. Halophyte plants and macroalgae will absorb nutrients and be used for feed and human consumption due to their nutritional properties. Fertilizer use is minimized, and plant growth optimized. Remaining organic residue will be turned into bio-fertilizers, reducing waste to zero.