Newsletter on Agriculture & Innovation - February 2018
Organic and “conventional” farmers joining forces for innovation
An Operational Group (OG) in an area of Germany with a long history of fruit production is working on plant protection management strategies. They want to improve production whilst contributing to the preservation of natural resources. The OG illustrates that some processes and machinery can be transferable from conventional to organic production, such as tunnel-application spraying systems. Read on.
Preventing forest fires in Portugal
“Residues of the forests, like shrubs and wood that remain on the ground after harvesting or thinning, act as fuel in terms of fire” says Rosario Alves, executive director of the federation of Portuguese forest owner organisations. “One solution we see is to create value for the production of this primary forest biomass as energy” Alves is working with an Operational Group in Portugal developing software that gives real-time information on the amount of wood available and the demand of potential clients nearby. Read more.
Brochure on AKIS - stimulating creativity and learning
Agriculture Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) is a concept describing how people and organisations join together to promote mutual learning, to generate, share, and use agriculture-related knowledge and information. This brochure provides examples, tools and tips for farmers, advisers and researchers wishing to improve the way they work together, and to make EU farms more profitable, sustainable and productive. Download the brochure.
Organic inspiration for European farming
European agriculture is facing increasing restrictions on the use of artificial fertilisers, pesticides and antibiotics. Because organic farmers have experience in dealing with this, a new EIP-AGRI brochure highlights innovative solutions, inspired by organic farming, for soil management, pest control and livestock health, that may be useful for all farmers. Download the brochure.
Sustainable mobilisation of forest biomass
“Increased mobilisation of forest biomass unlocks sustainable raw material for future product innovations and improves income for forest owners and rural dwellers” - Focus Group expert Nuala Ni Fhlatharta. Expert Kieran Sullivan - “We cannot care for the forest less and expect it to keep producing more". The EIP-AGRI Focus Group on sustainable mobilisation of forest biomass has just released its report and factsheet
EuroDairy inventory of innovations
The EuroDairy Thematic Network has been compiling an inventory of innovative tools, techniques and approaches, which may be used by farmers and advisors to drive best practice in dairy farming. These innovations apply across the four sustainability themes of EuroDairy - resource efficiency, animal care, biodiversity and socio-economic resilience. For a preview of the inventory, see here. To see the map of the network click here
Increasing awareness about bio-based products
“The use of biomass from agriculture, forestry and marine resources offers a way out of our dependency on fossil resources” (www.allthings.bio). The BioCannDo project aims to increase awareness of products which are partly or wholly made of biomass. Browse their website and find out about clothing made from nettles, wood and even milk, insulation for buildings made from hemp, food packaging made from vegetable biomass and more…
Call for papers – social agriculture
Research organisation EURAC Research is looking for good practice examples and solutions from social agriculture for an upcoming conference. These could be: new social methods of co-design, co‐construction and collaboration with society and public institutions; opportunities for employing people with disabilities, unemployed people or migrants; or, the creation of new jobs, fostering social capital and examples of multifunctionality in agriculture. Deadline 28 February. Find out more
