EIP-AGRI
In the last week of March, 2017 the Hungarian EIP AGRI call for proposals was released and is available at
https://www.palyazat.gov.hu/vp3-1611-415-421-422-811-821-831-851-852-861-17
In the first week of February 2017 was released in the frame of the Széchenyi 2020 program the draft of the EIP AGRI call for proposals under the code: VP3 16.1.1-4.1.5-4.2.1-4.2.2-8.1.1-8.2.1-8.3.1-8.5.1-8.5.2-8.6.1
For the 2014-2020 period the Commission in the agri-food sector starts the European Innovation Partnership programme. According to the Communication COM(2012)79 on the European Innovation Partnership „Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability” the objectives of the partnership is „objectives of the EIP include successful bridge-building between cutting-edge research and technology and stakeholders, including farmers, businesses, industry, advisory services and NGOs. This should help translating research results into actual innovation, faster transferring innovation into practice, giving a systematic feedback from practice to science concerning research needs, enhancing knowledge exchange, and raising awareness on the need for joint efforts to invest in sustainable innovation. The EIP strives to achieve synergies through fostering exchange among partners from different policy fields, sectors, initiatives and projects, thereby contributing to higher effectiveness of existing policy instruments and complementing them with new actions where necessary.”
The role of the bottom up approach is that the cooperation partners (operational groups) by developing specific projects to solve practical problems. Only those projects will gain support which has link to the Horizon 2020 aims. The funds will be available from the rural development programme (art. 17, 35, 62).
The Commission suggest that the innovation activities to be focused on the following areas:
1. Increased agricultural productivity, output, and resource efficiency
This area of innovation actions aims to increase agricultural output, while ensuring the efficient and sustainable use of resources. Low-input production systems would target the sustainable use of nutrients (including phosphorus and nitrogen) and pesticides, optimised use of energy, water, and genetic resources, and lower dependence on external inputs. Progress is needed in the field of integrated pest management, biological control of plant diseases and pests, improved use of plant
protection products, and reducing GHG-emission from animal production and soils. Solutions for recycling and the reduction of post-harvest losses would alleviate pressures on natural resources. The potential of green technologies, such as ICT, precision farming, and pest warning systems, should be explored.
2. Innovation in support of the bio-based economy
Innovative solutions should be adapted to the whole supply chain as well as the growing bio-based economy. Solutions should be sought for bio-refinery and recycling and the smart use of biomass from crops, forest, and food waste, valorising its cascading potential without reducing soil organic matter. Consideration could also be given to substituting primary protein production by algae or bio-fermentation. Breeding of animals and plants could be explored for achieving higher outputs, reduced emissions and/or better resistance to diseases, as well as higher quality of final products (e.g. better nutritional profiles).
3. Biodiversity, Ecosystem services, and soil functionality
Innovation that enhances sustainable farm management and forestry practices benefits also eco-system services and soil functionality. Particular emphasis should be placed on integrated agro-ecological systems, including the enhancement of soil biodiversity, carbon sequestration, water retention, ecosystem stability and resilience, and pollination functions. Solutions could focus on improved land management (including low tillage and maintenance of green infrastructure), integrated spatial planning and new agro-forestry systems, as well as natural ecosystem conservation methods. Further areas would include optimising the use of genetic resources, low
input/organic systems, increasing genetic diversity used in agriculture, and developing bio-remediation for polluted soils, as well as innovative climate change adaptation strategies.
4. Innovative products and services for the integrated supply chain
The aim is to develop and deploy innovative products, devices and services, alongside with establishing a transparent and sustainable supply chain. The focus would be on better information systems and risk management tools, reflecting the characteristics of products and production processes, such as benchmarking, sustainability standards, foot-printing, lifecycle analysis (with a focus on waste management), and certification systems. Solutions could include managerial innovation for farmers, reinforcing their role in the supply chains, e.g. through producer groups or short food chains. New diagnostic tools would help tracking environmental and social performance of farms. Solutions would include also exploiting the full diversity of our genetic base, creating new and more sustainable opportunities, and establishing institutional innovations (e.g. carbon markets). Effective monitoring systems could be targeted towards residues in food (e.g. pesticides).
5. Food quality, food safety and healthy lifestyles
Informed consumer choices are essential as steering impulses to the whole supply chain. Areas of action would include food quality and food safety, for instance through developing new food quality schemes and livestock health care schemes. Bio-prospecting and the potential of medical flora as a raw material resource could be explored. Other areas could include natural animal and plant treatment and new methods to analyse the biological qualities of food. Tools for changing consumption patterns and corresponding education, information, and learning tools could help improve public health, accompanied by healthy ingredients in products (e.g. milk or oil with omega-3 fatty acids) achieved by further developing nutrients and through animal breeding. The consumers' role in reducing post-harvest losses could be addressed by intelligent packaging approaches as well as education and information.
Beside the five priority areas other national priorities can be formulated.
Further information on the EIP-AGRI activities, focus groups, events can be find on the http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/eip/focus-groups/index_en.htm
On the 6th of May 2014 the first EIP AGRI conference was hold at Budapest. The presentations are available on the https://www.nebih.gov.hu/aktualitasok/hirek/05_06_EIP.html page.
Focus groups
In the frame of EIP-AGRI in the selected priority areas different focus groups are established in order to facilitate innovative actions in the field and better connect science and practice. Now 13 focus group exists as: animal husbandry, ecological focus area, fertilizer efficiency, precision farming, organic farming, genetic resources, high nature value, IPM for Brassica, protein crops, permanent grassland, short food supply chain,soil organic matter, soil borne diseases. Further information available at http://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture. It is planed that further focus groups will be established (estimated up to 38-40).
The fertilizers efficiency focus try to give answers to the main question as: how to use innovative fertilisation and nutrient recycling to solve the conflict between the need for crop fertilisation and legislative requirements regarding water quality?
The main tasks are:
- determining how crop quality and yield is influenced by legal requirements (stemming from the Nitrates Directive and the Water Framework Directive) and by which elements in particular (application standards, closed periods, organic matter calculation).
- identifying and comparing systems to reduce fertiliser use without affecting yield and quality while taking into account cost-effectiveness and other factors like temperature, humidity, soil etc.
- highlighting innovative systems that can help to solve the conflict between crop quality and quantity demands and the legislative requirements, e.g. innovative fertilisation techniques, crop residue management, irrigation management, crop rotation, organic matter and by-products management, N and P dynamics in relation with soil quality, the use of slow release fertilisers and catch crops, nutrient spreading or placement, tillage, others.
- listing fail factors that limit the use of the identified techniques/systems by farmers and summarising how to address these factors.
The manager of the SOLTUB Ltd. participated on the second meeting of the fertilizer efficiency focus group meeting in Almeria, Spain on the 21-22 of October 2014, and hold a presentation about the use of organic source fertilizers. Link
In July, 2015 the mini papers of the fertilizers efficiency focus group were released. The mini papers are available at https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en/content/fertiliser-efficiency-focus-horticulture-open-field
EIP AGRI integrated pest management (IPM) focus group documents Link
EIP AGRI soil organic matter (SOM) focus group documents Link
EIP AGRI short food supply chain focus group documents Link
EIP AGRI protein crops focus group documents Link
For other EIP AGRI focus group documents , please consult the Hungarian version.
EIP AGRI workshop on "Opportunities for Agriculture and Forestry in the Circular Economy" in Finland, Naantali Link
EIP AGRI HU newsletter, August 2015 Link
EIP AGRI HU newsletter, September 2015 Link
EIP AGRI HU newsletter, October 2015 Link
EIP AGRI HU newsletter, November 2015 Link
EIP AGRI HU newsletter, December 2015 Link
EIP AGRI HU newsletter, February 2016 Link
EIP AGRI HU newsletter, March 2016 Link
EIP AGRI HU newsletter, April 2016 Link
Available EIP AGRI presentation forms Link
Innovation funding programmes are available at http://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/sites/agri-eip/files/eip_agri_funding_for_web.pdf