Objective The demand from food retailers to provide food which is grown according to organic standards rather than through the use ofinorganic herbicides has placed enormous pressure on crop growers. The underlying cause for this change has been theincrease in demand from consumers for food which has been grown organically or with reduced agrochemical inputs.Existing organic solutions such as mechanical hoeing, poly mulching beds and thermal treatment (heat/foam/electricity) aremostly unable to eliminate weeds within the crop rows, with the exception of expensive hand weeding. The prevalent use oflabour intensive weed control methods has contributed to the higher production cost, and hence retail price, of organic foodcompared to food grown with the use of herbicides.Our paper seed mat consists of a physical barrier made up of an absorbent lower layer and a very thin upper layer madefrom paper. Seeds are placed between these two layers in rows, broadcasted or with precision placement. The absorbentlower layer retains moisture and controls weeds. The key benefits of our product are that it eliminates manual labour forweed control and allows for mechanised laying during the growing cycle, increases crop yield by 10% per season, has 100%crop coverage, provides even germination, protects crops from microbiological and foreign body soil contamination,degrades through the growing cycle and saves time and money in production.Our target market is vegetable and salad producers, a significant market with over 450,000 ha of relevant crops grown inEurope plus 270,000 ha in readily accessible international markets (e.g. USA, South Africa and Australia). Our concept hasbeen tested and validated in target markets, with very encouraging early sales of our beta version. Based on the earlymarket interest and end user feedback we have forecast sales of €19.2 million and a return on investment of 154% over thefive years following commercialisation. Fields of science agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagricultureagronomyplant protectionagricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculturesustainable agricultureagricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculturehorticulturevegetable growingsocial scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and managementemployment Programme(s) H2020-EU.3.2. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy Main Programme H2020-EU.3.2.4. - Sustainable and competitive bio-based industries and supporting the development of a European bioeconomy H2020-EU.3.2.1. - Sustainable agriculture and forestry H2020-EU.2.3.1. - Mainstreaming SME support, especially through a dedicated instrument H2020-EU.3.2.2. - Sustainable and competitive agri-food sector for a safe and healthy diet Topic(s) SMEInst-07-2016-2017 - Stimulating the innovation potential of SMEs for sustainable and competitive agriculture, forestry, agri-food and bio-based sectors Call for proposal H2020-SMEInst-2016-2017 See other projects for this call Sub call H2020-SMEINST-1-2016-2017 Funding Scheme SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1 Coordinator TERRASEED LIMITED Net EU contribution € 50 000,00 Address UNIT 50 FOLLY FARM KINGSCLERE ROAD RG26 SGJ TADLEY United Kingdom See on map SME The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed. Yes Region South East (England) Hampshire and Isle of Wight North Hampshire Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 71 429,00