Project description
Sustainable innovations for organic farming
Organic farming faces challenges in replacing controversial inputs such as copper-based fungicides and synthetic antibiotics, which can harm the environment and human health. In this context, the EU-funded BIO2 project is developing sustainable alternatives that enhance crop protection and soil fertility. Specifically, it is creating fertilisers from marine byproducts, recycling nutrients, and encapsulating natural biocontrol agents to boost their effectiveness. It also pioneers microalgal fungicides and antiparasitic treatments from natural extracts. Scaling up production and involving farmers and stakeholders ensures these solutions are practical. By combining science with sustainability and circular economy principles, BIO2 aims to transform organic farming into a productive system. In turn, this reduces environmental impact while supporting farmers in the transition.
Objective
BIO2 aims to transform organic farming (OF) by replacing contentious inputs with sustainable alternatives through innovative R&D. The main innovations are: (i) combining marine materials (fish discards and seaweed byproducts), microorganisms, and recycled sewage nutrients to create fertilizers tailored for OF; (ii) encapsulating biocontrol agents (e.g. yeast and bacteria) in biogenic materials to enhance their efficacy in protecting crops from diseases; (iii) developing processes for manufacturing microalgal-based agricultural fungicides; and (iv) producing immunostimulants and bark extracts with antiparasitic properties.
To facilitate the integration of BIO2 solutions into OF and make them viable for farmers, we will scale up production processes and provide sufficient materials for testing in agronomic and animal trials from the project's early stages. The efficacy of these products will be studied and compared with contentious inputs, such as copper- and sulfur-based fungicides, mineral oils, manure from conventional farming, and synthetic antibiotics.
BIO2 will prioritize sustainability assessments and actively engage stakeholders (industries, the OF sector, farmers transitioning to OF, and consumers) to develop products that are both environmentally friendly and accepted by end users. Potential barriers, such as raw material quality and availability, product costs, farmers’ acceptance, and regulatory challenges, will be addressed by diversifying material sources and involving key actors. By leveraging advanced technologies and interdisciplinary collaboration, BIO2 will deliver tangible outcomes, including the industrial production of at least 1 biocontrol agent, 2 fertilizers, and 1 antiparasitic treatment.
Through its comprehensive approach, BIO2 not only addresses current limitations in OF but also contributes to broader sustainability goals by reducing environmental impacts and promoting a circular economy.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antibiotics
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.2.6 - Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation Actions
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL6-2024-FARM2FORK-02
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
00185 Roma
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.