Periodic Reporting for period 1 - STRATUS (AdviSor neTwork foR OptimAl ferTilisers Use)
Berichtszeitraum: 2024-02-01 bis 2025-07-31
Fertilisers are essential for agriculture, helping to ensure a secure food supply. However, if used inefficiently, nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium can leak into the environment, polluting water, air, and soil and contributing to biodiversity loss and climate change. Across Europe, there is an increasing demand to minimise nutrient losses while maintaining the productivity and profitability of farms.
STRATUS project addresses this challenge by bringing together agricultural advisors from all EU Member States within a single collaborative network. These advisors play a key role in supporting farmers by helping to translate research into practical solutions adapted to local conditions. By sharing knowledge, experience, and innovative techniques, STRATUS will empower advisors to promote Integrated Fertilisation Management (IFM): a set of practices that optimises fertiliser use, improves soil health, and reduces dependency on mineral fertilisers.
Adopting a multi-actor approach, the project will focus on identifying precision farming, bio-based fertilisers and soil quality practices that work well across Europe. Over five years, it will establish a lasting EU-wide network backed by a digital platform to host all knowledge, trainings for advisors and peer-to-peer learning activities that will facilitate advisors to exchange knowledge, experiences and key challenges for advisory practice.
As a result, STRATUS will help farmers reduce nutrient losses by up to 50%, decrease up to 20% their use of fertilisers, and adopt more sustainable and cost-effective practices. By strengthening cooperation between advisors, farmers, researchers, and policymakers, the project will accelerate the uptake of innovations, support climate-friendly agriculture, and contribute to cleaner water, healthier soils, and more resilient ecosystems across Europe.
STRATUS project addresses this challenge by bringing together agricultural advisors from all EU Member States within a single collaborative network. These advisors play a key role in supporting farmers by helping to translate research into practical solutions adapted to local conditions. By sharing knowledge, experience, and innovative techniques, STRATUS will empower advisors to promote Integrated Fertilisation Management (IFM): a set of practices that optimises fertiliser use, improves soil health, and reduces dependency on mineral fertilisers.
Adopting a multi-actor approach, the project will focus on identifying precision farming, bio-based fertilisers and soil quality practices that work well across Europe. Over five years, it will establish a lasting EU-wide network backed by a digital platform to host all knowledge, trainings for advisors and peer-to-peer learning activities that will facilitate advisors to exchange knowledge, experiences and key challenges for advisory practice.
As a result, STRATUS will help farmers reduce nutrient losses by up to 50%, decrease up to 20% their use of fertilisers, and adopt more sustainable and cost-effective practices. By strengthening cooperation between advisors, farmers, researchers, and policymakers, the project will accelerate the uptake of innovations, support climate-friendly agriculture, and contribute to cleaner water, healthier soils, and more resilient ecosystems across Europe.
Over the past 18 months, since February 2024 STRATUS has:
• [WP1] Stablished a EU-wide advisory network composed of advisors from all Member States. The network has three sub-networks, Fertilization and Innovation Networks (FIN), which are based on three themes (Precision Farming, Bio-Based Fertilizers and Soil Quality). The 3 FINs gather advisors from 11 MS. The EUFRAS and SEASN networks are partners in the project and together they reach 12 MS. The other 4 MS are included in the project as mirror countries thanks to specific partners who are responsible for including them. In addition, 10 Communities of Practices (CoP) were set up with local AKIS members to find out what the best way to use fertilisers was. Their leaders are advisors of the FINs. Hence, the EU-wide advisory network is embedded in the local sector. The creation of the CoPs got 247 stakeholders from the local sector involved. Among these stakeholders, 26 were policy makers. Collaborative actions with other relevant EU advisory projects were launched, with the celebration of the 1st Cross-fertilisation Workshop.
• [WP2, WP3] Identified 52 Good Practices (GPs) and Research Innovations (RIs) related to IFM, in particular on precision farming techniques (PF), on the use of bio-based fertilisers (BBF) and on different techniques that maintain or improve soil quality (SQ). FINs identified them and collected data about their on-farm applicability, economic effects, regulatory and environmental aspects, and social acceptance. The local CoPs participated in identifying practices, thus ensuring that their needs were considered. Afterwards, taking into consideration the collected data, the network selected the 24 Best Practices (9 PF, 7 BBF, 8 SQ) from these 52 – the ones with the best results in terms of on-farm applicability, economic effects, regulatory and environmental aspects, and social acceptance.
• [WP2] Created a digital platform ‘AdvisoryAgriHub’, as a joint effort by five EU-funded advisory networks projects (AdvisoryNetPEST, OrganicAdviceNetwork, LiveNet, FORADVICE and STRATUS) on different topics (livestock, pesticides, forestry, fertilisers and organic farming). The platform contains a repository for the knowledge generated in the five projects allowing cross-pollinization between topics. The collected 52 GPs and RIs from STRATUS translated in 11 languages are available in the platform.
• [WP4] Delivered two trainings for advisors of the STRATU EU-wide advisory network. The first was a ‘Soft-Skills Training’ to teach advisors how to engage with the local sector, communicate societal requirements and enhance group innovation. The second was an ‘Organisational-Skills Training’ on how to organise farm visits, demonstrations and group management, as well as providing individual advice.
• [WP1] Stablished a EU-wide advisory network composed of advisors from all Member States. The network has three sub-networks, Fertilization and Innovation Networks (FIN), which are based on three themes (Precision Farming, Bio-Based Fertilizers and Soil Quality). The 3 FINs gather advisors from 11 MS. The EUFRAS and SEASN networks are partners in the project and together they reach 12 MS. The other 4 MS are included in the project as mirror countries thanks to specific partners who are responsible for including them. In addition, 10 Communities of Practices (CoP) were set up with local AKIS members to find out what the best way to use fertilisers was. Their leaders are advisors of the FINs. Hence, the EU-wide advisory network is embedded in the local sector. The creation of the CoPs got 247 stakeholders from the local sector involved. Among these stakeholders, 26 were policy makers. Collaborative actions with other relevant EU advisory projects were launched, with the celebration of the 1st Cross-fertilisation Workshop.
• [WP2, WP3] Identified 52 Good Practices (GPs) and Research Innovations (RIs) related to IFM, in particular on precision farming techniques (PF), on the use of bio-based fertilisers (BBF) and on different techniques that maintain or improve soil quality (SQ). FINs identified them and collected data about their on-farm applicability, economic effects, regulatory and environmental aspects, and social acceptance. The local CoPs participated in identifying practices, thus ensuring that their needs were considered. Afterwards, taking into consideration the collected data, the network selected the 24 Best Practices (9 PF, 7 BBF, 8 SQ) from these 52 – the ones with the best results in terms of on-farm applicability, economic effects, regulatory and environmental aspects, and social acceptance.
• [WP2] Created a digital platform ‘AdvisoryAgriHub’, as a joint effort by five EU-funded advisory networks projects (AdvisoryNetPEST, OrganicAdviceNetwork, LiveNet, FORADVICE and STRATUS) on different topics (livestock, pesticides, forestry, fertilisers and organic farming). The platform contains a repository for the knowledge generated in the five projects allowing cross-pollinization between topics. The collected 52 GPs and RIs from STRATUS translated in 11 languages are available in the platform.
• [WP4] Delivered two trainings for advisors of the STRATU EU-wide advisory network. The first was a ‘Soft-Skills Training’ to teach advisors how to engage with the local sector, communicate societal requirements and enhance group innovation. The second was an ‘Organisational-Skills Training’ on how to organise farm visits, demonstrations and group management, as well as providing individual advice.
STRATUS results go beyond current practices regarding IFM by establishing the first EU-wide advisory network dedicated entirely to IFM. This network links local agricultural realities with EU-wide knowledge exchange. Its structure, which combines FINs and CoPs, ensures that innovative solutions and good practices are scientifically sound and applicable at a local level.
The project has also co-developed the AdvisoryAgriHub platform alongside other Horizon Europe projects, that will facilitate the cross-sectoral sharing of practices, training materials and networking opportunities for advisors. This collaborative approach bridges the gap between advisory fields, accelerating the adoption of sustainable farming practices.
The results equip advisors with the practical tools and collaborative frameworks needed to reduce nutrient losses, improve soil health and lower dependence on mineral fertilisers, thereby setting the foundation for long-term impact that will endure beyond the project's lifetime.
To ensure STRATUS results achieve their full potential, long-term coordination and funding is needed to maintain and expand the advisory network and platform, as well as continuous training for advisors to update technical, organisational and on soft skills.
The project has also co-developed the AdvisoryAgriHub platform alongside other Horizon Europe projects, that will facilitate the cross-sectoral sharing of practices, training materials and networking opportunities for advisors. This collaborative approach bridges the gap between advisory fields, accelerating the adoption of sustainable farming practices.
The results equip advisors with the practical tools and collaborative frameworks needed to reduce nutrient losses, improve soil health and lower dependence on mineral fertilisers, thereby setting the foundation for long-term impact that will endure beyond the project's lifetime.
To ensure STRATUS results achieve their full potential, long-term coordination and funding is needed to maintain and expand the advisory network and platform, as well as continuous training for advisors to update technical, organisational and on soft skills.