Project description
Sustainable horticulture through peat alternatives, lower inputs and healthier soils
The continued reliance on peat-based growing media, combined with the limitations of current peat alternatives, inefficient use of agricultural inputs, and suboptimal soil health due to unsustainable management practices, presents significant challenges to Europe’s horticultural production systems. In this context, the EU-funded Hort2thefuture project will develop a framework and tools for conducting effective sustainability and Life Cycle Assessment analyses. The project will create cost-effective, reliable and scalable growing media for horticulture using EU-sourced raw materials with a lower environmental footprint than peat. Additionally, it seeks to reduce input use in horticulture and improve soil structure. The project will deliver decision support and behavioural change tools, along with new peat-free alternatives and irrigation products.
Objective
Europe’s horticultural production systems face 3 main sustainability problems: i) continued reliance on peat growing media, and drawbacks of current peat alternatives; ii) inefficient or inappropriate use of agricultural inputs; iii) suboptimal soil health due to unsustainable management practices. The multi-actor project Hort2thefuture will address these 3 challenges over 4 years with research, supplier, retail, and grower partners representing 11 European countries. Activities are divided between 7 Work Packages corresponding to the project's key objectives, together with project management. The objectives are to: (1) develop a methodological framework and tools for effective sustainability/Life Cycle Assessment analysis, (2) create and foster the commercial uptake of relatively low-cost, reliable, scalable growing media in horticulture, using EU-sourced raw materials, having substantially lower carbon and environmental footprints than peat, (3) develop and commercialise novel products and production systems that reduce input use in horticulture, (4) develop and commercialise novel products that improve soil structure and mitigate soil compaction in horticulture, (5) facilitate behavioural change to more sustainable practices through Living Labs and policy measures, and (6) communicate, disseminate & exploit project results effectively to 7 stakeholder audiences, raising soil literacy. The project will deliver outputs at TRL5-7 for Decision Support and LCA tools, an in planta nitrate monitoring electrode, new peat-free alternatives being commercialised, based on wood fibre, nano/micro-irrigation products developed to improve irrigation efficiency and soil health, as well as commercialised biological, chemical and mechanical solutions to reduce/prevent soil compaction, restore compacted soils and improve soil structure. These outcomes will help realise Mission: Soil health objectives, involving stakeholders along the whole agri-food chain and cooperation with FAO.
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.
- engineering and technologycivil engineeringwater engineeringirrigation
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculturehorticulture
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesforestry
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Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation ActionsCoordinator
2000 Frederiksberg
Denmark
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Participants (26)
1040 Bruxelles / Brussel
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
1040 Brussels
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1430 Aas
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42107 Wuppertal
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8000 Aarhus C
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11000 Belgrade
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11000 Beograd
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2800 MECHELEN
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30202 Cartagena
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9070 Destelbergen
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8550 RYOMGAARD
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11070 BELGRADE NOVI BEOGRAD
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1000 SKOPJE
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00184 Roma
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6708 PB Wageningen
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Beograd
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51149 KOLN
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52440 Porec
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21000 Novi Sad
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2691MG 'S-GRAVENZANDE
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30870 Mazarron Murcia
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30007 MURCIA
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2665 MV BLEISWIJK
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
6708 PV Wageningen
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
04003 ALMERIA
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Partners (2)
Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
1093 Budapest
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Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
NE1 7RU Newcastle Upon Tyne
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