Objective
The demand from food retailers to provide food which is grown according to organic standards rather than through the use of
inorganic herbicides has placed enormous pressure on crop growers. The underlying cause for this change has been the
increase 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) are
mostly unable to eliminate weeds within the crop rows, with the exception of expensive hand weeding. The prevalent use of
labour intensive weed control methods has contributed to the higher production cost, and hence retail price, of organic food
compared 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 made
from paper. Seeds are placed between these two layers in rows, broadcasted or with precision placement. The absorbent
lower layer retains moisture and controls weeds. The key benefits of our product are that it eliminates manual labour for
weed 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 in
Europe plus 270,000 ha in readily accessible international markets (e.g. USA, South Africa and Australia). Our concept has
been tested and validated in target markets, with very encouraging early sales of our beta version. Based on the early
market interest and end user feedback we have forecast sales of €19.2 million and a return on investment of 154% over the
five years following commercialisation.
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: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture agronomy plant protection
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture sustainable agriculture
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture horticulture vegetable growing
- social sciences economics and business business and management employment
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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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H2020-EU.3.2. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.3.2.4. - Sustainable and competitive bio-based industries and supporting the development of a European bioeconomy
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H2020-EU.3.2.1. - Sustainable agriculture and forestry
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H2020-EU.2.3.1. - Mainstreaming SME support, especially through a dedicated instrument
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H2020-EU.3.2.2. - Sustainable and competitive agri-food sector for a safe and healthy diet
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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.
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1
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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) H2020-SMEInst-2016-2017
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
RG26 SGJ TADLEY
United Kingdom
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
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.