Objective
In a time of European food surpluses, problems of rural unemployment and crises in certain sectors of the agricultural industry, it is increasingly important that economically viable non-food crops are found to assist in the diversification of the agriculture. CAP reforms proposed under Agenda 2000 are likely to result in a much reduced area of 'set-aside' land, and the utilisation of much of this in the production of alternative crops will prevent a return to the huge agricultural surpluses of the 1980's.
Poplars probably offer one of the best opportunities to produce a crop that can be economically viable, whilst having generally positive effects on the environment - another important criterion. The recent EC-funded Poplar for Farmers project has confirmed this potential, but the bio-economic models developed within that project require further testing. That project also focused principally on countries that already have established poplar industries, such as Belgium, Italy and France. The new project proposed here will expand into areas with less well developed poplar growing expertise (whilst retaining specialist expertise from Belgium) and will include countries to the north and east, with large areas of farmland that might be exploited. The work on identification of suitable areas undertaken by Poplars for Farmers will be greatly developed using geographical information systems. There are, of course, some objections to the expansion of poplar production. Generally these objections are founded on concerns about the impacts on landscapes and on water resources. These aspects, and the impact of poplar on biodiversity, will be objectively researched by the PAMUCEAF project.
Markets for poplars are numerous and the flexibility of the crop means that there is a vast array of minor or potential products that utilise poplar wood or fibre. Exploitation of these products should result in considerable benefits for rural industries, as well as having a positive effect on EC trade balances. The proposed PAMUCEAF project, involving a recognised multi-disciplinary team of experts from across Europe, will examine all of the above aspects as well as the potential for close integration with farm businesses, maximising the use of available labour, skills and equipment. The work would be organised into seven Tasks:
1. Co-ordination
2. Products and markets
3. Agriculture, silviculture and economics
4. Geographical information
5. Environment: water and soils
6. Environment: ecology and landscapes
7. Farmer and public attitudes
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.
- social sciences economics and business economics
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences hydrology
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries forestry silviculture
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture
- social sciences sociology social issues unemployment
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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.
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.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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.
Coordinator
CV37 9RQ WARWICKSHIRE
United Kingdom
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.