Project description
Growing sustainable agricultural practices
Rural communities often rely on smallholder farming for food security and socio-economic stability. However, the livelihoods of these farmers are closely tied to the profitability of their crops, often pushing them to intensify agricultural practices and expand cultivation areas to increase margins. In regions such as Sibaté, Colombia, a sharp rise in strawberry production has led to the widespread use of chemical treatments to prevent crop diseases. This has polluted arable land and endangered the biodiversity of the sensitive páramo ecosystem. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the COLFRESA project will develop solutions to predict disease outbreaks using volatile organic compounds (VOCs), alongside sustainable crop management strategies. The aim is to reduce environmental harm while supporting the resilience of smallholder farmers.
Objective
Smallholder farming plays a crucial role in the food security and socio-economic stability of rural communities. However, their success is highly dependent on the profitability of crops, compelling farmers to intensify farming practices and widen profit margins. In the smallholder farming community of Sibate, Colombia, strawberry production has greatly increased over the past 2 decades. However, this crop is sensitive to infection by fungal pathogens, such as grey mould (Botrytis cinerea) and red stele disease (Phytophthora fragariae), of which outbreaks can decimate harvests. The intensive application of costly chemicals and expansion of cultivated lands to mitigate losses has led to the pollution of arable lands and threatens the endangered, highly biodiverse paramo ecosystem.
I aim to provide the fundamental knowledge needed to develop sustainable management strategies and provide accessible information to promote its implementation. My first objective is to develop a causal model to predict disease outbreaks in the strawberry production system, with the aim of reducing the use of agrochemicals and optimizing irrigation practices. My second objective is to provide an alternative pathogen management strategy by making use of plant volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs emitted by infected plants can be detected by healthy plants and invoke a pre-emptive immune response. I aim to explore whether VOC-induced immune responses can be used as a “green vaccine” in strawberries under the Sibate environmental conditions. My third objective is to develop a web-application that predicts disease outbreaks, in collaboration with the farmers, so that cost-effective and pesticide-reduction management will be implemented. Together, this project aims to become a showcase to develop sustainable agricultural practices together with small-holder farmers that will help conserve the unique paramo region, and help develop sustainable strawberry cultivation practices around the world.
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.
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry volatile organic compounds
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology mycology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture
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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.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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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
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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-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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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.
1012WX Amsterdam
Netherlands
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