Project description
A roadmap to ‘future proof’ crop plants
Producing more crops to feed a growing population may sound simple, but it’s not. Global crop production is under pressure to produce enough plant biomass to achieve food and nutrition security, as well as to meet the demands of a future bioeconomy and a competitive land use. A doubling of global crop productivity is required. The biggest challenge is to ensure the nutritional quality of future crops. The EU-funded CropBooster-P project will explore the re-designing of ‘future proofing’ crop plants, making efficient use of scarce resources (minerals and water) and preserving Earth’s biodiversity (with high resilience to adverse climate conditions). In the end, the project will produce a roadmap for the sustainable doubling of Europe’s crop yields by 2050.
Objective
Increasing global crop productivity will be central in meeting some of the greatest challenges facing mankind: How will we sustainably feed 9.7 billion people by 2050, while also achieving the transition from a fossil economy towards a bio-economy in order to mitigate, or possibly reverse, the effects of global climate change? How can we assure and maintain the nutritional quality of our future crops? Additionally, how can we provide new crop cultivars adapted to the constraints imposed across vast areas by climate change? A doubling of global crop productivity is required to produce enough plant biomass to achieve food and nutrition security, as well as to meet the demands of a future bioeconomy. To ensure both Food and Nutrition Security this increase in crop production must be achieved without any loss of nutritional quality. In addition, future agriculture will require crops that combine sustainability - they must efficiently using scarce resources like minerals and water and preserving Earth’s biodiversity - with a high resilience to adverse climate conditions.
In order to meet these challenging demands, our current crop plants will have to be re-designed and a “future proof” profiling is urgently needed.
With a multitude of possible crops and genetic changes, combined with multiple environmental changes, policy and societal challenges, progress could be mired in a seemingly insurmountable complexity. CropBooster-P will address this by identifying priorities and opportunities to adapting and boosting productivity to the environmental and societal changes. While engaging with the public from the beginning, and by mobilizing European plant sciences, our objective is to produce a White Paper – a Roadmap – that will describe the pathway to sustainably doubling Europe’s crop yields by 2050 and preparing these crops for the needs and the future climate of Europe
Fields of science
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicsproduction economicsproductivity
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesnutrition
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicsbioeconomy
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculture
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
Keywords
Programme(s)
- H2020-EU.3.2. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy Main Programme
- H2020-EU.3.2.1.1. - Increasing production efficiency and coping with climate change, while ensuring sustainability and resilience
- H2020-EU.3.2.2.2. - Healthy and safe foods and diets for all
Funding Scheme
CSA - Coordination and support actionCoordinator
6708 PB Wageningen
Netherlands
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Participants (17)
9052 ZWIJNAARDE - GENT
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6708 PB Wageningen
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00185 Roma
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1000 Bruxelles / Brussel
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40225 Dusseldorf
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NG7 2RD Nottingham
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06484 Quedlinburg
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75794 Paris
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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.
75006 Paris
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1165 Kobenhavn
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75007 Paris
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1000 Bruxelles / Brussel
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LA1 4YW Lancaster
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400372 Cluj Napoca
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1000 Bruxelles / Brussel
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75012 Paris
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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.
75116 Paris
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