Focus Group 26 'Moving from Source to Sink in Arable Farming'

Press article New call Focus Groups JUNE 2017

Press article 750 words Experts sought for Focus Groups on carbon storage, circularity in horticulture, and renewable energy to adapt to and mitigate climate change  Focus Group 26 'Moving from source to sink in arable farming'  Focus Group 27 'Circular Horticulture'  Focus Group 28 'Enhancing production and use of renewable energy on the farm'

The European Commission’s DG AGRI is looking for experts to join three new EIP-AGRI Focus Groups. Three mixed groups of 20 people each - including farmers, foresters, scientists, farm advisers, people from agribusiness and others - will work together on seeking innovative solutions to improve the competitiveness of EU agriculture and forestry while addressing climate change.

Anyone willing to share their expertise and experience can apply to the call for Focus Group experts until 6 September 2017, 23h59, CET (Brussels time) through this link.

Searching for cost-effective farm management practices and tools to foster and ensure long-lasting carbon storage capacity in arable farming

Good arable farmland management practices can help balance the overall agricultural contribution to climate change. While increasing carbon storage capacity in plants, forests and soils will contribute to climate change mitigation, the most important aspect is to keep carbon stored in the soil for a long period.

The Focus Group will take stock of farm management practices and tools which could foster long- lasting carbon storage in soils, and improve soil quality. Looking at different geographical and climatic conditions, it will collect success stories, identify drivers and barriers, and look into the cost- effectiveness and feasibility at farm level and the transferability to other conditions. At the same time the experts will take stock of the state of play in research and of the research needs from farmers. The group will make suggestions for innovative solutions and ideas for innovative projects such as Operational Groups and multi-actor projects.

Increasing circularity in protected horticulture

From the design of the production infrastructure, to production processes and waste management, approaches to “close loops” require that growers in protected horticulture adopt new practices and take into account new business models. The Focus Group will tackle “circular horticulture” in the context of resource efficiency through a better reuse or recycling of both inputs and by-products, in line with the EU Circular Economy Action Plan.

The Focus Group will look at examples of good practices and how these can be transferred to other situations to benefit the wider sector. It will also look at drivers or barriers for circular approaches in horticulture, identify knowledge gaps and possible future research needs. Reuse of water and

1 press article new call focus groups JUNE 2017

recycling of nutrients is the subject of a specific Thematic Network under EU funding (FERTINNOWA). The Focus Group will be able to build on the actions of this Thematic Network.

Enhancing production and use of renewable energy on the farm

Many different forms of renewable energy are produced in rural areas, and many small and medium scale installations provide opportunities for new cooperation in production, selling and distribution of renewable energy. They bring employment and economic development in rural areas, contribute to replacing fossil fuels and to energy security: ranging from wind, solar, geothermal to different forms of bioenergy. The latter even represent a large proportion of our farms’ renewable energy mix, and will continue to do so in the future. Energy production at local and regional level ranges from local combined heat and power (CHP) plants to biogas plants using different feedstocks and feedstock mixes, which may come from regionally available forest or agricultural raw materials.

The Focus Group will address ways to enhance the production and use of energy at farm level and in rural areas, and seek for best solutions and innovative approaches including close cooperation between farmers and other actors in rural areas.

Opportunities to share and improve your expert knowledge

The experts selected for an EIP-AGRI Focus Group will be able to share their knowledge and experience and learn from peers. The experts will meet twice within one year. Both groups will explore practical innovative solutions to problems or opportunities, and draw on experiences derived from relevant existing projects.

For some of the past calls, the European Commission has received over 150 applications per Focus Group. Applicants will be assessed on the basis of their profile and the relevance to the specific topic, ensuring a balanced mix of expertise, and a good geographical balance.

Apply to one of the Focus Groups through the EIP-AGRI website.

Press article 250words Experts sought for Focus Groups on carbon storage, circularity in horticulture, and renewable energy to adapt to and mitigate climate change

The EIP-AGRI is looking for experts to join three new Focus Groups. These mixed groups of 20 people each – including farmers, foresters, scientists, farm advisers, people from agribusiness and others - will work together on ‘searching for cost-effective farm management practices and tools to long-lasting carbon storage capacity in arable farming’, ‘increasing circularity in protected horticulture’ and 'enhancing production and use of renewable energy on the farm’. Anyone willing to share their expertise and experience can apply to the call for Focus Group experts until 6 September 2017, 23h59, CET (Brussels time) through this link.

All new Focus Groups deal with climate change, ranging from adaptation to mitigation and energy use. They hereby take into consideration the conclusions of the 21th annual Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Cork 2.0 Declaration 2016.

The experts selected for one of these EIP-AGRI Focus Groups will be able to share their knowledge and experience and learn from peers. The experts will meet twice within the period of one year. Both groups will explore practical innovative solutions to problems or opportunities, and draw on

experiences derived from relevant existing projects. For some of the past calls, the European Commission has received over 150 applications per Focus Group. Applicants will be assessed on the basis of their profile and the relevance to the specific topic, with an eye to ensuring a balanced mix of expertise and a good geographical balance.

Apply to one of the Focus Groups through the EIP-AGRI website.

Background information EIP-AGRI The European Innovation Partnership 'Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability' (EIP-AGRI) is one of five EIPs which have been launched by the European Commission in a bid to promote rapid modernisation of the sectors concerned by stepping up innovation efforts. The EIP-AGRI aims to foster innovation in the agricultural and forestry sectors by bringing research and practice closer together – in research and innovation projects as well as via the EIP-AGRI network. EIPs aim to streamline, simplify and better coordinate existing instruments and initiatives, and complement them with actions where necessary. Two specific funding sources are particularly important for the EIP-AGRI: the EU Research and Innovation framework, Horizon 2020, and the EU Rural Development Policy.

EIP-AGRI Focus Groups, bridging the gap between research and practice EIP-AGRI Focus Groups bring together 20 experts with different backgrounds and experience (scientists, farmers, advisers and others). They work together to find transferable, innovative solutions to specific issues which are significant in today’s context.

The EIP-AGRI Focus Groups discuss and document research results and best practices, and identify the implications for further research activities that will help to solve practical problems in the sector. These may be related to production, processing, consumption, transport or other issues.

In short, the objectives of an EIP-AGRI Focus Group are:

 Taking stock of the state of play of practice in the field of the EIP-AGRI Focus Group activity, listing problems and opportunities.

 Taking stock of the state of play of research in this field, summarising possible solutions to the problems listed.

 Identifying needs from practice and possible directions for further research.

 Highlighting priorities for innovative actions by suggesting potential practical Operational Groups or other project formats to test solutions and opportunities, including ways to disseminate the practical knowledge gathered.

Read the EIP-AGRI brochure on EIP-AGRI Focus Groups (available in: EN – EE – ES – FI – FR – IT – RO) Overview EIP-AGRI Focus Groups (update June 2017)

EIP-AGRI Brochures  EIP-AGRI Network (EN – FR – GR – HU – RO)  EIP-AGRI Service Point. How can we help you? (EN – FI – IT – POL)  EU funding opportunities related to innovation in agriculture, food and forestry (EN – GR – HU)

Contact information Ina Van Hoye Communication officer EIP-AGRI Service Point [email protected] +32 486 90 77 43