Sustainable soils by quality compost with defined properties

Programme 2014 - 2020 INTERREG VB North Sea

Date of latest update: 2024-01-30

Description

Description (EN):

The North Sea region is an area of intensive farming characterised by rapid soil degradation, a challenge that cannot be mitigated by currently available solutions like compost products or biological wastes. Still, the demand for soil-improvers for these intensively utilised soils increases. The main barriers to meet this urgent need are a) a lack of suitable and stabilised soil amendments for resource-efficient improvements of soil quality and b) the absence of an alignment in demands and risks in European and national regulations. These shared territorial challenges will be tackled in this project by i) designing and producing tailor-made composts based on biological wastes, both at on-farm (local) and compost-company (regional) scale; ii) testing and defining quality standards for composts for specific uses instead of general applications; iii) increasing the awareness, production and use of compost; and iv) developing guidelines to align and improve certification and regulation for quality compost in the North Sea Region. This project will involve research/extension centres, compost and horticultural producers and regional authorities in five North Sea Regions to align with local, regional, and trans-European needs and barriers. Eventually, SOILCOM will transform ‘waste’ to ‘resource’, supporting EU policy on circular economy and increasing carbon storage, water and nutrient use efficiency, productivity of horticultural and compost enterprises, and reducing pesticide use.

Achievements (EN):

For SoilCom we have achieved a tremendous knowledge build up and facilitated the greening of the NSR region in the area of SoilCom: quality compost for fertile soils and crop production. Compost has been strengthened as a resource at the practical, extension and scientific level, and compost use has increased, crop productivity as well and pesticide, water and fertilizer use has decreased. We have strengthened the compost network at the stakeholder level (public, farmers, compost producers, extension services, education, scientific, policy makers) based on knowledge exchange. At the transnational level we have facilitated adoption and piloting of demos and solutions by companies and organisations. We have gained insight and established new collaborations to form an NSR compost network between science, knowledge, education, extension services, producers, users and policy maker stakeholders. SoilCom has communicated at many levels, contributed to practice changes at companies, made new guidelines and formed the foundation for regulation change and information of authorities (Ministries) and other policy makers. More specifically for WP1, WP2, WP3: Project administration: The Booskop NL project meeting in Sept. 2022 and the extra (beyond planned) physical SoilCom project meeting 23.-24. May 2023 in Aarhus Denmark. Signing of an Addendum to the Partnership Agreement after the budget cuts by Interreg NSR in 2022/23. Several dissemination activities: Oral presentations for professionals (academics, vegetable consultants, technology developers, farmers), invited key-talk at strategy seminar at International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems, agricultural farmers days, organic farmers day...) Internal/external project transnational exchange: Advice to growers and compost producers, compost dialog with companies WP4: Submission of the new initiative Closecycle to Interreg NSR led by TUHH to follow up and broaden SoilCom+ effects to more waste streams. New tools for waste stream inventories etc. WP5: Sampling and analysis transnationally of compost for the compost database (hosted by ILVO). Joint presentation to Ramiran Conference Sept. 2023 (Amery et al. 2023). WP6: Data collection from partners by AU, data analysis and peer review paper writing for Long-term study transnational from field trials (sampling 2021) (Konnerup et al. in preparation). Manuscript in progress (close to acceptance at scientific journal Soil Use and Management) on AU pot trial with lettuce (sampling 2020) (Hefner et al. accepted). Progressing technology development and further tests of farm-scale composting at several countries. Progress of peer review paper (Gebremikael et al. in preparation). Two Master of Science degrees achieved (Medrano, D. 2022; Blæsbjerg, L. 2023). New pot and field trials 2022-2023 testing compost, compost extracts and compost tea. Data analysis and paper writing in progress (Gebremikael et al. in preparation). In addition to numerous pot and field trials at a number of SoilCom partners in previous SoilCom years. WP7: Planning and presentations at the joint SoilCom Policy webinar 15. June 2023 as an excellent great sum up of the outcomes and conclusions of SoilCom (lead by Delphy and Vlaco). Reporting on new standards. Contributions to Ministry advisory reports on changes of regulation and improved exploitation of compost as a resource.

Website: https://northsearegion.eu/soilcom

Thematic information

Soil and air quality

Specific Objective: Promote the development and adoption of products, services and processes to accelerate greening of the North Sea Region economy

Thematic Objective: (06) preserving and protecting the environment and promoting resource efficiency by:

Investment Priority: (06g) supporting industrial transition towards a resource- efficient economy, promoting green growth, eco-innovation and environmental performance management in the public and private sectors

Partners (11)

Lead Partner: Aarhus Universitet, Institut for Fødevarer

Address: Kirstinebjergvej 10, 5792 Aarslev, Denmark

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.food.au.dk

Total budget: EUR 1 099 998.00

ERDF budget: EUR 549 999.00

The James Hutton Institute

Name: The James Hutton Institute

Address: Errol Road, Invergowrie, DD2 5DA Dundee, United Kingdom

Legal status: public

Website: https://www.hutton.ac.uk/

Total budget: EUR 316 576.00

ERDF budget: EUR 158 288.00

Delphy

Name: Delphy

Address: Italiëlaan 6, 2391 PT Hazerswoude Dorp, Netherlands

Legal status: private

Website: http://www.delphy.nl

Total budget: EUR 619 492.00

ERDF budget: EUR 309 746.00

HortiAdvice A/S

Name: HortiAdvice A/S

Address: Hvidkærvej 29, 5250 29 Odense SV, Denmark

Legal status: private

Website: http://www.gartneriraadgivningen.dk

Total budget: EUR 232 920.00

ERDF budget: EUR 116 460.00

Interprovinciaal Proefcentrum voor de Aardappelteelt vzw

Name: Interprovinciaal Proefcentrum voor de Aardappelteelt vzw

Address: Karreweg 6, 9770 Kruishoutem, Belgium

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.pcainfo.be

Total budget: EUR 162 338.00

ERDF budget: EUR 81 169.00

Proefcentrum voor Sierteelt

Name: Proefcentrum voor Sierteelt

Address: Schaessestraat 18, 9070 Destelbergen, Belgium

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.pcsierteelt.be

Total budget: EUR 179 078.00

ERDF budget: EUR 89 539.00

Proefstation vor de groenteteelt

Name: Proefstation vor de groenteteelt

Address: Duffelsesteenweg 101, 2860 Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Belgium

Legal status: private

Website: http://www.proefstation.be

Total budget: EUR 167 628.00

ERDF budget: EUR 83 814.00

Stadtreinigung Hamburg AoR

Name: Stadtreinigung Hamburg AoR

Address: Bullerdeich 19, 20537 Hamburg, Germany

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.stadtreinigung.hamburg

Total budget: EUR 176 000.00

ERDF budget: EUR 88 000.00

Technische Universität Hamburg (TUHH)

Name: Technische Universität Hamburg (TUHH)

Address: Institut fur Abwasserwirtschaft and Gewasserschutz, Eissendorfer Str. 42, 21073 Hamburg, Germany

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.tuhh.de/aww

Total budget: EUR 799 250.00

ERDF budget: EUR 399 625.00

Eigen Vermogen v/h Instituut voor Landbouw-, Visserij en Voedingsonderzoek

Name: Eigen Vermogen v/h Instituut voor Landbouw-, Visserij en Voedingsonderzoek

Address: Burgemeester Van Gansberghelaan 92, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.ilvo.vlaanderen.be

Total budget: EUR 457 702.00

ERDF budget: EUR 228 851.00

Gräflich Bernstorff’sche Betriebe

Name: Gräflich Bernstorff’sche Betriebe

Address: Hauptstraße 6, 29471 Gartov, Germany

Legal status: private

Website: http://www.bernstorff.de

Total budget: EUR 60 000.00

ERDF budget: EUR 30 000.00

Partners map

Partners and Projects info

The James Hutton Institute

Sustainable soils by quality compost with defined properties

Partners and Projects info

Aarhus University, Department of Food Science

Sustainable soils by quality compost with defined properties

Partners and Projects info

Delphy

Sustainable soils by quality compost with defined properties

Partners and Projects info

HortiAdvice A/S

Sustainable soils by quality compost with defined properties

Partners and Projects info

Interprovinciaal Proefcentrum voor de Aardappelteelt vzw

Sustainable soils by quality compost with defined properties

Partners and Projects info

PCS Ornamental Plant Research

Sustainable soils by quality compost with defined properties

Partners and Projects info

Research center for vegetables

Sustainable soils by quality compost with defined properties

Partners and Projects info

Stadtreinigung Hamburg

Sustainable soils by quality compost with defined properties

Partners and Projects info

Technische Universität Hamburg

Sustainable soils by quality compost with defined properties

Partners and Projects info

Own Capital of the Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

Sustainable soils by quality compost with defined properties

Partners and Projects info

Gräflich Bernstorff’sche Betriebe

Sustainable soils by quality compost with defined properties

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): Sustainable soils by quality compost with defined properties

Project acronym: SOILCOM

Project start date: 2019-02-01

Project end date: 2023-06-30

Project status: closed

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 4 400 676.00

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 2 200 338.00

Co-financing sources:

ERDF: Amount, .

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2014 - 2020 INTERREG VB North Sea

Last month that data in keep.eu was retrieved from the Programme's website or received from the Programme

2023-02-14

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

73 / 73 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

871 / 871 (100%)

Notes on the data

Information provided by the Programme. Achievements were retrieved by Interact from the Programme website (http://www.northsearegion.eu/), or a website directly linked from it, on 2021-09-20 and 2023-01-12.

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Sustainable soils by quality compost with defined properties

Description

Thematic information

Partners (11)

Partners map

Summary

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

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