Europe’s horticultural production systems face 3 main sustainability problems: i) continued reliance on peat growing media, and drawbacks of current peat alternatives; ii) inefficient or inappropriate use of agricultural inputs; iii) suboptimal soil health due to unsustainable management practices. The multi-actor project Hort2thefuture will address these 3 challenges over 4 years with research, supplier, retail, and grower partners representing 11 European countries. Activities are divided between 7 Work Packages corresponding to the project's key objectives, together with project management. The objectives are to: (1) develop a methodological framework and tools for effective sustainability/Life Cycle Assessment analysis, (2) create and foster the commercial uptake of relatively low-cost, reliable, scalable growing media in horticulture, using EU-sourced raw materials, having substantially lower carbon and environmental footprints than peat, (3) develop and commercialise novel products and production systems that reduce input use in horticulture, (4) develop and commercialise novel products that improve soil structure and mitigate soil compaction in horticulture, (5) facilitate behavioural change to more sustainable practices through Living Labs and policy measures, and (6) communicate, disseminate & exploit project results effectively to 7 stakeholder audiences, raising soil literacy. The project will deliver outputs at TRL5-7 for Decision Support and LCA tools, an in planta nitrate monitoring electrode, new peat-free alternatives being commercialised, based on wood fibre, nano/micro-irrigation products developed to improve irrigation efficiency and soil health, as well as commercialised biological, chemical and mechanical solutions to reduce/prevent soil compaction, restore compacted soils and improve soil structure. These outcomes will help realise Mission: Soil health objectives, involving stakeholders along the whole agri-food chain and cooperation with FAO.

The OLEUM project will generate innovative, more effective and harmonized analytical solutions to detect and fight the most common and emerging frauds and to verify the overall quality of olive oils (OOs). By a core group of 20 partners from 15 countries OLEUM will undertake RESEARCH ACTIVITIES based on the development of IMPROVED and NEW ANALYTICAL METHODS by targeted and omics approaches with the aim: i) to detect new markers of the soft deodorization process; ii) to discover illegal blends between OOs and other vegetable oils; iii) to control OO quality (e.g. freshness); iv) to improve the organoleptic assessment with a Quantitative Panel Test, based on current official methods, and supported by tailored reference materials for better calibration of the sensory panels coupled with rapid screening tools to facilitate the work of the panelists. The most promising OLEUM solutions will be subjected to VALIDATION in conformity with internationally agreed standards by peer laboratories. OLEUM will recreate a realistic “deodorization scenario” by producing tailored, soft deodorized OOs by lab-scale and up-scaled pilot plants to apply analytical solutions to known samples. Substantial KNOWLEDGE and TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER activities will be envisaged to aid in implementation of: a) a web-based easily-accessible, scalable and constantly updated OLEUM DATABANK, containing all the information from OLEUM research and other reliable international sources, will be available for download data and spectra and to help achieve satisfactory harmonization of analytical approaches among control laboratories; b) the OLEUM NETWORK of relevant OOs stakeholders to maximize the impact of proposed analytical solutions. Finally, a robust dissemination strategy by the OLEUM project aimed at effectively sharing results with all stakeholders in the OO supply chain has the potential to improve consumer and market confidence, and preserve the image of OOs on a global scale.

Building on a methodology for innovation-driven research previously developed and tested, the WINETWORK project has the ambition to stimulate collaborative innovation in the wine sector. The project will implement a methodology that has been successful in promoting demand-driven innovations in previous regional and European projects. This approach is mainly based on the interactions between a network of facilitator agents, several regional technical working groups and one European scientific working group. A participatory approach is used to translate results from science and practical knowledge into technical datasheets that are used to prepare materials adapted to end-users. A bottom-up approach is also used to identify a demand-driven innovation agenda. In the WINETWORK project, the approach will be implemented in ten regions from seven countries representing more than 90% of the EU wine production. The main topic addressed in the network concern the control and the fight against diseases that jeopardise the future production potential of the EU (Grapevine Trunk Diseases and Flavescence Dorée). As they represent a threat for the economic viability of the entire sector, these topics have been previously identified as a priority by winegrowers, scientists and decision-makers. As many winegrowers are testing innovative and sustainable approaches to fight these diseases, it is very beneficial to capture these ideas and to share them between EU countries. Innovative practices will be synthesized, tailored and translated to become fully accessible to innovation support services and to winegrowers. The project will then deliver a vast reservoir of existing scientific and practical knowledge related to sustainable vineyard management. It will also provide a methodology that will support all agriculture sectors to enhance innovation-driven research. WINETWORK involves 11 partners of excellence representing the entire innovation chain, from science to farmers.

SPRINT will develop and validate a Global Health Risk Assessment Toolbox to integrate assessments of the impacts of plant protection products (PPP) on ecosystem, plant, animal and human (EPAH) health, using three main attributes for health status: resilience, reproduction/productivity and manifestation of diseases. The goal is integrated risk assessment at the local, regional, national and European level, focusing on different PPP use patterns and detected residue mixtures in contrasting farming systems (conventional, integrated, organic). SPRINT consists of 9 interlinked work packages. The distribution and the impacts of PPP on EPAH health will be evaluated at 11 case study sites (CSS), ten located in diverse agricultural European landscapes, and one in Argentina (soy production for feed for EU market). PPP environmental pathways, and direct (food/feed ingestion) and indirect (air/dust inhalation and dermal uptake) animal and human exposure routes will be assessed to improve current fate, exposure, and toxicokinetic models (e.g. EFSA-FOCUS, BROWSE, BREAM). (Eco)toxicological assays will be performed based on CCS findings, using existing and improved procedures, including alternative testing criteria and new target organisms. Such assays will cover direct and indirect exposure to multiple PPP residues, realistic ranges of PPP concentrations, multi-species scenarios, and short- and long-term time horizons. Modelling of sustainability and cost-benefit analysis at the farm and macroeconomic level will be conducted to derive recommendations for sustainable transition pathways, and a research agenda on PPPs. SPRINT is based on a multi-actor approach with CCS platforms to engage stakeholders and identify respective needs, collaboration along relevant WPs, improving farmer and citizen awareness, joint development of novel management strategies for reduced reliance on PPP use, and creation of an enabling environment for adoption and change.

<< Background >>The COVID-19 pandemic made the world face a completely changed situation. Therefore, in 2020, numerous adaptations had to be carried out also in the field of tertiary education.The project's aim is to develop, implement and evaluate a free-access, innovative and high- quality website training, which will strengthen the participating lecturers' professional development. The acquired knowledge, skills and competencies will be included in their practical classes. By doing so, they will upgrade their digital and didactic competencies, cooperative and innovative practices, and develop new distance teaching methods.The key purpose of the project is to empower the practical contents lecturers to implement high-quality teaching situations in digital environment. This should be a reply to COVID-19 and all possible future challenges which might render non-virtual teaching impossible.<< Objectives >>The project's objectives are:Upgrading pedagogic and digital knowledge, skills and competencies of the practical lessons lecturers and qualifying them for an adequate implementation of teaching situations of the practical contents at distance learning in order to be comparable to non-virtual teaching (efficiency, quality).Boosting informal professional distance education of lecturers, which will be accessible anywhere and anytime.Enabling distance learning to all students, including those with learning difficulties or the socially-deprived ones.Boosting the adaptability of the practical classes and its successful inclusion in distance teaching, in the so-called hybrid classes or using the model of distance teaching in the cases of a needed teacher's replacement.Ensuring sustainability and sharing the results of the project with other interested public (e.g., adults included in life-long learning programmes, vulnerable groups, etc.)Target groups:The primary target group of the project are mentors of the practical training and mentors/caretakers of the vulnerable groups. The secondary group are the lecturers, school leaderships, political decision makers, employers.Indirect target group or final users of the project competencies are students in practical classes (independent study), vulnerable groups, and adults included in life-long learning programmes.<< Implementation >>Four partners from the three various states (Spain, Croatia, Slovenia) are participating in the project.The project is structured on two levels: intellectual results (IR1) and transversal activities: project management and implementation, project monitoring and evaluation, and dissemination of the project's results.The project will bring the following results: IR1: THE ANALYSIS OF THE EXISTING TOOLS, ENVIRONMENTS AND APPLICATIONS FOR A DISTANCE PRACTICAL CLASSES AND STUDY CASESIR2: THE CURRICULUM OF THE WEBSITE TRAINING »E-PRACTICAL CLASSES« AND PREPARATION OF PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTIONSIR3: APPLICATION DEVELOPMENTIR4: E-APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT AND THE PREPARATION OF THE WEB-HANDBOOK (it will be a free-access handbook, easy to read for the vulnerable groups, except for the part on the academic level).IR5: SAMPLE E-CURRICULA, THEIR IMPLEMENTATION (ON TERRAIN) AND EVALUATION IN PRACTICE<< Results >>The expected and most relevant effects and long-term benefits of the project Didactic-digital tools for the practical contents training will be (among others) the improvement of the pedagogic and digital competencies of mentors, their improved professional confidence, openness for international cooperation, project work, etc. Students will acquire equal vocational competencies and skills regardless of form and implementation of practical classes. Besides vocational competencies, the improvement of the students' digital competencies is also expected.The project presents a great potential for adaptation of the classes to different situations and emergencies.The materials in the project will be developed in English, Spanish, Croatian and Slovenian language. They will be free-of-charge, accessible on the web of the project, functioning also as an educational platform. There will be varied levels, from academic to easy-reading level.