PRESS RELEASE - 23 September 2019
The new project B-FERST will show the green side of agro-economy through innovative bio-based fertilisers
Madrid, Spain. May 23, 2019 –B-FERST (Bio-based Fertilising products as the best practice for agricultural management sustainability) is a new H2020 project funded by the European Union and the Bio-Based Industry (BBI) aiming at greening the agricultural sector through the development and validation of innovative bio-based fertilisers.
Currently, Europe’s facing great challenges in the bio-based and food sectors: firstly, in the EU regions large amounts of nutrient-rich streams are being dispersed in the environment through a large variety of both mineral (e.g. phosphorus) and organic waste stream. Secondly, EU depends strongly on non-renewable external resources for the supply of key fertilisers used in agriculture. This need makes essential securing availability of plant nutrient resources at affordable prices to safeguard both worldwide and European food supply.
B-FERST’s main objective is to integrate the valorisation of bio-wastes in agriculture management plans creating a new circular and bio-based value chains by improving interaction between farming and fertiliser sectors. The project will develop and demonstrate a new generation of bio-based and sustainable fertilisers, both at industrial and agricultural level, in line with the concept of circular economy and green chemistry promoted by the European Union.
Eight new fertilisers will be tested and validated in five different climatic areas though experiments on the field in Spain, Italy, France, Poland and Ukraine. The specialised nutrient mixes used for their production are required to achieve a more sustainable management of resources by tailor-made nutrient dosing adapted to farmer systems.
The project kicked off in Madrid (Spain) on 21st ad 22nd May 2019, hosted by the Spanish company FERTIBERIA, leader in the production of fertilizers for agriculture and industrial chemicals and B-FERST’s coordinator. The rest of the consortium is made by eleven European partners: FCC Aqualia and Agrisat (Spain), Novamont and Fondazione iCons (Italy), FKUR KUNSTSTOFF (Germany), Vito and Arcadia (Belgium), AG Futura Technologies (North Macedonia), Instytut Uprawy Nawozenia i Gleboznawstwa (Poland).
