Press releases

1st Press Release

We are pleased to announce the signing of the RUSTICA project where through a transdisciplinary multi-actor approach, we aim to validate, demonstrate and integrate six technological options for mineral nutrient recovery from fruit and vegetable waste streams in multivalorisation configurations across 4 regions in the European Union. The project will be validated in the context of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), through a close cooperation with The Alliance Bioversity-CIAT in Colombia. Besides technical development, the project will aim to co-develop practical circular bio-based business models for the valorisation of vegetable and fruit waste streams via biofertilizer production […]

Download: Task 8.1 – RUSTICA Press Release 01

2nd Press Release

The European Forum on Urban Agriculture (EFUA) organized on the 21st of June 2022 a policy talk in Brussels on better policies for urban farming. Experts with very diverse backgrounds reflected on bottlenecks and opportunities in current policies. An intense dialogue showed the richness and potential of urban farming in Europe. Furthermore, it also became clear that EFUA connects to other ongoing European projects.

Urban Farming. Urban Agriculture (UA) is the practice of cultivating, processing and distributing food in and around urban areas. UA has greater potential to provide answers to pressing global challenges such as food security, climate change, increasing urbanisation and social inequalities. […]

Download: Task 8.1 – RUSTICA Press Release 02

3rd Press Release

On the 30th of November and 1st of December, Tessa Avermaete (KU Leuven, project manager COCOREADO and RUSTICA) and Dioni Ortiz (project coordinator Visionary) met at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). They had been working together in the European FP7 project, TRANSMANGO, 2014-2018, on the topic of food security in Europe. TRANSMANGO included the development of scenarios and pathways for sustainable solutions. Both the covid pandemic and the Ukraine crises demonstrate the relevance of studying unexpected shocks to our food system. […]

Download: Task 8.1 – RUSTICA Press Release 03

4th Press Release

Guillermo Pena, a researcher at the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), visited Leuven to explore Flanders’ agricultural diversity by touring family farms in Tienen, known for its sugar factory (Tiense Suikerraffinaderij) and located 20 km from Leuven. The selected farm, with a history managed by the second, third, and fourth generations of Remi Avermaete and Simonne Goossens, who moved from Ghent to Tienen in the early ’50s, encompasses three farms, each covering over 400 hectares in close proximity. These farms, while facing common challenges and bottlenecks, reveal interesting differences in their strategies. […]

Download: Task 8.1 – RUSTICA Press Release 04