Four approaches on keeping nutrients in food production
A new Interreg project platform was launched in Helsinki 23 – 24 October. Project Platform SuMaNu will combine results from four projects in order to pave the way to sustainable manure and nutrient management for reduction of nutrient loss in the Baltic Sea region. More sustainable nutrient management in agriculture is beneficial for the environment and for the farmer – and thus, the only way to secure sustainable food production in the future.
From acidification to data and organic fertilisers
The platform will gather and synthesize the best practices and recommendations on sustainable nutrient management from four projects:
Baltic Slurry Acidification aims to reduce ammonia emissions from livestock production by promoting slurry acidification technologies. Manure Standards develops joint guidelines for more efficient collection and usage of manure data. GreenAgri aims at reducing nutrient losses in the Baltic States by introducing and testing environmentally-friendly management of organic fertilizers. BONUS PROMISE evaluated methods to close the agricultural phosphorus cycle with a special view on contamination risks when recycling the organic waste materials. Also, the findings of previous projects, such as Baltic Manure, Baltic Compass and Baltic Compact will be considered.
Representation across the Baltic Sea
Lead by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), the partners of the platform are HELCOM, the Foundation for a Living Baltic Sea (BSAG), the Estonian Crop Research Institute (ECRI), the Union Farmers Parliament (ZSA), the Organe Institute Aps, the Agricultural Advisory Center in Brwinow (CDR), the Julius-Kühn-Institut (JKI), and the Research Institute of Sweden(RISE). The project started 1stof October and it will run until 31stof March 2021.
Targeting policy-makers and farmers
SuMaNu will build upon the results of previous manure-related projects, to provide holistic recommendations on nutrient and manure management, to ensure they are useful for both policy making and at the farm level.
