bioconfarm will use a holistic approach in which all stakeholders along the entire value chain of agriculture and plant production will be considered, especially the farmers, SMEs, cooperatives and scientists. The bioconfarm consortium will establish an international “living” network of experts and stakeholders in the field of alternative plant protection and plant strengthening research & innovation, paving the way to reduce the application of chemical and synthetic pesticide products in agriculture and forestry. The bioconfarm thematic network focuses on the topic of smart plant protection research findings and innovation fulfilling the needs of farmers and plant breeders. bioconfarm will apply a user-centred approach (the bioconfarm living farm labs), which will act as a kind of open-innovation ecosystem, operating in a territorial context (certain region) and integrates concurrent research and innovation results and processes. A sustainable and long-lasting network of living farm labs will be established and take-up of research findings by farmers increased. Knowledge exchange in rural areas is mainly based on physical meetings and direct relationship between people and can be organized in a way that facilitates the mutual learning process. For example, demonstration farms are an effective means for knowledge exchange as farmers and researchers directly meet each other and build long-term relationships. The living farm lab approach of bioconfarm applies a multi-actor approach in order to integrate all relevant actors and stakeholders along the several value chains concerning plant health in agriculture. bioconfarm structure consists of five comprehensive and inter-related Work Packages with key outputs as deliverables, as well as major milestones plotted along the workplan. bioconfarm comprises 13 project partners (11 main beneficiaries, 1 affiliated entity and 1 associated partner) representing expertises in agriculture, plant protection, biocontrol, digital tools, producers, farms, cluster and cooperatives.

The unique FOX approach will research and develop innovative, small scale technologies in mobile or flexible processing units for different applications for small and medium enterprises and farmers in the fruit and vegetable sector in Europe. This will stimulate the transition from a centralised industry to regional hubs that employ innovative, flexible and sustainable technologies based on seasonality and demand. By this, FOX meets expectation of small food businesses for innovative processing solutions, technically and economically feasible, that also consider needs of the food chain and consumers. Consumers expect food they can trust, natural as possible. FOX will focus on mild processing technologies: low temperature drying, mild extraction, mild preservation with pulsed electric field or high pressure, innovative conditioning and packaging and rapid quality testing. By this a variety of fruit/vegetable products can be produced with superior physical and nutritional quality and so contributing to a healthier food diet. FOX processes will be researched (aim TRL 5-6) and demonstrated in six European model regions and seven associated partner regions (only demonstration) with significant fruit and vegetable growing (conventional and organic production). Per Food Circle (=application of a FOX processing unit in specific region) the potential for new business options will be exploited and strategies will be designed to engage consumers in product development processes. Impact of the FOX approach on the environment, business, people and their health will be assessed and serve as input for these developments. To promote the FOX approach of small scale technologies for regional food systems a Europe-wide Interest Group of Small Scale food Processors will be set up that will also foster the dialogue to deliver policy recommendations. Guidelines and targeted communication for each processing technology will be developed to reach potential users (ca. 2,000 companies).

Excalibur plans to deepen the knowledge on soil biodiversity dynamics and its synergistic effects with prebiotic and probiotic approaches in horticulture, using a multi-actor approach. To pursue this aim, new multifunctional soil microbial inoculants (bio-inocula) and bio-effectors will be tested on three model crops of economic importance (es. tomato, apple, strawberry) under different experimental and open-field conditions across Europe, and the feed-feedback effect of/on native biodiversity monitored. In order to go beyond the multitude of studies on the links between soil biodiversity and plant health, Excalibur will develop a comprehensive strategy of soil management improving the effectiveness of biocontrol and biofertilization practices in agriculture. For this purpose Excalibur plans to: 1) focus on multiscale interactions between plants and belowground organisms to exploit the potential of multifunctional bio-inocula and bio-effectors; 2) optimize the formulation and the application methods of these products based on native soil biodiversity dynamics; 3) develop a strategy to improve the exploitation of soil biodiversity interactions with bio-effectors and bio-inocula by assessing their impacts on crops and biodiversity under contrasting agricultural management practices (conventional, organic) and biotic/abiotic stress conditions; 4) to build a multi-criteria model to assess soil biodiversity status of cropping systems for a more efficient use of bio-effectors and bio-inocula; 5) develop technical tools to monitor the persistence and dispersion of bio-inocula under field conditions for eco-toxicological and agronomical purposes; 6) evaluate the effects of the new strategy on economy, environment quality and ecosystem functions; 7) disseminate results to all stakeholders with a dynamic and comprehensive methodology and encourage the adoption of best practices derived from the new strategy at local, regional and global level.