first results of the fertinnowa presented at "meeting growers needs: optimal management of...

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 689687

Meeting growers’ needs : Optimal management of irrigation

and fertigation

Els Berckmoes & Esther Lechevalier


FERTINNOWA’s passport

Call: WATER-4b-2015 (one-stage) Water innovation: boosting its value for Europe

Type of action: Coordination and Support Action

Focus: fertigated crops (vegetables, fruits & ornamentals)

Budget: € 2.999.273

Start: 01/01/2016 – 31/12 /2018


FERTINNOWA’s Consortium 23 partners + 1 linked third party

9 European Member States (BE, NL, DE, PL, SI, FR, IT, ES, UK) and South-Africa


Why is there a need for a thematic network?

2012-2013: a benchmark study on behalf of the Flemish Land Agency revealed that :

1. growers struggle to

• achieve sufficient and qualitative irrigation water

• use irrigation water in an more efficient way

• avoid run-off leaching and manage waste fertigated water.

2. knowledge & innovative technologies are available but are not implemented by the growers.

FERTINNOWA


FERTINNOWA’s actions:

Phase 1: 1. Mapping the current situation 2. Mapping the needs and bottlenecks

Phase 2: Find & implement solutions by exchange of knowledge and technologies (from in- & outside the horticultural sector)

Phase 3: Bridging the gap between knowledge and implementation


What is the status of FERTINNOWA today?


Phase 2: Find & implement solutions by exchange of knowledge and technologies (from in- & outside the horticultural sector)



1st step : Inventory of knowledge and benchmark strategy

• Review of the available technologies for:

• Mapping of existing bottlenecks

Use of sustainable water sources

Increase water and nutrient use efficiency

Minimize impact on the environment

Technical bottlenecks Socio-economic bottlenecks

Regulatory bottlenecks



Experts knowledge +

information available in the literature:

-Technical factsheets -Research -Previous projects

Information at the growers’ level:

-How do they monitor fertigation ? -Why do they do the way they do? -What problems they meet? -What do they need to improve their fertigation management ? Bottom-up approach

Current step: partners are gathering data & information on techniques & technologies for fertigation management



• Understand uses, choices and needs at the growers’s level:

Questionnaire for growers Including technical, socio-economic and regulatory data 165 questions, multi choice or open-ended

About : -water consumption and uses - cropping system type - monitoring and management methods and tools - effluents management Etc…



• Interviews carried out in whole Europe

- 10 countries - 17 partners - 352 recorded interviews On 513 cropping systems!

Carried out between May and September 2016


Where are the investigated farms ? :

North West zone Netherlands, UK, Belgium, France

96 interviews Central East zone Poland & Slovenia

92 interviews

Mediterranean zone Spain, France, Italy

162 interviews

Mediterranean

North-west

Central-East


High diversity of farms and systems!

Who are the investigated farms ? :

237

60

52 1 system

2 systems

3 systems

Number of systems per farm

308

205

soilless system

soil-grown system

System type: 60% soilless

Main crops investigated: Vegetables: tomato, eggplant, pepper, lettuce… Fruits: peach,citrus, soft fruits, …. Ornamental plants: azalea, tulips, protected plants…


Towards use of sustainable water sources


Current status in soilless crops

• Type of water sources used:

MED

rainwater

groundwater

desalinated water

disinfected urbanwast waterdrainage water

surface water

tap water

community water

CE NW

R

G

D

R

R

G G

D



Q45 - 39.What would help to persuade you to use more sustainable water sources?


Water quality? - On a European level the EC is a major concern

- EC strongly depends on the water source and the region

Parameter NW CE Med Remarks

pH X X

Fe X X

Salinity (EC) X X Na, Cl, nutrients

Hardness X Ca, Mg, Carbonates

Organics X

Pathogens/ Micro-organism

X X Algae

Sediments X


« Qualitative groundwater is becoming : - Scarce due to nutrient pollution

(Spain) - Scarce due to restrictions (Flanders) - Expensive due to taxes (Poland) »



Growers are facing bottlenecks

• Example of the NW and CE region:

– Technological:

- how to dimension rain water storage?

- in relation to the crop?

- in relation to the rainfall pattern?

- how to collect rain water for soil bound crops?


• Example of the NW region

- Socio-economic:

- cost, space

- Legislative:

- risk analysis is required for big rain water storages, this often causes delays.

- Environmental:

- Drift of pesticides

Growers are facing bottlenecks


• Example of the NW region - Dimensioning tools

- Risk analysis (flooding, herbicides)

- Cost-benefit analysis

Needs


Towards more efficient use of water and nutrients


Q103 - 101. Why are you not implementing more innovative technologies?

Bottlenecks


Observation

• Water consumption:

Only minor group of growers measure water flows

Growers only know some general figures

• Nutrient consumption:

Growers are forced to register (Global Gap)


Needs

- Cost-effectiveness

- they need real economic impact to be in the priorities

- PROVEN effectiveness

- they need proofs from other growers that it works well

- Easy to use tools

- Technology is sometimes implemented but under used because not practical

- Investment cost adapted to the farm scale (observation all over Europe)


Towards reduced environmental impact


Q153 - 151. Do you plan to implement new practices for limiting effluent discharge in the next 3 years?

Q158 - 156. Do you face control regarding your emissions?


Bottlenecks

- Technological: - Availability of end-of-pipe solutions?

- Dimension of the waterflows to be treated?

- Socio-economic: - High pressure on horticultural activities

- High Investment needed

- Legislative: - Changing legislation (for example Poland, Belgium, …)

- Legislative demands prior to availability of technologies (for example the Netherlands: removal from residues from waste water flows)


Needs

- Encouraging policies

- Long term legislation

- Cost effective technologies

- Technologies to reduce environmental impact: - For example end-of-pipe solutions


FERTINNOWA ?


Phase 2: Find & implement solutions by exchange of knowledge and technologies



Phase 2: Find and implement solutions

Focus on exchange of technologies From inside and outside the horticultural sector

short term results

Each consortium member implement at least 1 technology

Implementation of at least 1 year, max. 2 years


FERTINNOWA’s approach: For example the Dutch and Flemisch cucumber growers:

Outcome of growers consultation:

Growers:

“Root exudates are challenging when you want to recirculate. We need a technology to remove these root exudates”



The FERTINNOWA’s bottom-

up-approach:

We involve other stakeholders like researchers and industry

Research:

“Why not applying activated charcoal? It is done for years in soilless lettuce crops”

Industry:

“Why not using advanced oxidation?”


FERTINNOWA actively exchanges technologies for at least one year on (semi-)field scale



Actively inform the growers of the results by demonstrations, articles, fact sheets, practice abstracts, ….



Phase 3: bridging the gap between knowledge and implementation

• Field visits en dissemination activities during 2017-2018

• Workshops & conferences: – 2016 (12-13 October Brittany, France): results of growers

consultations)

– 2017 (The Netherlands): first experiences exchanged technologies

– 2018 (Almeria – Spain): final conference


Phase 3: bridging the gap between knowledge and implementation • Practice abstracts

• Website www.FERTINNOWA.be

• E-newsletter (2/year)

• Articles on general and trade press

http://www.fertinnowa.be/


What will be your role in FERTINNOWA today

Tell us your story!! Growers What are your needs? What bottlenecks are you facing? Industry, policymakers, researchers: What can we do to meet the growers needs? Bearing in mind the FERTINNOWA relults.


Any questions so far?


Thanks you for your attention !