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What does the BEATLES project consist of, to promote sustainable agri-food systems

Sustainable Innovations is one of the two Spanish partners involved in the execution of BEATLESan initiative of the European Union’s research and innovation program Horizon Europe, of 48 months duration. The general objective of this project is to propose innovative and systemic solutions, in terms of business strategies and regulatory recommendations, to promote long-term and large-scale transitions towards sustainable, productive and productive agri-food systems. climate smart.

This objective will be achieved, on the one hand, by identifying all the factors that affect decision-making in the farmers’ behaviour. On the other hand, the project will identify the limitations and barriers to the implementation of these systemic changes throughout the agri-food value chain.

Climate-smart agriculture and high-tech agriculture will be tested in five pilot cases spanning several European regions: Germany, Denmark, Spain, Lithuania and the Netherlands. In these regions, several behavioral and experimental studies, with the aim of extracting relevant findings that contribute to the effective development of business models, agricultural advice, as well as the design and implementation of regulations.

Additionally, BEATLES will contribute to the long-term benefits in vital impact areas, such as increased productivity and sustainability, adaptive capacity, and improved climate change mitigation.

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The main activity of SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS in this project is to bring together the main agri-food players in the European Union under a network of interest, as well as manage exploitation, innovation and intellectual property strategies.

It is a great opportunity to continue growing in the bio industry sector”, says Jesús Serrano, deputy general manager of SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS. “We have experience in several projects, such as agroBRIDGES, which seeks to empower farmers and interact with consumers by reinforcing the benefits of business models that operate under the shortening of the food supply chain or BIOSWITCH, which supports and helps owners of brands to change approaches based on fossil energy sources to biological approaches”.

Current challenges of the global food system

The global food system is currently facing a number of social and interrelated challenges to sustainability and economic viability. The European Commission has established a set of political initiatives under the European Green Deal such as “farm to fork” strategies and biodiversity, zero pollution, climate action and the common agricultural policy to achieve a just transition towards sustainable food systems.

Despite these efforts, the adoption of sustainable practices remains low. One-third of all food produced globally is wasted in production, processing, retail or consumer handling, which amounts to approximately 1,300 million tons per year.

Therefore, they are needed behavior changes to encourage the adoption of climate-smart agriculture technologies. The new political framework, mainly the European Green Deal and the ongoing reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy beyond 2020, present an opportunity to redesign the configuration of the European Union’s agri-food systems, by establishing effective political tools, based on on non-financial behavioral incentives, including regulations and strategies to achieve changes towards sustainable food systems.

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