On the 16th of September 2021, the NUTRIMAN project successfully held its final conference. In total, over 200 people from different fields across Europe registered for the online event to discover the results and discuss the future possibilities of the NUTRIMAN thematic network.
The project coordinator Edward Someus started the day by welcoming the attendees and gave the floor to the first keynote speaker of the session on the importance of nutrient recovery. Mr Jeremy Pinte, EU DG Grow, highlighted the most important criteria and harmonisation rules of the “New EU fertilising products regulation”. Afterwards, Ms Branwen Miles, policy advisor of Copa and Cogeca, made the second keynote presentation about the importance of “Bringing innovation and tools closer to farmers” in the European dimension.
After the opening session, the project coordinator made an overview of the NUTRIMAN Thematic Network and its measurable results and impacts, such as:
- The collection and distribution of easily accessible practice-oriented knowledge on the Nitrogen & Phosphorus innovative recovery thematic area, including delivering “practice abstracts” in eight languages in the EIP-AGRI format and audio-visual materials;
- Conserving the practical knowledge for the long-term ten years beyond the project period >2031 and using the main trusted dissemination channels which farmers consult most often, and also serve education/training purposes;
- Increasing the flow of practical information between farmers in Europe in a geographically balanced way, creating spill-overs and taking account of the differences between territories; and
- Supporting greater user acceptance of the collected recovery solutions on the NUTRIMAN website and more intensive dissemination and exploitation of the existing knowledge.
During the second session, the knowledge collection methodology was described by the project partners, starting from a massive collection of innovative recovered products and technologies to experts and evaluation, ending with a priority list of 25 best practices that served as a database for further dissemination and demonstration in the NUTRIMAN project.
The NUTRIMAN roadmap for knowledge transfer to farmers has been implemented by 96 EIP-AGRI abstracts, 97 training materials, 102 audio-visual materials, 82 infosheets and 82 infographics, most of them translated in 8 languages. Those materials were made available for agricultural practitioners, farmers, farmers organisations and advisory services providers through the NUTRIMAN Farmer Platform and other channels.
The NUTRIMAN web Farmer Platform is the main tool to provide practical information to different types of stakeholders and will be further developed after the project period. Additionally, workshops, demonstrations and knowledge exchanges were organised within the NUTRIMAN project, highlighting the bidirectional approach to gathering actionable feedback.
The day closed with a wrap up of all presentations answering the question: “What will happen with the NUTRIMAN achievements and results after the project ends? How can it remain valuable?”
An active follow up and expansion of the NUTRIMAN project from October 2021 up to 2031 will be implemented and managed by the coordinator Edward Someus. All innovations continuously undergo evolutionary processes that are impacted by changing environments, markets, regulations and other factors. Therefore, the update and expansion of the NUTRIMAN project are of high importance, especially in our changing times for a transition towards a more sustainable EU bio-economy.
For more information on the outcomes of the project, please visit the NUTRIMAN website.
Final conference presentations are available here.
