Category: Uncategorized
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Nitrogen and phosphorus in Malta’s livestock manure could cover the nutrient demand of the country’s crop production
By Henning Lyngsø Foged, Organe Institute, and Christopher Ciantar, FCCS Since 2016, SYNECO has been systematically engaged in identifying, testing, developing, piloting, and demonstrating solutions to improve manure management and fertilisation practices. The primary objective is to implement practical and cost-effective approaches for recycling nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) nutrients from livestock manure into crop…
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SYNECO offers a nature-based solution for carbon sequestration in the Maltese soils
By Henning Lyngsø Foged, Organe Institute, and Christopher Ciantar, FCCS The practices of discharging pig and cow slurry in Malta comes across as highly inappropriate. This is also the case for the way solid manures are handled. An important concern of current practices is that significant quantities of organic matter are lost at the cost…
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Malta in breach of EU sewage treatment rules, European court rules
Article by Times of Malta – published on 17/10/24 Malta is in breach of EU regulations by allowing sewage to be discharged without undergoing secondary treatment, a European court found on Thursday. The European Court of Justice said Malta has repeatedly “failed to fulfil its obligations” under the EU’s Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. This…
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SYNECO training farmers on the use of the bio-based products
Manure processing is not just about technology. The products recovered from manure processing need to be circularly returned into the soils for agricultural benefit. SYNECO is training farmers on the use of the bio-based products recovered from manure processing using Crop Manager as an app to facilitate the learning process.
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The importance of soil organic Matter and SYNECO’s mission
Based on the EU’s Soil Strategy 1, soil organic matter stands out as a pivotal component in the realm of environmental sustainability. This critical element determines the soil’s capability to sustain a diverse range of biodiversity and deliver pivotal ecosystem services, especially those tied to fertility. Furthermore, soil organic matter acts as a reservoir of…
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Soils are the basis of life
Not too many of us know that the soil we very often trample upon holds our existence and future. Soils are the basis for a multitude of crops and organisms that live in it to provide us with food, biomass and fibres, raw materials and CO2 capture. However, soils also regulate the water, carbon, nutrient…
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Inspirational idea: Smart circular farming in Malta
The Farmers Central Cooperative Society (FCCS) has teamed up with the pig breeders cooperative (KIM) and the milk producers cooperative (KPH) to work on working on a new project to recycle the nutrients in manure from animal breeding and use them as fertiliser in the fruit and vegetable sector. “We will even go beyond this…
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Research: Adding manure to soil locks-in N and cuts emissions
The importance of regular soil testing cannot be over emphasised Emissions from soil of the potent greenhouse gas (GHG) nitrous oxide (N2O) can be drastically reduced by adding carbon-rich manure, new research shows. Doing so essentially ‘locks-in’ nitrogen (N) as it is no longer turned into as much N20 gas by microbes such as fungi…
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Phosphorus supply is increasingly disrupted – we are sleepwalking into a global food crisis
Without phosphorus food cannot be produced, since all plants and animals need it to grow. Put simply: if there is no phosphorus, there is no life. As such, phosphorus-based fertilisers – it is the “P” in “NPK” fertiliser – have become critical to the global food system. Most phosphorus comes from non-renewable phosphate rock and…
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Deadline extended – EU CAP Network Seminar ‘Smart circular farming to address high energy and fertiliser prices’
The EU CAP Network Seminar ‘Smart circular farming to address high energy and fertiliser prices’ will take place in Porto, Portugal, on Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 December 2022. In the context of higher energy and fertilisers costs, the seminar will focus on finding innovative solutions for resilient farming and food systems through smart circular…