Category: Uncategorized
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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…
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SYNECO organised a focused basic training course to farmers on the use of CropManager
SYNECO disseminates information to farmers participating in the field trials. Field trials, using CropManager to generate fertiliser plans for the targeted fields, are due to commence. SYNECO organised a focused basic training course to farmers on the use of CropManager as a mobile application. A certificate was given to all participating farmers.
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Design tests in a laboratory to finalise the design of the mobile technology
As part of the work being carried out to finalise the mobile technology design that will be used to treat raw pig and cow slurry, laboratory tests were carried out in a Swedish laboratory to test the prototype using raw slurry. The analyses of these tests are essential to optimise the design of the pilot…
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SYNECO – Recovering value from pig and cow slurry to promote environmental synergies
CAP support funded a research project concerning the recycling of manure nutrients as fertiliser in Malta. Project summary: The entire area of Malta is designated as a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone due to its high concentration of livestock and general population density. The majority of dairy and pig farms in Malta operate on small pieces of land and…
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SYNECO AT THE MANURE SOURCE CONFERENCE MAY 2022 IN HERTOGENBOSCH
SYNECO poster exhibited at the Manure Source conference May 2022 in Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands), gathering experts in livestock manure from EU and beyond. The poster is telling about the specific challenges in Malta, and how the SYNECO project will tackle these.