The result of the project can be applied to other production of e.g. kale and other varieties of cabbage, and also other vegetable production. The project is part of the innovation initiative within the Rural Program, EIP Agri (European Innovation Partnership, EIP). The purpose of the initiative is to help agriculture become more productive, sustainable and have greater opportunities to meet prevailing challenges such as tougher competition, stronger price swings, climate change and tougher environmental requirements.

Background:

Food waste is lively debated today. The decline is considered to be negative from the climate aspect as well as for food supply, in Sweden and globally. Waste occurs throughout the chain from producer to consumer. At the producer level, wastes occur for a variety of reasons, and in vegetable cultivation, attacks on insects and diseases, or high demands on the appearance of the products, can cause the whole or part of the raw material to be discarded.

Another form of waste is those parts of the products that are not currently used and harvested in the field. For example, in broccoli production, only the top third of the plant is harvested, while large parts of the trunk and leaves are left in the field. In other countries, such as in the US, broccoli leaves are sold as their own product.

Project goal:

The project creates conditions for reducing waste and increasing resource efficiency in Swedish cabbage cultivation by devising methods for harvesting and utilizing a larger part of the plant than exists today. Because a larger quantity of raw material per cultivated area can be used for sale, the use of resources in production becomes more efficient.

Raw materials that are not used today are used to create healthy vegetable food ingredients. Of the 2/3 of the cabbage plant that is not utilized today, we intend to use at least half of this part, which consists of stem and leaf parts.

The innovation, which enables the extraction of raw materials that would otherwise be wasted, is done in several steps. A new method for harvesting and handling after harvest is being developed to enable a higher degree of harvesting of the broccoli plant. In addition to methods for harvesting and post-harvest management, including distribution, the production economy of the grower is examined. Gentle process methods are developed so that the content of nutrients and other useful components is preserved, which is ensured through analyzes.

In the project we want to develop new food ingredients. It can, for example, be for bread or new ingredients for vegetable steaks, sausages, hamburgers, meat balls, pots, grates, soups etc. Important aspects of the development are sensory (taste, mouthfeel and color), Swedish origin, nutritional value, food safety and climate / environment. We have chosen to focus on broccoli as a model product. Developed methods can serve as models for how to utilize raw materials and make new ingredients also from other raw materials.

IVVES will develop the approaches in three directions to cover three main aspects in quality development for Evolving Systems (ES):

• V&V approaches dedicated to ML-enabled applications in ES, including innovation in ML-based testing, transparent and robust assessment of ML models and trained networks, and metrics for quality and trustworthiness of data used for ML training
• AI and data-driven V&V techniques dedicated to ES to cover areas that currently cannot be covered by state-of-the-art specification-based testing. This includes ML-based test case development and test automation, and continuous and runtime-enabled testing to detect quality degradation of ES during runtime.
• Smart engineering approaches that use data analytics to establish efficient and high-quality engineering processes for ES to improve coverage of testing in simulated environments prior to initial end-user exposure.

All IVVES methods, techniques and tools will be driven and evaluated by the case studies representing relevant industrial domains: Automotive & Transportation, Banking & Finance, Healthcare, Telecom, Industrial Automation, Agriculture & Forestry, Cybersecurity. To conclude, IVVES will develop cross-domain solutions with broad applicability that will be the foundation for standardization and certification. Thus, IVVES will shape a breakthrough in innovation power for European industry in AI-based systems and applications.

The following actions are included in the project:

• Identification of product categories with high market potential
• Product development of wild boar products within identified product categories
• Risk assessment
• Market testing of selected wild boar products.

The project will achieve the following objectives:

• Strengthen and streamline and develop the game value chain
• Develop game products as food
• Increase the availability of game as food for the public
• Improved, more even and secured quality through better utilization of game

The project will provide examples of how wild boar meat can be utilized in a way that financially benefits players in the game value chain, from hunters to consumers. With new innovative, climate-smart and locally produced foods, actors from the entire game value chain can increase profitability by finding new customer groups and filling unmet needs that exist in the market.

In the long term, the project results may lead to increased production of wild boar products, which in turn will result in increased numbers of wild boar shootings in Sweden. This can contribute to economic benefits for target groups other than the game industry as increased numbers of shootings can lead to reduced damage to crops and gardens caused by wild boars.

Projects partners are: Jakobdals Charkuteri AB, Coop Sverige AB and Preppa AB.

Contact person: Haris Hondo, haris.hondo@ri.se

Farming is facing many economic challenges in terms of productivity and cost-effectiveness, as well as an increasing labour shortage partly due to depopulation of rural areas. Furthermore, reliable detection, accurate identification and proper quantification of pathogens and other factors affecting both plant and animal health, are critical to be kept under control in order to reduce economic expenditures, trade disruptions and even human health risks.

AFarCloud platform will be integrated with farm management software and will support monitoring and decision-making solutions based on big data and real time data mining techniques.

The achievements from AFarCloud will be demonstrated in 3 holistic demonstrators (Finland, Spain and Italy), including cropping and livestock management scenarios and 8 local demonstrators (Latvia, Sweden, Spain and Czech Republic) in order to test specific functionalities and validate project results in relevant environments located in different European regions.

Under drygt 2 år med start hösten 2019 leder LRF tillsammans med samverkansparter EU-projektet Soliga lantbruk i Norr. Syftet med projektet är att höja lantbrukarnas kunskap kring solel och lagring för att på så sätt öka andelen solel och självförsörjningsgraden hos lantbruk i norra Sverige. Under projektperioden ska vi hjälpa lantbruk med beställningar av solelanläggningar genom kunskapshöjning och gemensamma upphandlingar.

Efter projektet förväntas den information och det upphandlingsunderlag som tagits fram, samt de erfarenheter som de första beställarna gör, leda till att ytterligare lantbruk installerar solel. Genom projektets aktiviteter ska länets potential för solel bättre tillvaratas och förutsättningar för en långsiktigt hållbar energiförsörjning säkerställas. Under våren 2020 åker vi ut på en seminarieturné till tre orter i Norrbotten och tre i Västerbotten, var och när du hittar oss kan du läsa om i infobroschyren som du hittar i länkarna till höger.

Vi riktar oss till aktiva lantbruk och med det menar vi att det bedrivs verksamheter som producerar, föder upp eller odlar jordbruks- och trädgårdsprodukter, vilket inkluderar spannmål, mjölkning, djuruppfödning och djurhållning för animalieproduktion eller annan produktion. Att bara äga en lantbruksfastighet räknas alltså inte.

The Traditional Grains Network is a cooperation between RISE and universities in Africa and South America where traditional grains are elucidated regarding production, varieties, Products, healt effects, sustainability and future prospects. RISE and the University of Pretoria have arranged a number of workshops in Southern Africa and in Sweden where current results have been presented and scientific articles compiled in the Traditinal Grains Review.

Background

Foodproduction consumes large amounts of energy. Primary production is highly dependent on electricity, diesel, mineral fertilizers, firewood, plastics and many other forms of indirect energy. Much of this energy is of fossil origin. Therefore, there are strong both climate and economic reasons to work for efficient processes that reduce the need for energy.

Examples of actions to do

The first step in an energy efficiency work is usually to get to know your own business. This can be done by going through data and figures and conducting an energy survey, then it is also possible to set production in relation to consumption. That is, finding adequate ratio for the business that makes it possible to compare yourself between different years as well as against similar businesses. Increasing energy consumption need not be wrong if it also means an upturn in production. However, a slowly rising energy consumption without a corresponding increase in production is an alarmclock that something is wrong.

When it comes to lowering dependence on fossil energy, there are a variety of ways to go. It is very important what kind of business you have and what types of machines you use today. It is hardly possible to name a business as completely fossil-free as there are so many dependencies in several steps behind. However, it is possible to make very big steps in direction towards fossilfree, if you know your business and know where the efforts are most useful.

RISE offer:

RISE can offer guidance in energy efficiency and energy conversion. It can be done out at  an individual farm or in a group. The work focuses on your farm working,  in a process of data collection and changes based on the specific conditions of the farm.

RISE also offers energy mapping. Here we can work on ambition levels based on the needs of the farm. It can be done as an guide to your own work or as regular farm inspections.

RISE offers training in economical driving, tailored to the specific requirements of agriculture.

At RISE we have unique knowledge about the entire food system, combined with advanced LCA-competence. This gives us the opportunity to develop both production and products meeting high environmental standards. By generating a systematic understanding we can support companies, public bodies and organizations prioritize measures towards sustainability.

Environmental sustainability is very complex and there are numerous conflicts between goals. Several environmental impacts are relevant for food systems, and the variety between production systems are huge. Plant production, animal production, fisheries, aquaculture and horticulture all have unique challenges and possibilities. The emerging bioeconomy requires a re-formulation and new understanding of the concept “environmental sustainability, on a higher systems level. We need to manage and quantify impacts from circular and cascading material flows from different systems (e.g. energy, agriculture, biomaterials). To operationalize environmental improvement simplifications are needed, which in turns needs to be done without losing relevant information.

The combination of production- and LCA competence gives opportunities to develop useful knowledge on relevant, concrete and applicable measures in all types production systems.

One example is mapping of environmental footprint of supply chains and identification of improvement measures for production systems, products, and product portfolios.

Analyses of biorefineries and their products as well as impacts on surrounding systems is an important part to shape the future food production. Our methods and tools are tailored for different production systems to handle specific aspects.

Aggregating results from detailed studies into indicators is one way of making knowledge useful for decision making at different levels.

At RISE we facilitate food system’s actors possibilities to contribute to a sustainable society in an efficient and concrete ways. We also brings solid background for communication on sustainability.