Webinar Farming for Bio-based materials and Biodiversity - Unlocking the Potential of Europe's Marginal Lands
Over 30 % of Europe's agricultural land is considered marginal due to challenging conditions such as poor soil health, water scarcity, and steep terrain. The Horizon Europe project MIDAS is turning this challenge into an opportunity by developing and demonstrating innovative solutions to grow industrial crops on these lands while building sustainable, bio-based value chains. For the past three years, the project has been testing innovative and biodiversity-compatible cropping systems specifically designed to grow low-input resilient crops in these challenging agro-ecosystems. This webinar will provide an exclusive inside look at our research and results.
Join us to:
• See our latest assessments on the current and future extent of marginal lands across Europe.
• Get insights from our network of 19 demonstration fields across 13 countries, detailing the performance of innovative systems like strip cropping and agroforestry to produce feedstock for a range of bio-based products.
• Explore preliminary findings from our ongoing multi-annual biodiversity study, showing the effect of these systems on pollinators.
• Learn from a panel of experts discussing the role of innovative bio-based value chains and sustainable farming practices to recover marginal land and enhance ecosystem services in the EU.
Agenda
Confirmed speakers include:
- Berien Elbersen – Wageningen University and Research, the Netherlands
- Efthymia Alexopoulou – Centre for Renewable Energy Sources, Greece
- Jenny Lazebnik – Wageningen University and Research, the Netherlands
- Daniele Valiante – 3Bee
Panel discussion with environmental experts, sustainable farming experts, and NGOs.