From harnessing on-farm processes to creating business models, the VALPRO Path project will contribute to the sweeping change from protein deficit to protein independence by turning food-chain actors towards sustainable plant protein production for food and feed.
During the first 7 months, the consortium has been working hard to represent the VALRPO Path project at events and to build a diverse ecosystem around the project.
The EU-funded project that is
supporting the plant protein future
As a good source of amino acids for livestock, plant proteins are a necessary component of animal feed, and fundamental to EU farming. Unfortunately, livestock production in the European Union relies heavily on imported plant proteins. Additionally, current business models and strategies are not taking into consideration nutrient capture, climate resilience, and circularity. To secure sustainable growth of protein crops in Europe, ensuring that what is produced is delivering optimum value for producers, distributors and industry representatives, a core part of VALPRO Path will be 5 Innovative Production Systems (IPSs) located across the EU. As ‘living labs’, they will generate novel production / processing systems optimum for specific regions that exploit the highest value potential from protein crops such as pea, lupin, chickpea, faba bean and lentils and their combinations.
VALPRO Path kick-off meeting
The VALPRO Path consortium, consisting of leading academic and industry partners from 9 European countries, gathered in September 2022 at the TEAGASC Food Research Centre Moorepark for the kick-off meeting of this 4-year project. This multi-disciplinary team is working to reach the objectives of the project and at the meeting, each partner detailed their plans for the project and the necessary steps to be taken to achieve the desired results.
VALPRO Path- Building a community
Since it began on September 1st, 2022, VALPRO Path has been sparking an interest in local and European communities, paving the way for new plant protein landscapes. VALPRO Path was presented to an expansive audience of stakeholders at a variety of high-level events such as FIRA 2023, Ireland’s National Tillage Conference and the 36th EFFoST International Conference. Furthermore, VALPRO Path has been the subject of attention from European media outlets, such as Farm Safely and Agriland in Ireland, Mondo Agricolo in Italy, Serbian Agro TV, as well as the public broadcaster RTS in Serbia.
VALPRO Path “Meet Our Partners” campaign
For the past couple of months, as part of building a strong online network of stakeholders, the VALPRO Path has been actively engaging with the audience through “Meet our partners” campaign on social media. The goal of the campaign is to introduce the consortium partners and highlight their role in the project.
Don’t just read, hear us too! VALPRO Path on the Tillage Edge Podcast
Learn about the plant protein landscape in Ireland on the Tillage Edge podcast. Specifically, Episode 4 features VALPRO Path project coordinator Ewen Mullins and Milena Corredig (WP2 Leader). We encourage you to listen to all 4 episodes as they are the perfect place to start and explore the future of plant protein.
The Potential of Protein Crops Part 1:
Growing Beans in 2023 https://share.transistor.fm/s/d662d037
The Potential of Protein Crops Part 2:
The existing use of beans in the market https://share.transistor.fm/s/0ef48f1d
The Potential of Protein Crops Part 3:
How to increase the value of protein crops https://share.transistor.fm/s/3674bc82
The Potential of Protein Crops Part 4:
Growing the right protein in the right place for the right market https://share.transistor.fm/s/6b9613c0
Innovation Production Systems in the making
As of 2023, VALPRO PATH will start establishing Innovation Production Systems (IPSs) in five pedo-climatic areas of Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Denmark. These systems will focus on the growth of protein-rich crops such as peas, lupins, chickpeas, faba beans, and lentils, with the aim of selecting the most nutritionally beneficial combinations of plant proteins. By doing so, the IPSs will not only prove to be instrumental in providing new sources of value but will also contribute to the development of a more resilient and circular value chain.
IPSs in a nutshell
IPS 1 Realizing the potential of on-farm technology and processing.
IPS 2 Varietal selection based on regional suitability and nutritional characterization.
IPS 3 Agronomic practices that mitigate yield loss and create crop synergies.
IPS 4 Promoting new practices for farm-to-shelf nutrient tracking and sustainability.
IPS 5 Demonstrating the value of building synergies with cross regional applications.