Our very own Dr Esperanza Huerta Lwanga presented MINAGRIS at the Plastics Europe annual scientific workshop in Amsterdam on Tuesday. The event fosters dialogue between scientists and industry, bringing together a great variety of expertise to share insights on all things microplastics. Click here for more detail on the event and Plastics Europe's work.
MINAGRIS partners have hosted a participatory workshop at the scientific conference for organic agriculture farmers, land managers and the scientific community.
Partners involved are working on the assessment of plastic use across Europe and resulting microplastic concentrations in soil (WP3), and the overall sustainability analysis of the impact of microplastics and other stressors on ecosystem services (WP7).
They presented some of our findings so far, and held a series of smaller participatory workshops discussing whether organic agriculture possible without plastic, biodegradable vs. non-biodegradable plastic, and the plastic supply chain in food sector. MINAGRIS project partners Ildko Heim, Joelle Herforth-Rahme, Andreas Fliessbach, Anja Vieweger and Dominika Kundel hosted the event, with a small but very active group of participants, producing valuable insights into these important issues.
On 28th March 2022, we held a joint stakeholder forum workshop with high-level stakeholders.
Both MINAGRIS and Papillons are aiming to establish an inventory of the uses of agricultural plastics (AP) in Europe, explore the effects of AP on soil quality (soil biota, soil structure), and study fate, fragmentation, microbial colonisation and decay of AP in soil. They will both conduct a sustainability performance assessment of AP use in comparison to alternative techniques, as well as carry out large scale dissemination of results and involvement of end-users. The stakeholder forum with Papillons was formed due to our similar aims. This forum allows both projects to engage with our key stakeholders in an effective way, thus maximising engagement and ensuring we reach a wide diversity of audiences.
During the event, speakers shared initial findings from both projects and began discussions with participants, with a focus on the advice and information available surrounding agricultural plastic use.
On August 15th, Minagris partner Joelle Herforth-Rahemé of FiBL Research instiute of organic farming presented at the International Symposium on Plant Nutrition Fertilisation and Soil Management in Angers, France. She gave an EPoster flash presentation on Minagris' work surveying micro- and nano-palstics in agricultural soils in Europe. To see the poster, click here.
How do microplastics affect food safety? In this video, MINAGRS partner Dr Huerta Lwanga of Wageningen University and Research discusses the issue of plastic use in agriculture (fertilizer, compost, mulch, sludge etc.). Microplastics in soil affect soil life and crop growth; these plastic particles can additionally migrate through the soil food chain and eventually into the crops. Huerta Lwanga’s work has found that soil diversity and soil ecosystem services change due to the presence of microplastics. So, what does this mean for the environment and food safety? Watch this video to find out.
