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 MINAGRIS, over the next 5 years, will explore the impacts of plastic debris on agricultural soil health. This blog explains what plastics are, the extent to which they are used in agriculture across Europe, and the potential environmental health threats posed by plastic debris in soil.

Blog photo 1

Photo credits: Plastics Europe, Wageningen Food & Biobased research, Tuinadvies, Kalliergeia, Future Farming, Teal Agrotechnologies

 

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MINAGRIS partners have hosted a participatory workshop at the Scientific Conference for Organic Agriculture with farmers, land managers and the scientific community.

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.

Our kick-off meeting took place in The Netherlands as a hybrid event between 20-23rd September 2021. Each work package presented their overall objectives for the project and we discussed how we will develop our experimental methodologies. 

 Minagris Kick off meeting Cuted  minagris_kom.jpg