GSS EU Science Funding Gateway

Proposed activities should:

• Identify, develop and promote horticultural practices and production systems that conserve or improve soil health. This should include alternative materials to be used as sustainable substitutes for peat as substrate or soil improver in organic and conventional horticulture, with the aim of attenuating soil stress and strengthening ecosystem services.
• Demonstrate the feasibility and economic viability of the newly developed alternatives to the use of peat in horticulture. This should be done in accordance with relevant EU regulatory frameworks related to their placing on the market.
• Generate data to support improved environmental, social, health and safety performance of alternative growing media in a life-cycle perspective and taking into account potential trade-offs and indirect consequences, including outside of the EU, where relevant.
• Develop and/or improve sustainable management practices in horticulture (including digital technologies and infrastructures) to reduce the use of inputs such as plant protection products, fertilizers and water in horticultural crops. Measures should also contribute to improving soil structure and mitigating soil compaction. Where applicable, practices should cover both protected (greenhouses and tunnels) and open field systems.
• Identify and analyse barriers (economic, social or regulatory) that may hinder the uptake of the proposed soil-friendly practices by professional producers as well as by private consumers in amateur horticulture, and where relevant suggest suitable measures to overcome the identified obstacles.
• Develop and test material for awareness raising, dissemination and training to promote the uptake of soil-friendly horticultural practices. This material should be used by agricultural advisory services, in vocational training and other relevant contexts.