Plants 4 Plants in search of tomorrow's crops

What role can plant materials play as basic raw materials in the future? In Limburg, the Plants 4 Plants project is looking for ways of using the plant not only in terms of sustainability, but also as an attractive earning model.

Cooperation

Plants 4 Plants is a collaboration between the Limburg Land and Horticulture Association (LLTB) and various local parties. Knowledge in the field of use, cultivation and applications of crops is brought together, with the focus on optimizing the value of a crop and thereby achieving both a financial and a sustainability return.

LTB board member Susanne Görtz emphasizes the importance of cooperation: "When experimenting with new crops we often see that for the farmer and horticulturist the final fruit is the most important. But perhaps at the same time universities are doing research into what can be done with the stems and foliage of the plant. Such as the use of tomato foliage as a raw material for paper. Yet other researchers are looking at what influence the roots of that plant have on the quality of the soil. Often people are not aware of each other's research."

Long breath

There is not only a focus on traditional crops, but also a search for new plants. That is usually a matter of a long breath. Little experience with cultivation offers low crop yields at the outset, which usually makes farmers somewhat reluctant. In addition, the financial return is an extra challenge. Often a new sales market must be developed. The participants in the Plants 4 Plants project want to work on both fronts simultaneously and thus achieve a breakthrough.

Sales channels

In today's society, where there is an increasing demand for vegetable raw materials as an alternative to less sustainable fossil raw materials, there are more and more potential sales channels for parts of certain crops. These include - in addition to the fruit - the roots, stems and leaves. Cellulose-containing residual flows from plants can be processed into chemical-free furniture panels, for example. Certain parts of the stinging nettle can probably play a role in biological crop protection, and the deep-rooted Sorghum, in addition to opportunities for food for humans and animals, can possibly contribute to the erosion control in the South Limburg hills.

Market models

When more market fields become clear for the various parts of the plant, the potential of the crop rises immediately.

"As a result, cultivation can be scaled up, expertise and yield increase and sustainable markets can be served better and faster," Görtz concludes. "The result is that the farmer has a new perspective, the industry a more sustainable raw material and they jointly contribute to the realization of a more circular (bio-) economy. In fact, the vicious circle is then reversed into an upward spiral."

Growers of the future

The LLTB and its members want to show with this project that they are leading in the search for crossovers with other sectors and that they respond to the call of farmers and citizens to achieve a sustainable, future-proof economy, with an indispensable role for the grower of the future. In practice this means the joint organization of expert meetings and knowledge sessions that are linked to demonstrations and experiments in the field.

The project is supported with a financial contribution from the Province of Limburg. Partners of the project are: BioTreatCenter, Compas Agro BV, St. Wageningen Research, HAS University of Applied Sciences, Vereniging Innovatief Platteland, Municipality of Venray, Aachen - Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM), BioBoost and contracting company Gebr. de Boer BV.