The RUSTICA projects provides a technical solution to convert organic residues from the fruit and vegetable sector into novel bio-based fertiliser products of high quality that address the needs of modern (organic) agriculture. The project’s ambition goes beyond the simple recovery of nutrients, and also includes the developments of economically viable and environmentally sustainable alternatives to mineral fertilisers with the same or improved agronomic value. The technical solution consists of 5 conversion processes (carboxylic acid platform, microbial biomass production, electrodialysis, insect breeding and biochar production) which can be combined depending on the available waste streams, and integrated with state-of-the-art technologies such as composting. Synergies between the individual conversion processes will be sought and optimized to maximize economic and environmental benefits, and the processes will be demonstrated at TRL7. The resulting ingredients (microbial biomass, mineral nutrient concentrates, insect biomass, insect frass, insect chitin, biochar) will be combined to obtain tailor made fertiliser products adapted to specific crop needs. Parallel with this technological innovation and integration, a multi-actor approach guarantees the implementation potential of the technologies in the agro-food chain, and will lead to sound business models. Several non-technical aspects (environmental and social LCA, legal framework, expected market developments...) will be evaluated in 4 European regions and 1 region in Colombia. Stakeholder involvement at each step guarantees the development of marketable end-products for the fruit and vegetable sector, with a high replication potential to other agricultural sectors. Cooperation with other EUfunded projects working on nutrient recovery from other waste products will stimulate a joint solution to evolve towards a sustainable and circular fertiliser management to close nutrient cycles within and between regions

Targeting ambitious changes in agricultural practices that would preserve restore and enhance soil carbon and soil health requires an increased coordination of international research cooperation. The specific challenge lies in the identification, implementation and verification of agricultural soil management practices which create a positive soil/ecosystem carbon budget at the farm and landscape levels, sequester carbon, improve soil structure and soil quality and provide climate change adaptation while contributing to sustainable development. In this context, the CSA CIRCASA has an overarching goal to develop synergies on research in this field at European Union and global level, targeting four realistic and highly complementary objectives: O1. Strengthen the international research community on agricultural soil carbon sequestration; O2. Provide an improved understanding of agricultural soil carbon sequestration and its potential for climate change mitigation and adaptation and for demands of increased food production; O3. Synthesizing stakeholder’s views and knowledge needs on agricultural soil carbon sequestration and climate change O4. Favor a more structured approach, by preparing an International Research Consortium (IRC) These four objectives will produce measurable outputs during the time frame of the project and create significant outcomes for the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and of the Paris agreement (COP21, 4 per 1000 voluntary initiative) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). CIRCASA will benefit from the participation of three major initiatives: the Global Research Alliance on agricultural greenhouse gases (GRA), the Joint Programming Initiative on Sustainable Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change (FACCE JPI) and the 4 per 1000 - Soils for Food Security and Climate - initiative, and from the contribution of the CCCAFS and the WLE programs of the CGIAR.

Roughly 30% of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement (PA) include land-based mitigation measures, but there are still significant uncertainties in their effectiveness to deliver negative emissions. Aside from the expected shortfall of all current NDCs to deliver on the below 2 oC ambition, this uncertainty adds to the risks to human wellbeing as a result of climate change. Land-use based mitigation technologies (LMTs) can play a crucial role in the global efforts to meet the PA goals and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Considering the land-climate-development interface, LANDMARC aims to assess the impacts of LMTs as net sinks for greenhouse gas (GHGs) by applying unique mixed-methods approach. LANDMARC assesses the potential and feasibility of LMTs in the AFOLU sector by: a) quantitatively assessing environmental, social-economic, co-benefits and trade-offs identified through a suite of monitoring tools and model system (including land use, climate and economic models) complemented by; b) qualitative assessments guided by stakeholder engagement. This mixed-method approach allows us to provide more detailed insights on the effectiveness and climate resilience of LMTs at different spatial scales (e.g. scaling up from local/national level to the regional/global level). These tools, services and approaches will contribute to land-based LMT decision support in the private sector and by policy makers. LANDMARC is an interdisciplinary consortium with expertise from ecology, engineering, climate sciences, global carbon cycle, soil sciences, satellite earth observation sciences, agronomy, economics, social sciences, and business. There is a balanced representation of partners from academia, SMEs, and NGOs from the EU, Africa, Asia and the Americas, which ensures a wide coverage of LMTs operating in different contexts (e.g. climates, land-use practices, socio-economic etc.) and spatial scales.