News
Eco-innovation on farms in the Masuria region
RIC Pro-Akademia, in collaboration with EcoReadyMasuria Living Lab partners, has announced the results of the EcoReadyMasuria Demonstration Farms competition. The competition winners will work with the EcoReadyMasuria Living Lab partners to increase production efficiency on farms and prepare them for climate challenges.
The aim of the competition was to increase farmers' awareness of climate change adaptation and to promote sustainable agriculture in Masuria. The programme encourages farmers to engage in scientific cooperation to test new practices in the production of strategic agricultural products, following the successful co-design workshops organised in September 2024.
Five demonstration farms were selected, each in a different product category:
1. barley: testing new soil biopreparations. Expected benefits include increased nutrient availability, which could lead to increased yields.
2. maize: testing conditioned seed. Expected effects are increased maize biomass under water deficit.
3. red clover: incorporation of forage herbs into grass mixtures. This is expected to lead to more stable and higher quality yields under climate change.
4. sunflower: testing a mixed cropping with maize. More efficient use of soil is expected to result in higher yields.
5. milk: testing mulberry silage as a feed source for milking cows. The result is expected to be increased dairy farm production and quality, and better drought tolerance of milk production.
The winners received the title of EcoReadyMasuria Demonstration Farm, a cash prize, scientific support, and access to agrometeorological stations. They will contribute to developing solutions that may influence future EU agricultural policies.
The competition lasted from January 14 to 28, 2025, with the "milk" category extending to February 24, 2025. Research and field trials in the Demonstration Farms will begin in March 2025 and continue until the end of October 2025. A network of agrometeorological stations in the region will be launched in March as well.
The competition was organised by the EcoReadyMasuria Living Lab partners, which is part of the EU Eco-Ready project. EcoReadyMasuria Living Lab partners are: RIC Pro-Akademia, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Biology of the UW, Mazurian Centre for Biodiversity and Education KUMAK, Association Local Action Group ‘Lider w EGO’ and Mirosław Gontar Farm.
The results of the competition and more information about the activities of the EcoReadyMasuria Living Lab can be found at www.ecoreadymasuria.pl
This sub-project has received funding from the ECO-READY project (grant agreement No. 101084201) through its Open Call, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme