METABIO

Consortium

Consortia

Consortium-type projects aim to create, support and accompany interdisciplinary scientific communities in connection with actors shedding light on the issue. They are not the subject of specific calls and can be granted throughout the year.

In this folder

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The management of the global health of farm products and soil is a major concern in organic agriculture (OA). Management constraints for plant and animal health are very similar but also interdependent and closely tied to soil health. However, the biotechnical levers for health management are generally developed for a given product, and the links between soil health, plant health and animal health are rarely considered. The aim of this consortium is to bring together the three research communities working on the integrated management of plant, animal and soil health for the very first time. They will work together on the interfaces between the animal and plant kingdoms, as well as on the link with soil health, leading to the emergence of scientific fronts essential to the development of an OA that encompasses both crops and livestock.
Biodiversity provides agroecosystems with a multitude of ecological services. The effects of organic agriculture (OA) and the benefits it brings in terms of biodiversity are still poorly known. Ecological, agronomical and economic performances in OA vary widely, and few studies have focused on quantifying the synergies and antagonisms between these performances.
Whereas the demand for organic products is increasing, the development of organic pig production in Europe is slow compared to other animal and plant sectors. This project explores the hypothesis according to which pig farming could contribute to the development of organic agriculture by bolstering the optimization of processes and closing cycles at different levels of organization, from the animal to the territory. For example, the pig, in its capacity as an omnivore, is capable of recycling co-products that could not be recycled otherwise, and the fertilizing potential of its waste is of interest for soil and crop production. The obstacles to the development of organic pig farming have been well identified. On the other hand, the links between the different levels of organization require further study.
The ongoing expansion of organic agriculture (OA) may find itself confronted with a significant lack of nitrogen resources necessary to fertilize crops, a gap that could be filled by increasing the area planted with legume crops. However, the development of legume crops is only viable ifthey have outlets on the market.

Modification date : 17 July 2023 | Publication date : 08 April 2021 | Redactor : Com