Terres Inovia commits to agroecology with the Eco AgriFood Challenge
Terres Inovia commits to agroecology with the Eco AgriFood Challenge
Launched on June 1, the Eco AgriFood Challenge is organized by Agronov, Vitagora, the Village by CA Champagne-Bourgogne, INRAe and six partners, including Terres Inovia and Terres Univia, represented by Delphine de Fornel and Marie Dubot.
The aim is to identify start-ups and SMEs with innovative solutions for sustainable agriculture and to support them in changing the ecological impact of agricultural production in the food, feed and pet food sectors.
190 applications were received from 28 different countries and 14 files were selected for the final.
"Agriculture that respects certain sustainability issues is at the heart of our concerns as we bring them to our sectors and farmers. Whether it is the technical institute through the search for the most appropriate solutions or the Interprofession to accompany the sectors concerned in a sustainable way, the value creation approach of agroecology seems essential to us" said Laurent Rosso, Director General of Terres Inovia at the final of the competition.
Watch the full interview with Laurent Rosso :
A special Terres Inovia-Terres Univia prize
On September 28 and 29, the final took place in Dijon. The 14 finalists presented their innovations in the form of "pitches" followed by discussions with the jury. In all, 5 prizes were awarded :
-1st Jury Prize : Osiris Agriculture, which has developed a robot capable of automating irrigation, fertilization, weeding and crop protection tasks.
-2nd Jury Prize : Rize, which designs a platform to identify solutions for evaluating its carbon footprint.
-3rd Jury Prize : Sabi Agri, electric agricultural equipment that enables the implementation of virtuous practices.
Terres Inovia and Terres Univia awarded a special prize to the start-up Amiroy, which develops innovative biostimulants to replace fertilizers and biocides in local production centers. "It is a young start-up founded by scientists with backgrounds in both ecology and pharmacology. It offers biostimulants that seem very promising for stimulating germination and the development of our crops in the face of aggression and production stress" explains Laurent Rosso. This young company will join the Toaster Lab gas pedal. "The technical institute, along with the Chambers of Agriculture, particularly the one in Dijon, will help them evaluate their innovations in oil and protein productions".
A second special prize was awarded by Nestlé_Purina to Yeasty, which uses brewer's yeast to make an ingredient rich in complete proteins.
Innovative solutions proven in the field
The hundred or so participants in the Eco AgriFood Challenge then took part in an afternoon in the field on the Epoisses experimental field, organized by INRAe, Terres Inovia, Terres Univia, Dijon Céréales and partners such as Naudet Nurseries, the ROBAGRI company and GRANDAY (Naïo OZ robot)
Terres Inovia's expertise was particularly valued on two important topics :
- "Diversifying species within a plot or territory, a key to more robustness and resilience of cropping systems?", presented by Michael Geloen based on references acquired on R2D2, the Magellan GIEE and the trials of the institute's programming.
- How is machinery a tool for agro-ecological transition? How can it be used in the field to accelerate the agricultural transition?", presented by Frédéric Salvi and Guillaume Joly on the basis of the VIG trials and the Colza digital action. The sensors and measurement tools used by the Breteniere experimentation team on Phénovia in particular were also presented.
Terres Inovia's experts highlighted the innovative practices in agro-ecology.