Objectives

The “EMPHASIS’ Science with Farmers: call for early adopters” is an initiative in the frame of EU H2020 project EMPHASIS, it will give the opportunity to farmers and professionals working with them, all around Europe to learn about practical, innovative and experimental solutions developed by EMPHASIS. They will learn innovative ways on how to solve their current issues related to plant pathogens diagnosis, monitoring, containments, control and management (IPM). “Emphasis Science with Farmers: call for early adopters” initiative will facilitate the engagement between scientists and end users, in particular farmers, to foster project results exploitation and ease implementation of new techniques and practices. Become an EMPHASIS “early adopters”, you will receive tailored counselling, practical support and information about the most recent innovation techniques in your working field.

 

How does it work?

Individual farmers, agricultural organizations and all entities having a role on pest management and control can participate to the initiative by filling the online template. Forestry-based systems are excluded of the current initiative. The selection will consider the information gathered from the participants about their actual strategy to prevent, control, monitor and contain the effects of pathogens, diseases and pests’ management and their availability to try new, innovative technologies and methods. The initiative will select up to 3 final beneficiaries to implement innovative practices responding to their specific needs.

To take part to this initiative please answer the questions proposed at the following link: https://goo.gl/a47J48

 

Watch the partner's clips:

Agri New Tech

Agrobio

Optisense

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Timeframe

Launch: November, 15th 2017 during Infoweek societal challenge 2 (#call4AgriIPM)

Closing: March 2018, 31st 

Early adopters’ announcement: April 2018, 25th 

Delivering practical solutions to selected early adopters: from April 2018 onwards.

    

Who can participate?

In order to be eligible, participants should fulfill following conditions:

• Be Europe located;
• Be established as a:
• Farmer;
• Farmer association;
• Farmer cooperatives;
• Seeds and propagation materials producers;
• Researchers;
• Phytosanitary advisors/service;
• Public bodies providing diagnostic services or plant health consulting;
• Companies providing diagnostic services or plant health consulting;
• Laboratories providing diagnostic services or plant health consulting.

 

Call for early adopters – Who cannot participate?

Candidates shall be excluded from participation in procurement procedures if:

(a) they are bankrupt or being wound up, are having their affairs administered by the courts, have entered into an arrangement with creditors, have suspended business activities, are the subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or are in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations;
(b) they or persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control over them have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgment of a competent authority of a Member State which has the force of res judicata;
(c) they have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the contracting authority can justify including by decisions of the EIB and international organisations;(d) they are not in compliance with their obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which they are established or with those of the country of the contracting authority or those of the country where the contract is to be performed;
(e) they or persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control over them have been the subject of a judgment which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation, money laundering or any other illegal activity, where such illegal activity is detrimental to the Union’s financial interests;
(f) they are subject to an administrative penalty.

 

Call for early adopters – The Jury

The Jury is composed of 5 members of the EMPHASIS project and one external member of the project that will act as president of the Jury, who carry out their duties as individuals and not as representatives of their institution or country. Members are drawn from both academia and private sector. They are appointed by Emphasis Executive Committee, which ensures an appropriate geographical and gender balance. Moverim, one of Emphasis partner, will act as a secretariat support to the Jury.

The awarded candidates, after closure of the call, will be the participants that in the opinion of the Jury demonstrate to fulfil at least the minimum requirements and to best address the following cumulative criteria. 

 

1. The capacity to innovate and implement new techniques in the fields described by the applicant. Applications will be compared accordingly to e.g. number of new techniques implemented in the last 5 years.
2. The impact and leadership role of the applicant. Applicants must explain how they can be considered as leaders in their work field and how much they can be influencers of other colleagues e.g. number of participation in agricultural networks, social media and social networks presence.
3. The feasibility to introduce an innovation technique in the working area of the applicant. Applicants must explain where they apply innovation and in which kind of area they want to introduce new pests’ management techniques.
4. Value of the potential benefit from applying a novel approach developed by Emphasis. The Jury will evaluate the potential benefits for the applicant and for the agricultural sector in terms of potential yield increase, reduction of diseases. The key benefit of being able to conduct rapid and local testing for pathogens and pests using the LAMP diagnostic kits is that informed decision-making becomes possible at point of application. Plant material and insects can be collected and processed in less than an hour so that appropriate treatments can be applied or corrective actions taken when problems are detected. This rapid-response capability can limit the extent of the damage caused to trees, crops, vegetables and fruits. In many cases this may have obvious financial value while in others the advantage will come from environmental protection. The applicants will need to explain what advantage they will derive from implementing the tests and, where relevant, provide an estimate of the financial benefit.

 

How the Jury works 

1. Each Jury member scores each candidate with a preliminary mark in the following categories:

Worthy of innovation experimentation – A

Maybe worthy of innovation experimentation – B

Not worthy of innovation experimentation – C

2. At the beginning of the Emphasis selection for early adopters, the President of the Jury (nominated by the Jury) will contact each of the other Members of the Jury; they will notify the President of the preliminary marks given to each candidate. The President draws up a preliminary assessment list.

3. Based on preliminary conversation among the jury on the preliminary assessment list, the Jury may amend this list. The Jury shall decide and reach its decisions based on consensus. 

4. The list of beneficiaries, are drawn up and signed by the President on behalf of the Jury. Moverim makes arrangements for the official announcement and a first meeting between the technological provider and the beneficiaries. If one or more of the selected beneficiaries decide not to take the opportunity given by Emphasis, next participant in the reserve list will be contacted. 

 

Call for interest: become an EMPHASIS early adopter – The Innovations

The beneficiaries will be the first to experience one of the following innovations developed by EMPHASIS: 

List of Innovations available 

• Agrobio S. L. will provide:
• Free counselling on the management of whiteflies and other pests on tomato crops;
• Free products, including natural enemies produced by Agrobío and food for the predators (Ephestia eggs and/or others), free release of the natural enemies in the nursery, and free counselling for a trial on the control of whiteflies and other pests, on tomato crops
   
• Optisense Ltd will provide LAMP diagnostic kits. The key benefit of being able to conduct rapid and local testing for pathogens and pests using the LAMP diagnostic kits is that informed decision-making becomes possible at point of application. Plant material and insects can be collected and processed in less than an hour so that appropriate treatments can be applied or corrective actions taken when problems are detected. This rapid-response capability can limit the extent of the damage caused to trees, crops, vegetables and fruit. In many cases this may have obvious financial value while in others the advantage will come from environmental protection. The applicants will need to explain what advantage they will derive from implementing the tests and, where relevant, provide an estimate of the financial benefit.
   
• AgriNewTech s.r.l. (ANT) will provide:
• Free products (ANT’s fertilizers and ANT’s compost) and free counselling for a trial on the control of foliar and soil-borne pathogens.
• Free counselling on the composting of agricultural wastes for the production of high quality compost;
• Free counselling on the management of soil-borne pathogens;

 

Please follow us on Twitter #call4AgrIPM

The event was organized by the project coordinator Agroinnova, the Center of Competence for the Innovation in the agro-environmental field of University of Torino, directed by Maria Lodovica Gullino.

READ MORE 

This short survey aims to learn more about how the practical solutions for pest surveillance, control and eradication developed under the EMPHASIS project address the needs of potential end-users.

 

EMPHASIS survey of end-users: deadline extended till 19 February 2019

READ MORE 

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020
research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 634179.