Partner description

Eesti Maaülikool (Estonian University of Life Sciences) is an integrated research, development, education and cultural institution with the objective of contributing to the sustainable development of society and the well-being of people, by providing internationally recognized advanced research, academic teaching and development and innovative services based thereon. University is promoting bioeconomy based on value chain and research and development in the areas connected with the sustainable use of natural resources and development of rural life and rural economics. Eesti Maaülikool provides the possibilities for the acquisition of higher education based on the development of science and technology on all the levels of higher education in agricultural sciences and veterinary medicine, forestry and environmental sciences and in the area of engineering and technology connected therewith.

Role in the project

Eesti Maaülikool is the case study 4 (CSS4) partner in the project. The main role is to provide contact and knowledge exchange with local farmers and stakeholders. Our goal is to investigate micro- and nanoplastics in soil in mixed and vegetable farms and horticulture (mainly strawberry growth).

	Endla Reintam, professor in soil ecology. Have over 20 years of experience in teaching, fundamental and applied research in the area of basic soil science, soil classification, international classification systems, soil degradation and soil physical and chemical properties and their interactions to plant growth.
	Merrit Shanskiy, associate professor in soil science. She’s main basic and applied research in soil science is within focus on soil ecology, peat soils, substrates and composting
	Alar Astover, professor in soil science. He´s main basic and applied research in soil science is within focus on quality and nutrient cycling in agricultural soils. Main research activities have been related to agronomic fertilization experiments, development of pedotransfer functions and application soil information in decision-making processes.

Partner description

Since 1997, Euroquality has been supporting technological and methodological innovations within all organizations active in the field of R&D (SMEs, industries, R&D centers...). Euroquality helps its clients to position themselves in the framework of innovative collaborative projects financed by the European Commission, for example in the framework of the Horizon Europe, PRIMA, LIFE and Erasmus+ programs. Euroquality's consultants - engineers, doctors and political experts in social science - have a strong experience in European projects and a high technological knowledge in various sectors.

Website: https://euroquality.fr/

Role in the project

EQY will support WU for the coordination. EQY will be in charge of the day-to-day management of MINAGRIS by providing supports and interactions directly with the different partners and stakeholders.

Persons involved.

	Barthélémy Maillard - Head of the Environment Unit Barthélémy is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Rennes. He is positioned as an expert in analytical chemistry and environmental sciences. Barthélémy started his career at the MTM laboratory of the University of Örebo in 2010. He has been working at Euroquality since 2011 and is currently responsible for the Environment & Climate division. He has expertise in environmental management, environmental law and sustainable development.
	Suzon Bedu- Head of the Agri-food unit Suzon is an agronomy engineer with a specialization in environment, sustainable agriculture and management of territory projects. She has participated in many projects of sustainable development and circular and social economy in rural territories. Her skills also apply to the agricultural and agri-food industries, having participated in a study on the perception of sustainable development in the French poultry and pork industry. Suzon works on the setting up and management of innovative collaborative European projects, mainly on agri-food topics.
	Arthur Le Berre. Arthur is an agricultural engineer with a specialization in crop protection, soil science and agroecological transition. He worked on numerous projects to study the impact of agricultural practices on soil quality and yields, as well as on numerous sustainable agriculture projects related to alternatives to conventional phytosanitary products. Arthur has also participated in surveys with farmers to analyze their perception of agroecology and their visions of European funding programs. He is involved in the setting up of innovative European projects related to crop protection.

Partner description

Camposeven is an agricultural cooperative, located in San Pedro del Pinatar (Murcia, Spain), established in 2007, is composed of 8 families, with an agricultural experience over 40 years. Its products are mainly Organic and also Biodynamic (Demeter). Camposeven produces around 23,000 tons per year from 25 different fruit and vegetable products in more than 700 Ha. The most important products are: bell pepper, lettuce, celery, broccoli, citrus (lemon, orange, tangerine), stone fruit (nectarine, apricot, peach, paraguayo, etc.), leek, fennel, almond, pitaya. The 95% of the production is exported, being the most important consumers countries (by volume) Germany, Switzerland, France, England, and the Nordic Countries. Camposeven currently has a direct staff of about 25 permanent employees, 40 permanent and discontinuous employees, and about 300 temporary employees. An indirect staff of about 500. It is an innovative company which is committed to research and innovation in products and production systems.

Website: http://www.camposeven.com/en

Role in the project

Camposeven will be the coordinator and main responsible for CSS in Murcia, Spain. CampoSeven will contribute to the WPs 1, 2, 3 and 8. They will contribute with identifying the farmers requirements for plastic in the Murcia region, providing information about the common agricultural management in Murcia and more specifically for the CSS. They will be in charge of collecting the soil samples for the CSS in Murcia. They will give feedback on the Smartphone tool for detection and monitoring of visually recognizable plastic residues in soil and promote its use in Murcia. They will interview stakeholders to assess the current sources of knowledge, the key influencers and intermediaries of knowledge, and dissemination and advisory activities, with respect to plastic use in Murcia.

Persons involved

	Javier Castillo has more than 25 years of experience as a production manager. He is specialized in organic agriculture. He has extensive knowledge about agricultural sectors (farmers, research centers, agrochemical distributors, etc). He will contribute the results of the project for dissemination.
	D. Adolfo Garcia has been the manager of the agricultural cooperative for 42 years. He has contacts within the agricultural world to design the best strategy for disseminating and communicating the results in different forums.

Partner description

Wageningen Food and Biobased Research (WFBR) is one of 7 closely linked institutes forming Wageningen Research (WR). WFBR provides strategic and application-oriented research within the fields of fresh, food and chains and bio-based products. This enables the rapid conversion of fundamental knowledge to applications on the market. WFBR’s mission is to perform research, aimed at enhancing added value of (agricultural) raw materials, and to act as an intermediate between science and application. WFBR will be represented by the business unit Bio-based products, which is the leading knowledge institute on green raw materials, process innovation, bio-based products and waste management. It has specialised expertise in areas such as biomass processing, biotechnology, organic chemistry, polymer chemistry and polymer technology including plastic recycling. This is supported with well-equipped laboratories with a wide range of analyses equipment and pilot facilities with a broad range of processing equipment. WFBR is active in implementation-oriented R&D on products such as biopolymers (bioplastics and films), paper and board production/recycling, paints and adhesives, sustainable building materials, and many other applications of bio-based feedstock for the chemical industry. It also performs policy studies for the government.

Website: www.wur.eu/wfbr

Role in the project

WR is leader of Task 3.1 and will contribute to a comprehensive overview of intentional use and unintentional input of plastic in European agriculture and the resulting MP/NP concentration in soils. Furthermore, WR will use its expertise in (bio)plastics for characterisation and assessments of recovery and degradation of micro- and nano-plastics in soil (WP6).

Involved personnel

	Maarten van der Zee, PhD is senior scientist bio-based products at WFBR and is working for almost 30 years in the field of biodegradable and bio-based products. This includes feedstock, biotechnological processes, bio-based chemistry, plastics and composites, and end-of-life options. He was involved in various RTD EC-projects in 4th up to 8th Framework programmes, varying from support to standardisation (degradability of packaging materials), scenario development for implementing future non-food crops, and development of a wide range of bio-based products (e.g. foamed products, self-assembling materials, agrotextiles, etc.). He is currently one of the Dutch delegates in CEN/TC 411 ‘Bio-based products’ and active member in several of its working groups.
	Christiaan Bolck, MSc is director of the Circular & Biobased Performance Materials research programme and as such is coordinating these activities within the Dutch topsectors. Christiaan has over 20 years of experience in product and market development regarding materials and products from biobased and recycled (re-)sources. As programme manager renewable materials within the applied research institute Wageningen Food and Biobased Research, he is currently responsible for the research and development activities at Wageningen Research in the field of biobased and circular materials, such as plastics, textile, paper & pulp, and building materials. In addition, he is Advisory Board member of the lectorate polymer technology at the Windesheim polytechnic, Paperfoam® and Vibers®.
	Fresia Alvarado Chacon, PhD is a senior researcher at WFBR responsible for the polymer analyses. In the last 5 years she has coordinated the introduction, setting up and validation of different test methods. She was involved (i.a.) in the purchase of a modern infra-red microscope for the accurate analysis and identification of microplastics, multilayer plastics and other multi-components products. Furthermore she has been leading the analytical testing and standardisation of procedures to evaluate recyclability of plastics and the resulting recyclates in projects to advise the Dutch government on recyclate legislation.
	Karin Molenveld, MSc is a senior scientist at WFBR and is responsible for the developments related to bio-based polymers and products. With 25 years of experience in the field of bio-based plastics, her activities vary from work directly for industry to expert policy advice for the Dutch government or the European Commission. Karin is regularly invited to give lectures on bio-based polymers and the developments within WFBR in this field.