CROPSAFE to develop pest control in potatoes, tomatoes and bananas

In Norway, approximately 40% of the world’s food crops are lost each year due to pests and diseases. The Borregaard-initiated project CROPSAFE has received €4.9 million in funding from the EU’s Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) to develop bio-based solutions for pest control in potatoes, tomatoes and bananas.

CROPSAFE stands for Crop Protection Strategies for the Transition to Environmentally-Friendly Agriculture. The support from the EU’s CBE JU will, over the next four years, go towards the development of innovative, bio-based solutions intended to replace the use of toxic fossil-based pesticides. The goal is to reduce dependence on harmful crop protection chemicals by offering cost-effective alternatives for various agricultural settings. These solutions have the potential to increase yields by up to 20% and reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to crop protection by as much as 75%.

The project is being carried out by a consortium comprising multiple stakeholders from bio-based industry, as well as international research institutes and universities. Borregaard is leading the development of products and processes related to the bio-based chemicals. The company’s biorefinery will provide bark extracts and lignin fractions derived from Norwegian spruce to be tested against harmful nematodes – small, often microscopic worms found nearly everywhere in nature, which attack plant roots and cause disease and crop loss – in the cultivation of tomatoes, potatoes and bananas.

Universities and research institutions participating in the project will have 100% of their laboratory and testing costs covered. Borregaard will receive funding for 60% of its development costs related to the products and production processes – equivalent to approximately €226,000 over four years.