Operational program Competitiveness and Cohesion

PROJECT NAME: Innovative production of organic fertilizers and substrate for growing seedlings (KK.01.1.1.04.0052)

OPERATIONAL PROGRAM: Operational Program Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014-2020.

USER: Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek, Faculty of Agrobiotechnical Sciences Osijek, Vladimira Preloga 1, 31 000 Osijek, OIB: 98816779821

PARTNERS:

    Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek, Faculty of Food Technology Osijek Franje Kuhača 20, 31 000 Osijek, OIB: 96371000697

    Department of Biology, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek, Cara Hadrijana 8/A, 31 000 Osijek, OIB: 78808975734

TOTAL PROJECT VALUE: HRK 7,326,749.73, of which HRK 5,089,138.20 are grants (support from the European Regional Development Fund)

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD: 36 months (December 20, 2019 – December 20, 2022)

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: Prof. Ph.D. Zdenko Lončarić, vice dean for teaching and quality management and project manager, e-mail: zdenko.loncaric@fazos.hr

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT:

The project includes applied industrial research in TPP Energy and sustainable environment and Food and bioeconomy with impacts on PTPP Sustainable food production and processing and Ecologically acceptable technologies, equipment and advanced materials Smart Specialization Strategy. The implementation also contributes to the goals of the Partnership Agreement between the Republic of Croatia and the European Commission for the use of EU structural and investment funds for growth and jobs in the period 2014-2020. (thematic objective 1) and the Operational Program Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014-2020. (specific objective 1a1) by increasing the market-oriented IRI activity and disseminating the results to the business sector. In addition, the project is aligned with the Innovation Promotion Strategy, the Education, Science and Technology Strategy and the Research Infrastructure Development Plan.

The main interest of the scientific organizations involved in the project is to increase their own capacities for conducting top-quality research and meeting the needs of the economy. Consequently, researchers will increase the scope, quality and relevance of scientific publications in the field of biotechnical and natural sciences, intensify interdisciplinary research activities and improve the quality of teaching activities.

The market analysis established that there is a need for research results among representatives of the economy, which the implementation of the project will enable:

    improvement of vegetable production technology (intensification of vegetable production by development of pelleted organic fertilizers for different types of soil and different systems of vegetable cultivation and development of sustainable production of substrate for vegetable cultivation),

    improving the cultivation of flower seedlings and ornamental potted plants,

    development of technologies for the production of compost, vermicompost, pelleted fertilizers and substrates for growing vegetable and flower seedlings (technological solutions will be developed and thus create prerequisites for the development of a production branch that is completely underdeveloped in the Republic of Croatia, and will contribute to the development of SMEs while at the same time making a major contribution to stopping the degradation of organic substances, i.e. humus in soils, environmental preservation and quality waste disposal by controlled transformation of organic waste into pelleted organic fertilizers, composts, vermicomposts and substrates),

    development of the production and use of devices and equipment for composting and pelleting (the project will multiply the scope of composting and production of pelleted organic fertilizers and there will be an increased demand for composting systems (small, medium and large bioreactors) with a whole range of measuring control devices (sensors for temperature control , humidity, aeration),

    improvement of the production technology of microbiological preparations that will be used as components and/or as conditioners in the production of compost, vermicompost, pelleted fertilizers and substrates.

The aforementioned will be achieved through the implementation of the basic research and development phases of the project.

OBJECTIVE AND EXPECTED RESULTS OF THE PROJECT:

The goal of the project is to increase the innovative potential of scientific organizations by conducting applied research in the TPP Energy and Sustainable Environment and Food and Bioeconomy, as well as the transfer of knowledge and technology to the business community, which is focused on the production of new organic fertilizers and substrates for growing seedlings.

During the implementation of the project, the members of the research team of the Users and partners will:

    determine the actual availability of raw materials for organic fertilizers and the production of components, especially the quantities and seasonal dynamics of availability

    build a system of economic evaluation of raw materials

    build and network the analytical and IT capacities of modern raw material processing technologies

    to investigate the fundamental principles of changes in the properties of raw materials through controlled biological decomposition;

    develop optimal technologies of composting, vermicomposting and microbiological conditioning of available raw materials and their mixtures

    determine the types of microorganisms that will be used as conditioners of certain fertilizers and substrates

    create prototypes of pelleted organic fertilizers

    create prototypes of new substrates for growing different plant species

    evaluate the value of new organic fertilizers and substrates.

The project, in addition to the transfer of technology to the business sector, will act in the direction of achieving scientific and teaching excellence of the involved researchers and the transfer of knowledge and technology to scientists of research centers at the national and international level. 11 scientific publications published in scientific journals indexed on the "Web of Science" platform are planned.

The implementation of the project will create scientific, economic and social values.

LINKS TO RELEVANT INTERNET PAGES:

https://strukturnifondovi.hr/

https://www.safu.hr/

https://mzo.gov.hr/

https://razvoj.gov.hr/

The content of this material is the sole responsibility of the Faculty of Agrobiotechnical Sciences of the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek.