What we face
As stated
by The European Commission, the sustainability in agriculture and rural areas
across the EU can be significantly supported thanks to the common agricultural policy (CAP) which provide the combination
of the social, economic, and environmental approaches on the path towards
achieving a sustainable system in the particular countries and the union as the
whole. This approach has been developed as most of these activities are sustained by good environmental conditions,
which allow farmers to harness natural resources, create their produce and through
their selling on the regional and global markets, obtain financial resources as
the reward which enables them sustains farm families and rural communities,
while the food produced by agriculture sustains society as a whole.
The focus
to encourage the stakeholders within the field of agriculture is very important
as they can significantly help when fulfilling the proposed aims of the Green Deal, as e.g.:building
a sustainable food system through the Farm to Fork strategy;·
- adding
to the new biodiversity strategy by protecting and enhancing the
variety of plants and animals in the rural ecosystem;·
- contributing
to the climate action of the Green Deal to achieve the
goal of net-zero emissions in the EU by 2050;·
- supporting
the updated forestry strategy, to be announced in 2020, by maintaining healthy
forests;·
- contributing
to a zero pollution action plan, to be set out in 2021, by safeguarding natural
resources such as water, air and soil.
How we act
As stated in the The Strategy of Adaptation of the
Slovak Republic to the Adverse Consequences of Climate Change agriculture is highly exposed to the adverse effects of climate change because agricultural activities are directly dependent on climatic conditions.
Raising atmospheric CO2 concentrations, increase in average annual air
temperature, changes in annual the course and time of precipitation and the
frequency of extreme weather events have an impact on water resources, soil,
the occurrence of pests and diseases, affect quantity, quality and stability food
production and lead to changes in both plant and animal production.
And that is the reason why was proposed new
approach - Climate-friendly agriculture – which is an integrative approach to interconnected solutions challenges in
the field of food security and climate change, with a view to sustainable
development increased productivity, resilient systems of agricultural and food
security through measures to adapt to climate change and remove greenhouse
gases (mitigation) following the main European strategy - Common Agricultural Policy.
The concrete actions and their supporting tools
were defined in the Rural Development Programme
2014-2020 in which
can be found 3 strategic goals:
- Strengthening
the competitiveness of the agricultural sector
- Sustainable
management of natural resources and adaptation to climate change
- Balanced
territorial development of rural economies and communities, including job
creation and maintenance
What we do
Since 2018
we are proud partner of the Knowledge and Innovation Community - EIT Climate-KIC - Europe's largest public-private partnership with the mission to
support climate innovation and adaptation, strongly supported also by the European
Union. Thanks to this membership, as well as other active communication and
cooperation activities with partners from all over the world we can be informed
about the new trends and technologies and transfer this new knowledge to our
regional network or even further develop them within wide range of our project
activities supported by national and international grant programmes.
TUKE, as
respected leader of regional quadruple-helix innovation network, act as the
pioneer of innovations, encouraging other stakeholders to reflect to the actual
challenges implementing new technologies and social innovations also in the
topic as intelligent and sustainable
agriculture, including the precision farming, smart hydroponic systems, automation
of processes using variety of sensors and IoT, supported especially by digital
technologies.
Moreover,
the connection to latter stages of the food value chains to decrease the level
of waste is of our interest – The possibilities of making the food bio-waste
generated at the canteens at schools and social facilities circular – using it
in the agricultural production (after composting or processed in bio-gas plant)
– have been evaluated in the CITYCIRCLE project (Interreg Central Europe), as a
pilot activity of the Circular Economy Strategy in Košice Region, with very
high potential of replicability in the canteens, especially controlled by City
of Kosice and Kosice Self-governing Region. Another example is the innovative Urban Food System – digital market
of agricultural products which has been developed as the activity of the
project URBAN INNO (Interreg Central Europe Programme). The efforts lead to the
development of a digital marketplace of agricultural products to match the
local production of the rural areas with the demand mainly from urban areas, creating
new value chains, which helps to increase the percentage of agricultural
production processed in the region with higher added-value, trigger the
improvement of storing, logistical and
selling infrastructure for local products and improve attractiveness of local products through improved visual
design.
Our various activities supporting innovation
development in various forms supporting the development of sustainable agriculture are regularly implemented as well as needed capacity building initiatives targeting the weak points of farmers´ businesses,
including the eco and bio-farming techniques, servitization and new business
models. Also, new business and cooperating models are being developed
enabling the circularity of machinery and joint procurements among group of
farmers, increasing the economic efficiency of the processes with lower
negative environmental impacts.
Opportunities
Would you
like to support transition to the Green Economy?
Let´s find an opportunity for cooperation within open calls under Horizon Europe, Interreg Europe, Interreg Central Europe, or Interreg Danube for the topic of Sustainable Agriculture.
Would you
like to cooperate with us in the joint project development?
Do not
hesitate and click on the button below to meet with us!