Legumes Translated

Legumes Translated brings developers of grain legume crops (protein crops) and related value chains together in an EU Framework Programme Thematic Network. This provides a knowledge platform for the development of legume crop (or protein crop) production and use. The overall goal is to increase the production and use of grain legume crops in Europe as part of an overall change in how protein is sourced and used in Europe.

Project duration: Nov 2018 to Oct 2021

Project consortium

This project is coordinated by Jens Dauber, Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institut. The partners are:

• Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute
• Donal Murphy-Bokern
• Donau Soja
• Scotland’s Rural College
• University of Helsinki
• The Circa Group Europe Limited
• Agricultural Technology Centre Augustenberg
• Research Institute of Organic Agriculture
• Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Teagasc)
• Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research
• NIREUS Aquaculture
• THESGI Farmers’ Cooperative of Thessaly
• Agrobioinstitute
• Schwaebisch Hall Producers (BESH)
• Hessen Department of Agricultural Affairs (LLH)
• Stonegate Farmers Ltd.
• Arvum Seed Technology
• Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops (IFVC)

Project description

The overall aim of Legumes Translated is to increase the production and use of grain legume crops as part of a European Protein Transition.

There is already knowledge and capacity available through local, regional and international initiatives. We aim to stimulate innovation by building on these existing initiatives by networking actor groups linked to them. The project’s objectives are:

Technical change and innovation

• to expertly exchange and synthesise Actor Groups’ existing technical results, data, and knowledge and to adapt this for use in other contexts;
• to validate the wider economic effects and relevance of innovation based on Actor Groups knowledge by supporting Actor Groups and Transition Networks with sound economic assessments;
• to validate the environmental effects of innovations to ensure that project outputs support a wide range of ecosystem services;
• to compile technical, economic, environmental and social knowledge at farming system and value chain level within sector-oriented sub-networks (‘Transition Networks);
• to provide access to the consortium’s knowledge resources by building an internet-based knowledge platform that provides easy access to the compiled knowledge in a way that supports the EIP Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP Agri);

Institutional and organisational innovation

• to improve alliances, cooperation and innovative activities for improved farming systems and value chains by integrating knowledge from different actors along value chains in Transition Networks; and
• to contribute to the knowledge of the policy community as part of value chains by assessing the relevance of Actor Groups’ knowledge and translating it for policy development.

Acknowledgements

Legumes Trandslated has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 817634.