Two research projects with Brazil (FAPESP) awarded on sustainable biomass production for a biobased economy

Description

The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and NWO have awarded grants to two joint research projects within the Cooperation Brazil - the Netherlands research programme (part of the Merian Fund). The projects will contribute to the knowledge about sustainable biomass production for a biobased economy by conducting multidisciplinary research focusing on sustainable use of landscape.

The two projects will investigate context-specific solutions in the area of biomass production, in order to draw generalised lessons for settings elsewhere. The challenges that these regions in Brazil are facing are similar to problems in other parts of the world. This is why the research results of these studies will also be very valuable to other contexts elsewhere.

Sustainable citriculture through controlled release of antibacterial compounds from microgel-based formulations
Principal Investigators: prof. dr. Dirk-Jan Scheffers (Groningen University) and dr. Henrique Ferreira (State University of São Paulo at Rio Claro (UNESP-RC))

Consortium partners, including cooperation partners: Institute for Research in Bioenergy (IPBEN/UNESP-RC), Fundecitrus, State University of São Paulo at Araraquara (UNESP-Araraquara), AGTTEC, Santa Clara Agrociência, Maastricht University

Copper salts are commonly used in (organic) agriculture to combat bacterial and fungal pests, but they accumulate in soil and have detrimental effects on crops and soil. In this project, sustainable pesticides including microgel delivery technology for their application will be developed and tested in the field. Their effectiveness to protect against plant disease and their impact on the soil will be evaluated.

Merian Fund

This programme falls under the Merian Fund. This is a fund for international cooperation with upcoming science countries, with a focus on further stimulating joint, impact-oriented research. The common thread within the Merian Fund is international research to promote the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals worldwide.

The Merian Fund cooperates with seven partners in five countries: FAPESP (Brazil), NSFC and CAS (China), DST and DBT (India), RISTEKBRIN (Indonesia) and the NRF (South Africa). NWO-WOTRO Science for Global Development is responsible for the implementation of the calls under the Merian Fund.