History

Agri-food activity is currently accompanied by a number of problems which are in the spotlight and are a concern for players with responsibility in this field. These include the amount of waste that is generated and the use of production inputs with negative effect (especially synthesis products such as pesticides, fertilizers, growth regulators, etc.)

In the case of waste whey from the dairy industry can be considered. While it can be reused in some cases as cattle feed as it has been done traditionally, we are dealing with a product that can cause environmental problems as it increases the biological and chemical demand for oxygen in the ecological niche where it is present. Crop residues must also be considered. While it is a widespread practice to use them as cattle feed or lieu burning them. They are limited alternatives for the reuse of the total volume that is generated in a community such as Extremadura where the agri-food sector has a considerable presence.

In case of the latter, production inputs like pesticides deserve extra attention as they have created a wide range of environmental and health problems for the farmer and the final consumer.

Fully aware of this, the National Technological Centre of Food and Agriculture "Extremadura", CTAEX and Extremeña de Abonos Líquidos SL (EAL) have submitted a project to LIFE+ call which provides a solution to these two problems: agri-food waste and pesticides.

The LIFE+ programme is the financial instrument of the EU that supports environment and nature conservation projects under three themes: 1) Nature and biodiversity, 2) Environmental policy and governance and 3) Information and communication. The project presented in this article belongs to the second topic.