We are delighted to announce the official start of BEATLES, a Horizon Research & Innovation project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No. 101060645, with a budget of approximately €3.9 million. The project started in July 2022 and will last for 48 months.
On July 18th 2022 the project’s kick-off meeting was held at the premises of the Agricultural University of Athens. During the meeting, all partners presented their involvement and responsibilities in the project and shared their ideas and ambitions for a successful implementation and achievement of specific project objectives.
BEATLES aspires to change the way agri-food systems currently operate and accelerate the systemic and systematic behavioural shift to climate-smart agriculture and smart farming technologies fully aligned with the ambitions of the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies, and the new CAP at regional and EU levels. Five different food systems representing the major crop and livestock farming systems in Europe (cereals, dairy, stone fruits, livestock, vegetables) in various EU regions (Western, Eastern, Southern and Northern Europe), will be studied to account for the diversity in agri-food systems and conditions in the EU. BEATLES will provide a set of business strategies establishing roadmaps for a fair shift towards climate-smart agriculture, based on environmental, social, and economic sustainability assessments. Moreover, a series of policy recommendations and tools will be developed to foster behaviourally informed policy design and implementation.
The BEATLES consortium, led by the Agricultural University of Athens, consists of 18 partners across 10 European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). The consortium members are: AgriFood Lithuania DIH, Agricultural University of Athens, Wageningen University & Research, University of Copenhagen, AEIDL, SEI – Stockholm Environment Institute, National Technical University of Athens, Q-Plan International Advisors PC, Naturland, INTIA, Delphy BV, FBCD, ZPS, Sustainable Innovations, ART21, Agro Digital Solutions, and KPAD Ltd.
The consortium will launch its social media accounts and website in due time to publicise all project activities. Stay tuned!