Who we are
TRAILS4SOIL is a consortium of 22 research and agricultural organisations in Europe, coordinated by the University of Cordoba.
The project is co-funded by the EU’s Horizon Europe programme (Grant agreement ID: 101218949) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).
Project partners
University of Cordoba
Spain
University of Evora
Portugal
Bern University of Applied Sciences
Switzerland
Boden Leben
Austria
Research Institute of Organic Agriculture
Switzerland
Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform
Switzerland
University of Cluj-Napoca
Romania
University of Ljubljana
Slovenia
University of Teramo
Italy
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University of Cordoba – Spain
The University of Cordoba is an international leader in Regenerative and Conservation Agriculture. The University project manages TRAILS4SOIL (Work Package 8), and leads on Benchmarking, Monitoring and Impact Assessment (Work Package 4) for the project.
Picture of Professor Emilio González-Sánchez
University of Evora – Portugal
The University of Evora is a pioneer in conservation agriculture research and dissemination. On TRAILS4SOIL, it leads on the Implementation of Regenerative and Conservation Agriculture Practices and the selection of lighthouses (Work Package 3), and co-leads Living Lab 1 which assesses permanent crops.
Picture of Professor Gottlieb Basch
National Scientific Center Institute of Agriculture of NAAS – Ukraine
NAAS is a leading agricultural research institution in Ukraine with a strong focus on sustainable agriculture and international collaboration. It is participating in TRAILS4SOIL’s Living Lab 4, which investigates the preservation of black soil.
Picture of Dr Anton Tkachenko
Bern University of Applied Sciences – Switzerland
The University has a record of advancing sustainable agricultural practices and conducts long-term trials on regenerative and conservation agriculture. It is responsible for overall coordination of TRAILS4SOIL’s Living Labs. It also leads Living Lab 2 which assesses regenerative agriculture approaches in organic farming systems.
Picture of Dr. Bernhard Streit
Boden Leben – Austria
Boden Leben is a 650-member farmer association promoting soil health and conservation agriculture. On TRAILS4SOIL, it is a participant in Living Lab 2 which assesses regenerative agriculture approaches in organic farming systems.
Picture of Hans Gnauer
Countryside & Community Research Institute – UK
The Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) at the University of Gloucestershire (UoG) is a leading UK rural research social science centre with specialisms in stakeholder engagement, social assessments, dissemination and communication. It leads Communication, Dissemination, and Stakeholder Engagement (Work Package 6) on TRAILS4SOIL.
Pictures of Dr Jane Mills, Dr Charlotte Chivers, Michelle Kilfoyle
European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture – Germany
This farmer-led advocacy organisation promotes regenerative agriculture. It contributes across all elements of TRAILS4SOIL, with a particular focus on stakeholder engagement.
Picture of Simon Kraemer
European Conservation Agriculture Federation – Belgium
ECAF is an NGO with members in 19 European countries. Founded in 1999, it focuses on conservation agriculture. The organisation leads Work Package 7 on TRAILS4SOIL, which focuses on the exploitation of research results and the long-term sustainability of the Living Labs.
Picture of Julio Román Vázquez
German Association for Conservation Tillage – Germany
The Association has 25+ years of experience in soil protection and conservation agriculture. It participates in TRAILS4SOIL’s Living Lab 3, which investigates how to improve soil health for climate change adaptation.
Picture of Dr Jana Epperlein
Institute for European Environmental Policy – Belgium
The IEEP is a sustainability think tank with over 40 years of experience in European policy development in areas including agriculture, biodiversity, climate change, and water policies. It leads Policy Development, Advocacy, and Capacity Building (Work Package 5) for TRAILS4SOIL.
Pictures of Dr Melanie Muro, Dr Hermann Kam
National Center for Research and Seeds Production – Moldova
The research centre is experienced in long-term field experiments on sustainable agriculture and international engagement. It participates in TRAILS4SOIL’s Living Lab 4 which investigates the preservation of black soil.
Picture of Professor Boris Boincean
Research Institute of Organic Agriculture – Switzerland
A global leader in organic agriculture research with a network of 150 organic farms. Its strengths include co-designing assessments and soil health monitoring frameworks. It participates in Living Lab 2 on TRAILS4SOIL, which assesses regenerative agriculture approaches in organic farming systems.
Picture of Tim Schmid
Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform – Switzerland
Global organisation with more than 190 members, aligning sustainability efforts in the food and beverage sector. It aims to create markets for sustainably sourced products, which includes those produced with regenerative agricultural processes. Under TRAILS4SOIL’s Work Package 7, it leads on the development of a framework to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Living Labs, the identification of market opportunities that emerge from the Labs, and the development of business models.
Picture of Rozanne Davis
Slovenian Association for Conservation Agriculture – Slovenia
Farmer association promoting conservation agriculture in Slovenia. It participates in TRAILS4SOIL’s Living Lab 5, which assesses how Conservation Agriculture with crop-livestock integration could enhance soil health.
Picture of Simon Ograjsek
South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences – Germany
The University has expertise in soil compaction, cover cropping, and soil protection. It leads Living Lab 3 on TRAILS4SOIL, which looks at how to improve soil health for climate change adaptation.
Professor Wolfgang Stauss
Spanish Conservation Agriculture Living Soils Association – Spain
Non-profit organisation promoting sustainable farming practices with more than 1500 members and farm network management experts. It leads Living Lab 1 on TRAILS4SOIL, assessing the impacts of permanent crops.
Picture of Dr Oscar Veroz
University of Cluj-Napoca – Romania
The University has more than 30 years of expertise in Agrotechnics and Soil Sciences, with a focus on sustainable agriculture and climate change. It leads TRAILS4SOIL’s Living Lab 4, which investigates the preservation of black soil.
Picture of Professor Teodor Rusu
University of Greenwich – UK
The University has broad expertise in agricultural economics and farmer decision-making in sustainable agriculture. It co-leads the selection of soil health and socioeconomic indicators under Work Package 4 (Benchmarking, Monitoring and Impact Assessment) of TRAILS4SOIL.
Picture of Dr Baqir Lalani
University of Ljubljana – Slovenia
The participating research group specialises in soil quality and is experienced in national and international projects. It leads Living Lab 5 for TRAILS4SOIL, which assesses how Conservation Agriculture with crop-livestock integration could enhance soil health.
Picture of Rok Mihelic
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences – Austria
The University has extensive experience in soil health and agricultural transformation, and actively engages in national and international networks. On TRAILS4SOIL, it leads Work Package 1 (Co-Creation of soil health Living Labs Structure, Stakeholder Engagement, and Set-up of Living Labs) and participates in Living Lab 2, which assesses regenerative agriculture approaches in organic farming systems.
Picture of Dr Gernot Bodner
University of Teramo – Italy
The University is experienced in advancing vegetable crop management through technology and sustainable intensification, and in precision farming. It leads the selection and refinement of regenerative and conservation agricultural practices (Work Package 2) for TRAILS4SOIL.
Picture of Professor Michele Pisante
Young Farmer Association (ASAJA Seville) – Spain
This representative agricultural organisation is a powerful advocate and has over 200,000 members in Spain. It contributes across all elements of TRAILS4SOIL, its focuses include stakeholder engagement and the exploitation of the project’s results.
Picture of Jose Fernando Robles