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Interreg makes
a difference!
Explore how people in the Baltic Sea region have been benefitting
from our projects.
#MadeWithInterreg solutions for
Agriculture
From reducing emissions from agriculture to rooting in more sustainable and circular practices: all thanks to Interreg.
What are we doing?
Applying a cross-sectoral approach and taking a fresh look at the agricultural practices in place are the starting points to reducing the agriculture’s footprint and bringing it to another, more sustainable, level. Interreg projects have successfully built a favourable policy framework to reduce nutrient loss from agricultural fields and improve handling of animal manure. These days, however, it is not enough to simply harm the environment less. By more careful use of resources, testing new methods and approaches as well as increasing the awareness about it, we can achieve much more. Our projects are showcasing how to do it best.
Examples of #MadeWithInterreg solutions:
- synthesised best practices fed into the Baltic Sea Regional Nutrient Recycling Strategy by HELCOM
- slurry acidification techniques turning manure into fertiliser
- methods for calculating necessary amounts of manure as fertiliser
- network of fruit-growing companies set up to boost the local market
- farm to school programmes
- spreading circular agricultural best practices
- strategies to reuse water and recirculate retained water for agriculture
- strategies to reuse food waste as organic compost
- bio-industrial symbioses among aquaculture, agriculture and industry to reduce emissions
- increased food security by boosting local banks of plant seeds
What we’ve achieved so far
Agriculture brings food to us all. But it is also a major source of nutrient inputs to the Baltic Sea, contributing to high levels of eutrophication. Interreg projects helped find win-win solutions on how to support farmers and care for the environment. In 2003-2006, projects encouraged organic and ecological recycling-based agriculture with a focus on local and regional processing, distribution, and consumption. These practices helped reduce resource consumption and nutrient leakages. In 2009-2014, project partners shared nearly 100 agri-environmental measures that helped farmers improve practices, invest in technology, and reduce nutrient losses while saving money.
In 2016-2021, project partners continued to promote dialogue between environmental and agricultural interests. Farmers in Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden tested slurry acidification techniques, the effectiveness of treated slurry as fertiliser, and running costs. Partners also helped farmers and their advisors make better use of manure resources on nearly 100 farms in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden. Leveraging years of transnational cooperation in agriculture and nutrient management, partners helped develop the new Baltic Sea Regional Nutrient Recycling Strategy by HELCOM. This Strategy guides regional efforts to reduce nutrient losses from agriculture and recycle nutrients till 2030.
Ongoing projects
The ongoing projects continue with spreading good practices on reducing nutrient loss from agricultural fields, e.g. by means of gypsum treatments or setting up efficient industrial symbioses. At the same time, there is a growing interest in working on increasing the resilience of the region by a smarter use of resources: projects focus on reducing and reusing food waste, and improving access to planting material of local potato cultivars. They address an important topic of water reuse and recycling, which, among other things, helps increase the availability of water resources for agriculture. Last but not least, Interreg projects bring the concepts of farm-to-school into practice and build a stronger market for locally produced fruit and vegetables.
Supporting the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region
Our projects play a vital role in achieving the ambitious goals of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) to save the Baltic Sea. In collaboration with the coordinators of the EUSBSR policy areas Nutri and Bioeconomy, our projects reduce nutrient emissions from agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. By doing so, they lessen the pressure on the Baltic ecosystem. Together, they also work to make water and wastewater management more efficient and less resource-intensive.
Explore project solutions in more detail:
Results stay with the people: listen to our #InterregVoices:
© Staffan Lund
The Programme has been very important in delivering solutions for water management in the agricultural landscape. First, it was about building an understanding between the environmental community and agricultural production community of what can be done together. (...) We also thought that water management could drive other economic developments in rural areas. The Programme gave us an opportunity to prove both hypotheses to be true. [Baltic Compass, Baltic Compact and Waterdrive]
Staffan Lund
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
© Eliisa Malin (BSAG)
If farmers would use animal manure precisely according to the crop needs and recycle potential surplus to other farms, we could instantly reduce the nutrient inflow from manure into the Baltic Sea [explaining the challenge addressed in MANURE STANDARDS, and later synthesised in the SuMaNu project platform]
Minna Sarvi
Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)
