Trans-Control
Trans-Control: Towards an agro-ecological transition through integrated pest management and biocontrol solutions: an innovative cross-border approach.
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griculture continues to face a variety of challenges, climate change being one of the most significant in recent years. As a result, aspects such as disease and pest control are becoming more difficult to manage due to changing weather conditions and hazards. In addition, European agriculture wants to become highly sustainable, and rightly so. This strategy is outlined in the “Farm to Fork” strategy, part of the “Green Deal”. In particular, it involves reducing chemical inputs, i.e. crop protection chemicals (or plant protection products). This change in available inputs also implies a change in pest control strategies adopted by growers. It's this latter aspect that we want to focus on with the Trans-Control project: the transition to better integrated pest and disease management in agriculture. To achieve this, we are calling on a group of partners with years of expertise in this field and values in the respective regions (Hauts-de-France, Wallonia and Flanders).
As part of the Biocontrol 4.0 project portfolio, Trans-Control will validate innovative biocontrol solutions and digital prediction and detection methods under field conditions. The ultimate aim is to be able to deploy successful combinations of digital tools and biocontrol methods with growers (pilot farms). These tools will enable growers to determine the optimum conditions for intervention in their crops, thus achieving a more effective approach. Other projects in the Biocontrol 4.0 portfolio are closely linked to the Trans-Control project: the Trans-Lipo and Trans-Pest projects are responsible for developing these biocontrol solutions, while Trans-e-Bio is developing the digital tools. Thanks to strong cooperation, the Trans-Control partners will be able to test and propose a deployable solution to growers. Such research is therefore necessary in view of the challenges mentioned above. The cross-border aspect of this research is an essential added value. Many problems cross national borders, but legislation or available approaches do not. This cooperation therefore enables us to explore solutions that benefit producers in both countries and in all the regions of the Interreg France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen program.
To arrive at these solutions, research and validation studies will take place in the field within the Trans-Control project to help improve the solutions developed (digital tools and biocontrol tools). In the next phase, field trials will be carried out at scale to produce a practicable solution. The final phase will involve merging and refining the combined solution, by deploying a detection or prediction technique in combination with biocontrol tools. This final system is the intended end product.
Innovative approaches of this kind need to be widely disseminated if they are to be accepted in the industry. The partnership's extensive network of farmers, advisors and other stakeholders already offers a broad reach. Through field visits, study days, articles and newsletters, results and experience will be shared with interested parties. In addition, Facebook and LinkedIn will also be used to post frequent updates on the Trans-Control project. The website will give visitors access to project results and publications. Finally, courses and workshops will also be developed in collaboration with Trans-Training to summarize and communicate these results in a more structured way.
This comprehensive approach will enable us to better deploy useful and innovative biocontrol agents through collaboration with digital tools, and thus reduce the use of phytosanitary products. This in turn will reduce their negative impact on the environment. In this way, we support the transition to a more agro-ecological way of growing crops.
