DeliSoil Project Advances Circular Solutions for Soil Health at Annual Meeting in Rome and Parma

On May 27-28, ENEA hosted the Annual DeliSoil Consortium Meeting at the Casaccia Research Center in Rome, Italy. The two-day event, organised in a hybrid format, brought together the consortiums 14 partners from academia, industry, and government across 10 countries. The meeting featured a series of presentations, discussions, and interactive sessions to review the project’s progress and plan the next steps.

Day one kicked off with an opening session where project leaders presented updates on the achievements of the first year. Participants engaged in thematic discussions focusing on soil health improvements and the circular use of food production processes. Partners also discussed collaboration opportunities to support the EU Mission Soil’s efforts to enhance soil health through a circular economy approach. The day concluded with a General Assembly meeting and a social dinner, providing an opportunity for deeper networking an collaboration.

Day two began with a tour of ENEA laboratories, followed by sessions on project reporting, data management, and dissemination. Participants then broke into parallel sessions to discuss specific work packages and Living Lab activities. The meeting wrapped up at lunch time when the consortium boarded a train to Parma to visit Living Labs and Lighthouses, managed by the University of Parma and CINSA. Later that evening partners were welcomed at the University of Parma by Prorettore Prof. Fabrizio Storti.

On the 29th of May partners gathered at the Parma Chamber of Commerce to kick off a day of stakeholder engagement including meetings with representatives from various local stakeholders, amongst them the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the Parma Union of Industrialists, and KilometroVerdeParma. Afterwards partners toured nearby living lab facilities including the Rodolfi Mansueto factory, Agugiaro & Figna grain mill, the Stuard experimental farm, the Experimental Station for the Food Preservation Industry (SSICA), and several facilities at the Tecnopolo on the Science and Technology Campus of the University of Parma. These interactions underscored the project’s commitment to sustainable agriculture and the circular economy, showcasing practical examples of how food industry byproducts can be transformed into valuable soil improvers.

This visit highlighted the project’s active engagement with local agri-food supply chains. Ansa Palojärvi, DeliSoil project coordinator, expressed her satisfaction with the progress, emphasising the importance of stakeholder involvement for future success.

“Thanks to the firm commitment of all partners, the project has progressed successfully according to plans. During the visit to Parma, we saw excellent examples of active engagement with stakeholders in the local Living Lab and in creating the regional working group, which are key factors for the future success of the project.”

The DeliSoil annual Consortium Meeting and Parma Living Lab visit was a significant step forward in fostering collaboration, sharing knowledge, and advancing the project’s goals of boosting soil health and sustainability.