RUSTICA – demonstration of circular biofertilisers and implementation of optimized fertiliser strategies and value chain in rural communities

The RUSTICA project provides a technical solution to convert organic residues from the fruit and vegetable sector into novel bio-based fertiliser products of high quality that address the needs of modern (organic) agriculture. The project’s ambition goes beyond the simple recovery of nutrients, and also includes the developments of economically viable and environmentally sustainable alternatives to mineral fertilisers with the same or improved agronomic value. The technical solution consists of 5 conversion processes (carboxylic acid platform, microbial biomass production, electrodialysis, insect breeding and biochar production) which can be combined depending on the available waste streams, and integrated with state-of-the-art technologies such as composting. The resulting ingredients (microbial biomass, mineral nutrient concentrates, insect biomass, insect frass, insect chitin, biochar) will be combined to obtain tailor made fertiliser products adapted to specific crop needs. Parallel with this technological innovation and integration, a multi-actor approach guarantees the implementation potential of the technologies in the agro-food chain, and will lead to sound business models. Several non-technical aspects (environmental and social LCA, legal framework, expected market developments, etc.) will be evaluated in 4 European regions (Pays de la Loire in France, Flanders in Belgium, Almeria in Spain, Friuli-Venezia Giulia in Italy) and 1 region in Colombia (Valle del Cauca). Stakeholder involvement at each step guarantees the development of marketable end products for the fruit and vegetable sector, with a high replication potential to other agricultural sectors. Cooperation with other EU-funded projects working on nutrient recovery from other waste products will stimulate a joint solution to evolve toward a sustainable and circular fertiliser management to close nutrient cycles within and between regions.