TUDI- Transforming Unsustainable management of soils in key agricultural systems in EU and China. Developing an integrated platform of alternatives to reverse soil degradation. GA NUMBER 101000224
Progetto TUdi is conceived as a transformative project, integrating 15 academic and SME partners, to develop, upscale and
disseminate soil restoring strategies in three major agricultural systems (cereal based rotations, tree crops and grasslands),
different farm typologies and environmental conditions in Europe, China and New Zealand. Aimed to lead the way in
improving soil health across EU, China and New Zealand, it rests on two pillars: 1) a network of 42 cooperating stakeholder
organisations for defining, implementing and upscaling soil restoring strategies in multiple farms; b) a network of 66 long-
term experiments and monitored farms in the participating countries. From them, TUdi will identify soil degradation
situations, proven strategies for restoring soil health, and barriers and possibilities for its adoption at farm level, including
gender dimensions. This bottom-up approach will develop a set of digital tools, compatible with platforms for optimizing CAP
implementation in Europe, to predict the impact of these strategies on nutrient and water balance, yield, cost-benefit and
farm operations. They will guide farmers in implementing strategies to restore soil health by overcoming barriers for
adoption, with rigorous cost-benefit analyses central to farmer appraisal. Solutions will be scaled up over a large number of
farms through partners engaged in the cooperators network, including training of stakeholders, developing technical
materials and elaborating policy briefs. It will be complemented by communicating project challenges and results to society,
raising awareness of the relevance of healthy soils for sustainable development. Providing a blueprint for development and
dissemination of soil restoring strategies at large scale, it will contribute to key initiatives like the EU and China Research
Agenda for Agriculture and EU Mission on Soil Heath and Food. Training farmers, staff and early career scientists in
sustainable soil use will result in lasting legacy.