BIOSCHAMP participated in the #EUPartnerEvent titled “Agri-food innovative solutions towards a #ZeroPollutionEU”, organised by Innovarum during the EU Green Week. The project was presented by the project coordinator ASOCHAMP-CTICH (Dr Jaime Carrasco), explaining its contribution to sustainability and circular economy.

BIOSCHAMP was shown as an example of innovative EU project that contributed towards reaching the EU goals. In the following sections you can find a brief summary of the contributions of BIOSCHAMP and the mushroom industry.

Furthermore, BIOSCHAMP’s partner Innovarum has uploaded the video presentations to their vimeo account, where you can watch the full seminar. Find below BIOSCHAMP’s video:

Sustainability: impact of the mushroom production

There are many reasons as to why the mushroom production contributes to sustainability. Some of the highlights that were talked about during the workshop were:

1. Stable production nondependent of climate events.
2. Labour intense, creating jobs, fixing population in rural areas.
3. Sustainable: alternative to meat, suitable for vegans, low-calory and high-quality protein.
4. Source of bioactive products for secondary industries such as medicine

Mushroom production in the Circular Economy

The mushroom industry strongly encourages the principles of circular economy. Some examples are:

1. Usage of waste from livestock, agriculture, and forestry activities that is later turned into food.
2. After the mushroom production “Spent Mushroom Substrate” is generated and later use for:
   • Energy production
   • Substrate as compost
   • Mushroom substrate
   • Animal feed
   • Substrate material
   • Isolation of enzymes and bioactive molecules

BIOSCHAMP’s contributions towards sustainability and circular economy

The BIOSCHAMP projects focuses on the casing layer since is based mostly on peat at the moment. Peat is a non-renewable natural resource, and its extraction is being increasingly restrictive. Taking this into account, BIOSCHAMP aims to develop an alternative to peat that is more sustainable.

Furthermore, BIOSCHAMP contributes to biodiversity protection by diminishing peat mining, which significantly reduces impact on peatlands. It also contributes to climate protection due to the peatlands being an important storage of carbon (sequestering 30% of the carbon globally).

Finally, another contribution is the decreased cost of transportation by making use of local and regional resources.

Why is biostimulation key for BIOSCHAMP?

By incorporating bioestimulation to the casing, the project BIOSCHAMP aims to achieve the following goals:

1. Reducing the use of pesticides. This objective is in line with one of the main EU targets for 2030: “to reduce the use and risk of chemical and more hazardous pesticides by 50%”.
2. Improving mycelium growth and fructification.

In conclusion, BIOSCHAMP aims to develop a tailor-made solution for the mushroom sector where a peat-free soil will serve as a carrier for selected microbiota that will act as a crop biostimulant.