Social acceptability of innovative nutrient management strategies to recycle nutrients

摘要

Specialisation, both on farm and at regional level, is a common trend in European agriculture. The driving factor behind this is economies of scale, resulting in specialised farms replacing traditional mixed farming systems. This farm specialisation also co-evolves with an increased reliance on external inputs, such as nutrients (in the form of e.g. fertiliser) and energy, in turn leading to additional environmental pressure. Within regions consisting of mostly specialised farms, nutrient recycling becomes a crucial element when attempting agricultural sustainability. INEMAD (Improved Nutrient and Energy Management through Anaerobic Digestion), a European FP7-project, searches for innovative strategies in reconnecting livestock and crop production to reduce the reliance on external inputs. The processing sector, which uses primary products to produce renewable energy and green fertilizers, is assigned an important role as a third party to close the nutrient cycle (www.INEMAD.eu).