The legumES will ensure: 1, the uptake of best practices in agrobiodiverse legume-based cropped systems; 2, the uptake of methodologies and tools to quantify and balance the environmental and economic ecosystem service (ES) benefits provided by legumes; 3, that the ES benefits and cost offered by legumes are quantified across scales from field, farm, regional, national, and global levels; and 4, ES will be assessed to identify those conditions which are able to meet the EU targets: to decrease agrichemical inputs and losses, combat climate change, reverse biodiversity loss, and ensure the best nutritional provisioning. To achieve this, legumES offers a multi-disciplinary consortium comprising 22 partners from 12 EU- and third countries (UK, CH) and including: 7, academic institutions; 6, Research and Technology Organizations; 5, SMEs (or micro-SMEs); 2, non-governmental organisations; and 2, large commercial companies. The individuals comprising legumES offer skills which include: agricultural-crop and -environment (ES) monitoring, life cycle assessment, economic- and socioeconomic-modelling, social-science, EU-agricultural and environmental policy, and law, plus decision support systems. The legumES research and innovation strategy centres on the use of a multiactor action-research approach, that is, where legume-facing stakeholders, and especially producers though all value chains actors, can ‘operate’, ‘collaborate’ and, reflect critically’ on the measured ES benefits and costs of legume-based cropped systems, including legumes use in marginal lands; so that an optimal balance of ES can be achieved with success locally, and globally. To help achieve this LegumES also centres activities on a suite of 25 innovative legume-based Pilot Studies which use a wide range of legume species and types, plus different cropping approaches and linked value chains spanning the pedoclimatic regions of Europe.

The approach of BIOVALUE project is to set-up a holistic perspective, under the “multi-actor” approach, to analyse the link between biodiversity, the agro-food value chain agents, the environment, consumer food preferences and health. By employing a bottom-up vertical approach to develop the BIOVALUE TOOL, a dynamic and customizable agri-food value chain vis-a-vis biodiversity analysis tool, the proposal tries to introduce, model, evaluate, breed, produce and spread specifically selected genetically diverse underutilized crops (cereals, legumes, leafy and fruity vegetables) and develop final marketable, certified and labelled culinary products incorporating them (dish recipes and processed foodstuff), that enhance agro-biodiversity to the applied agro-ecosystems and appeal to the consumers, securing their future market performance and concurrently, their cultivation viability. Moreover, in a modelled user-friendly ready-to-work framework, the project will produce a set of key performance indicators destined to measure policy quality and impact, environmental evolution and compliance with regulations of introducing underutilized, genetically diverse crops to the value chain and are by design expandable to further enhance biodiversity in the value chain. Ultimately, this expanding nature, is highlighted by the complimentary effects of BIOVALUE processed and unprocessed final food products and dishes such as low energy consumption, environmental cultivation resiliency to marginal landscapes and future climate, as well as nutritional and health benefits. Incorporating the market power in the whole approach, the proposal can lead towards self-supported sustainability of biodiversity in the future.

TRUE - (TRansition paths to sUstainable legume based systems in Europe) is a 22 partner consortium covering business and society actors from legume commodity production, processing, and citizens. TRUE is underpinned by science excellence in the natural and social sciences, and humanities. The main aim of TRUE is to identify and enable transition paths to realise successful legume-supported production systems and agri-feed and -food chains. This is achieved via: a true multi-actor approach that balances environmental, economic- and social-securities by minimising environmental impact; optimising diversity and resilience in commercial and environmental terms throughout the supply chain; and delivery of excellent nutrition to ensure the highest possible states of health and wellbeing for people and animals. TRUE will achieve this using a series of 15 farm networks and 7 supply chain focused innovation Case Studies to characterise key mechanisms and associated ecosystem services indicators. This will empower the production of popular and novel legume-based products on the basis of improved market perspectives and capabilities, including short supply chains. Advanced mathematical approaches using Life Cycle Analysis, and socioeconomic and multi-attribute modelling will create unique Decision Support Tools to identify optimal transition paths to ensure legume supported systems are profitable from ‘the push’, of production, to ‘the pull’ of upstream supply chains, markets and consumers. Critically, the TRUE approach will also advise and empower policy amendments that promote uptake of new farming, processing, manufacturing and retailing practices, in line with the societal considerations of the Responsible Research and Innovation model: policy decision making with state-of-the-art science-based information. The TRUE approach is also augmented by an Intercontinental Advisory Board of 10 international experts in legume supply chain and policy from around the world.

PROSPER will provide sustainable technical solutions based on the valorization of highly resilient orphan legumes (OLs) for: i) diversification in agriculture, allowing farmers’ access to a wider range of selected cultivars (cvs) and enhance productivity under challenging environments, ii) diversification of value chains, promoting a wider range of products for food processing/biocircular economy industries. PROSPER will act in Mediterranean/Central/North Europe, covering different geographic regions/pedoclimatic conditions. A multi-actor approach will ensure that PROSPER meets the real needs of stakeholders/end-users who will play active roles in the co-creation of technical solutions. Participatory Spatial Explicit Information Services will provide on-demand information for PROSPER actors (information/knowledge creators/end-users). Based on Partners’ expertise/achievements gained in former/ongoing projects, PROSPER will develop beyond state-of-the-art knowledge concerning novel resilient accessions (source of agrobiodiversity), their performance under environmental constrains and nutritional value. Technology transfer and demonstration actions will be promoted to share PROSPER knowledge, translated into beyond state-of-the-art sustainable technologies. By successfully promoting the use of OLs, PROSPER will improve crop diversity and environmental resilience, fostering socioeconomic development and sustainability in farming practices across diverse European regions. Direct drivers of biodiversity decline will be understood and addressed. Biodiversity, ecosystem services and natural capital will be mainstreamed in the society and economy. Practices in agriculture will be developed and improved. Biodiversity research and support policies and processes will be interconnected at EU and global levels.