Research project PRO-NOOT: Professionalizing nut cultivation in Flanders

General introduction

Flemish farmers a are increasingly looking to diversify, and nut cultivation is seen by many as an interesting option. The growing interest in and acreage of walnuts and hazelnuts is partly the result of increasing awareness of climate change, biodiversity loss and sustainable food production, among both consumers and producers.
Over the years, a number of specific problems and challenges were raised from within the sector, such as (1) the limited knowledge of cultivation techniques (choice of species and varieties, management, interaction with the environment, etc.), (2) the lack of knowledge in the field of integrated crop protection against pests and diseases in nut cultivation, (3) the need for knowledge to safeguard product quality during and after harvesting, and (4) the lack of a well-functioning product chain.

Research approach

With PRO-NOOT, we aim to address needs and bottlenecks by:

Increasing knowledge through info sheets on nut cultivation, demonstrations, field visits and knowledge exchange moments;Developing an integrated crop protection protection (IPM) strategy based on literature and monitoring on practical plots;Provide good practices from harvest to processing and storage through info sheets, demonstrations, product analyses and the development of a sector guide on nut production;Address various pain points in the nut chain through a market study, exploration of different revenue models, a cost-benefit tool, storytelling and marketing.

Relevance/Valorization

With PRO-NOOT we focus on Flemish farmers, horticulturists and companies that want to start growing and/or processing walnuts and/or hazelnuts as the main target group. The link with policy themes such as healthy nutrition, the Flemish Protein Strategy, climate mitigation and adaptation means that project results are also relevant to the entire society and the Flemish agricultural landscape.

Financing

VLAIO