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Projects - dr.ir. E (Esther) Ronner

CommonGround Uganda - https://www.wur.nl/web/en/project/commonground-uganda.htm

The CommonGround project works on bottom-up, sustainable development of the (smallholder) agricultural sector to restore the resilience of Ugandan highland watersheds and farming systems. This implies empowering farmers to become self-reliant and to farm and manage their land in balance with nature. The goal of CommonGround is therefore 'to build resilient farmer communities and watersheds in the highlands of Uganda, based on sustainable farming systems, restored watersheds and improved marketing opportunities.'

CommonGround therefore applies the PIP approach (Integrated Farm Planning approach) as its core strategy at farm household and community level, but key-elements of the PIP approach – such as drawing future visions and action plans – will also be used during workshops with local governments, watershed stakeholders and market actors. Through the PIP approach the project will empower and motivate stakeholders to invest in improving their living conditions and natural environment, and to work collectively towards more resilient farms, communities and watersheds.

Sustainable Transition to Entrepreneurial Production in Agriculture through Upgrading (STEP-UP) - //susland.zalf.de/step-up/

PAGRIS - https://www.wur.nl/en/project/soil-fertility-stewardship-project-pagris.htm 

The Projet d’Appui pour une Gestion Responsable et Intégrée des Sols (PAGRIS) is a four-year project (March 2020 – February 2024) funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Burundi, in which Wageningen Environmental Research is involved together with IFDC-Burundi (Project Lead) and Twitezimbere.

PAGRIS seeks to achieve ecologically sustainable land management in Burundi and will work at three plot, slope, and institutional. PAGRIS aims to reach 100,000 smallholder family farms and establish ecologically sustainable management on 14,000 ha of land by scaling the Integrated Farming Plan (PIP) approach as developed by WENR and partners.

Valorisation of waste Towards a digital twin - https://www.wur.nl/en/research-results/research-programmes/research-investment-programmes/digital-twins.htm

In line with global trends, attention for the use of organic inputs in agriculture in Uganda is growing. However, availability of biomass is limited due to poor crop yields and limited availability of good quality, yet underutilized waste streams. One waste stream with potential for improved use is wet coffee pulp from coffee washing stations. And one potential application to add value to this waste stream is the use of black soldier fly (BSF) larvae.

Initial tests show the feasibility of producing BSF on coffee waste with favourable outputs of insect protein and quality of the frass. Yet, it  remains unclear to what extent additional waste streams of are needed to optimize the BSF production process, and how feedstock composition affects nutrient composition of BSF larvae and frass. Also, questions arise around the logistical organisation of the BSF production process in terms of scale and (seasonal) availability of waste streams. The optimisation of the BSF production process and its logistical organisation require advanced decision models. In this project, we will study to what extent, given limited availability of (real-time) data the development of a digital twin is feasible and desirable.