Facilitating innovations

Many innovations involve changes which transcend the individual business or are only achievable when various businesses and/or interested parties take up the challenge together. In System Innovation Programmes, the necessary innovations are facilitated by means of workshops related to specific areas and by forming socio-technical networks

Applied Biotechnology to combat the late blight in potato caused by Phytophthora infestans

Potato is an important crop, grown worldwide. It suffers from many pests and diseases among which late blight, caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans, is the worst. The disease is still causing major damage in many potato production areas and control is only possible by applying fungicides frequently. The knowledge on the molecular biology and genetics of the interaction between the plant and the oomycete is developing rapidly. These are relevant fields of study, currently dominated by the discovery of many resistance genes and numerous effector proteins and the analysis of their specific mode of action. These studies may yield essential information needed for the development of durable resistance. The long-term and worldwide effort to breed for resistance so far has had little effect. A novel breeding approach may change this. It is based on cisgenic modification (CM) consisting of marker-free pyramiding of several resistance genes and their spatial and temporal deployment yielding dynamic varieties that contain potato genes only. It is envisioned that this CM approach with potato¿s own genes will not only prove societally acceptable but may also result in simplifications in the legislation on use of the CM approach. Various parties in the potato research arena intend to cooperate in this novel approach in a number of developing countries where potato substantially contributes to food security. The use of resources such as land, water and energy improves when the effect of late blight is markedly reduce

Bezoek op het multifunctionele boerenerf

Steeds meer boeren bieden recreatie, educatie of zorg aan of verkopen producten direct aan de consument. Daar verdienen ze vaak goed aan. De publiekscontacten kunnen echter spanningen geven, bijvoorbeeld bij dierziektes of verkeersproblemen. Wageningse onderzoekers werken met boeren en experts aan oplossingen

Agromere verbindt boeren en burgers in Almere oost

Landbouw een plaats terug geven in de stad vraagt een verandering in ons denken en doen. In het project Agromere is het gelukt belangrijke stakeholders te verbinden aan stadslandbouw in Almere Oost. Cruciaal in dat proces was stakeholdermanagemen

Boeren maken de stad

Praktijkonderzoek Plant en Omgeving (PPO) ontwikkelde in Almere samen met betrokkenen – van boeren en natuurorganisaties tot gemeenteambtenaren en projectontwikkelaars – concepten voor landbouw in de stad, waar mensen ook graag gaan wonen