4F CROPS · Future Crops for Food, Feed, Fiber and Fuel

As different sectors – food, feed, fiber, and fuels – compete for land, the yielding potential of the future non-food crops has to be as efficient as possible in order to minimize the competition for land. The main objective of the proposed 4F CROPS is to survey and analyse all the parameters that will play an important role in successful non-food cropping systems in the agriculture of EU27 alongside the existing food crop systems. The work will start (WP1) with the prediction of the future land use in short term (2020) and long term (2030), taking under consideration restrict factors for agriculture and the market demand for non-food crops. The cropping possibilities (WP2) based on regional potential levels, ecology and climate will be determined. This group of non-food crops will be then subjected to a comparative cost analysis with conventional crops (WP3) for the same time framework. Socio-economic impacts, like farmers’ income, rural development, public development, and public acceptance will analyse. Then environmental implications will be assessed compared to their respective conventional products (fossil energy, conversional materials) (WP4). Several environmental impacts will be assessed like soil quality and soil erosion, air quality and climate change, water issues, biodiversity and landscape by using LCA and EIE methods. The regulatory framework of the non-food crops will be considered including existing policies, co-existence and safety measures when the crops used for both food and non-food crops (WP5). The work from WP1 – WP5 will be used for the formation of scenarios for successful non-food cropping alongside food cropping systems (WP6) answering whether a completive bioeconomy is a viable option for EU27. The dissemination (WP7) will be done though the web-site (intranet), the four project workshops and other articles, leaflet, conferences, fact sheets, and links. WP8 aims at the coordination, management and reporting of the project.