FASCINATING

the highest possible nutritional value within a sustainable agricultural system

FASCINATING is an open testing and innovation programme that connects businesses, the agricultural sector, knowledge institutions, and the community, for the purpose of achieving a communal goal: delivering the highest possible nutritional value within a nature inclusive, sustainable, and circular agricultural system.

The Northern Netherlands boasts available agricultural land as well as a large-scale industrial infrastructure for the processing of biomass. In combination with the availability of sustainable energy, the presence of knowledge institutions and a strongly-developed chemical industry, this offers our region a unique combination of all the available ingredients to create the future of agriculture.

Future prospects for farmers

FASCINATING (in full: Food Agro Sustainable Circular Nature Technology in Groningen) combines sustainability and nature with economic impact. An innovative project, comprising the entire chain from farmer to consumer, working towards sustainable and high-quality proteins, and making a positive contribution to biodiversity while also providing prospects for the future to farmers using a new revenue model. Het zet in op duurzame en hoogwaardige eiwitten, levert een positieve bijdrage aan biodiversiteit en natuur en biedt via een nieuw verdienmodel toekomstperspectief aan boeren.

Another way of thinking

The basic principle of FASCINATING is that agro residual streams are fully utilized, in which carbon cycles (CO2) and nitrogen cycles are closed. This involves reviewing if and how the chain can be made circular from the beginning, and not just at the end, which requires a different way of thinking, lots of research, and development. This all comes together within FASCINATING.

FASCINATING has four pillars

• Healthy and balanced nutrition
  We take the step from quantity to quality. How do we translate a healthy diet into our agricultural system? What are the consumer’s expectations?
• Sustainable production of nutritious crops
  We express quality in nutritional and economic value. How do we balance the production of food with nature, without CO2 or nitrogen emissions?
• Energy efficient and sustainable processing
  With the current processing methods we lose out on a lot of nutritional value as well as the natural interaction between crops. We want to retain this by upgrading existing technologies and developing new ones.
• Non-food application of residual stream
  After the processing of agricultural products, a large residual stream remains that cannot be used for human or animal consumption, and that includes cellulose, starch, and manure, but these be used as raw materials for the chemical industry or potentially as an energy source.