Raw Materials for Food and Animal Feed

Selection of Projects of our Partner Institutes

 

»Cognitive Agriculture«

Fraunhofer Lighthouse Project »Cognitive Agriculture«, which brings productivity and sustainability of agricultural processes into harmony. Digitization as an opportunity for agriculture.

  • COGNAC (iese.fraunhofer.de)
 

SeedPlus

In times of a rapidly growing world population and advancing climate change, crop yields can only be ensured by new methods. In order to establish high-yielding plant stands, the germinating seed must be supplied with sufficient water and protected from site-competing weeds. The aim of the Fraunhofer project is therefore to develop complex seed coatings to protect and supply the seedling.

 

Progress for a More Sustainable Food Industry

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and its Center for Biogenic Value Creation and Smart Farming are using the combined expertise of five Fraunhofer institutes to plan the entire food value chain in order to reorganize it in terms of sustainability as well as to aid businesses in the food industry with their transformation process.

 

Real-Time Analytics for Grain Harvesting

What is the quality of the grain? How much protein and oil does the grain contain? The Fraunhofer IFF is developing measurement methods that will enable barley or wheat to be analyzed in real time in the future. In the future, farmers will be able to document the quality of their goods site-specifically during harvest...

 

Sensors and Actuators for Smart Farming

The current nutrition systems are both drivers and victims of ecological changes endangering the agricultural productivity. Long-term retainment of natural resources requires more sustainability in agricultural production including animal farming; economical efficiency, social fairness and ecological viability. A promising and pragmatic approach for combining economic and ecologic goals in food production is the deployment of modern information and communication technologies in agricultural production - also known as smart farming. This is where the Fraunhofer EMFT competences in sensor and actuator technologies enter the scene.

 

Radiographic and Optical Monitoring of Plants and Seeds

At the beginning of the food chain for humans and animals are plants. Due to the increasing use of arable land for bioenergy production, the yield efficiency of crops is a growing challenge for seed producers and breeders. Optical methods offer excellent opportunities for quality control and optimization in plant breeding and seed production.

 

FishSenseWell

As part of the FishSenseWell project, a consortium comprising Fraunhofer IZFP and the Saarbrücken-based SEAWATER Cubes GmbH is conducting a study to provide an overview of all signal variables from recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). Their aim here is to systematically search for additional, indirect measurement variables, find redundancies, reduce the number of sensors in the system and, as far as possible, replace expensive or complex measuring principles with simpler measurement variables.

 

Innovative Plant Breeding

Plants are our primary source of food and raw materials. In order to achieve some of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as "No Hunger" and "Sustainable Consumption and Production", we need to make many adjustments. One of the most important strategies is to provide optimized food and industrial crops produced through modern, innovative plant breeding.

 

Colorful Potatoes

Seven plant species provide the staple food for the whole world, including the potato! Colorful potatoes are not only beautiful to look at, but also promote health: They contain larger quantities of colored, secondary plant substances, so-called anthocyanins, which have a health-promoting function. They are also an efficient source of starch. To make them available to as many people as possible, researchers at Fraunhofer IME developed molecular tools for the targeted breeding of such potatoes.