Conference Agenda

Fusarium verticillioides is a pathogenic fungus that produce fumonisins, an important cause of post-harvest losses in grains. In Costa Rica, propolis is a honeycomb residue that is not frequently revalued. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the antifungal potential of the ethanolic propolis extract (EEP) produced by Apis mellifera. The extract was prepared with ultrasound-assisted extraction techniques, for the recovery of bioactive compounds to standardize doses (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%) for subsequent bioassays. The mycelial growth kinetics were evaluated during 96 hours at 22°C. Additionally, the reduction of fumonisin B1 (FB1) was evaluated. Fungal growth was not linear under chemical stress conditions, and fungus growth versus time was fit by Gompertz model (R²>0.98). The area under the curve calculated by numerical integration with the trapezoidal rule reported that the highest doses (75 and 100%) reduced the fungus biotic potential ~81% and 100% for FB1, and an extension of the lag phase was identified. The accuracy of this analysis was higher than conventional diametral measurement because it shows the cumulative inhibition dynamic over time. EEP is a sustainable and effective solution that could be used in the future to reduce fungal and mycotoxin contamination.

Gluten-free bread is often limited in nutritional value and faces technological challenges, while agri-food supply chains generate edible legumes that fail to meet aesthetic market standards. This study aimed to improve the nutritional quality and sustainability of gluten-free bread by valorizing non-compliant Sarconi beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) PGI processed through mechanical dehulling, combined with smart fermentation monitoring. Fourteen bean genotypes were characterized to optimize pre-treatment conditions and select suitable ecotypes. Dehulled bean flours were incorporated at 10% and 20% substitution levels into a commercial gluten-free mix, with a control for comparison. Fermentation was monitored in real time using an IoT-based sensor system measuring temperature, relative humidity, and dough height. Technological performance was evaluated in terms of specific volume, density, bake loss, and loaf geometry, while nutritional composition was assessed through proximate composition and macro- and micro-mineral content. Results indicated that enriched formulations maintained technological performance while achieving higher protein and mineral levels, highlighting the dual benefit of ingredient upgrading and circular valorization. The integration of digital process control with sustainable ingredient valorization demonstrates a scalable strategy to enhance nutritional quality, reduce food waste, and promote circularity in bioresource-based food systems, with potential applicability to other legume-based products.

Autonomous field robotics is increasingly used to improve energy efficiency and reduce labour intensity in crop production, yet field-based evidence at the operation level remains limited. This study presents results from a two-year field experiment comparing conventional (tractor operations and manual intra-row weeding) and robotic (a solar-powered autonomous platform for sowing and mechanical weed control) organic sugar beet systems. The systems differed only in sowing and weed control operations, enabling a focused analysis of direct and indirect impacts on system performance.

Within weed control operations, manual intra-row weeding supported by tractor-based cultivation (85 h ha⁻¹ of human labour) was replaced by supervised autonomous hoeing, requiring only 10 h ha⁻¹ of operator involvement, resulting in an ~88% reduction in labour demand. These changes influenced downstream processes: higher yields in the robotic system increased harvesting and transport energy demand despite improved operational efficiency.

Energy use efficiency reached 15.2–15.4 in the robotic system compared to 11.5 in the conventional system, representing 5–24% higher output-to-input energy ratios depending on seasonal conditions. Results indicate that autonomous robotics does not simply replace machinery but redistributes labour and energy across production processes, demonstrating how targeted automation can reshape energy–labour dynamics in organic farming systems.

Urban food hubs dedicated to surplus food redistribution represent a promising strategy to reduce food waste and its associated environmental impacts. However, their environmental performance has been only partially explored. This study presents a life cycle impact assessment of two urban food hubs operating in Milan, a city recognized for its innovative food policies.

The results show that a single food hub can generate substantial environmental benefits, including net annual savings of approximately 107 t CO₂-eq and the recovery of around 140,000 meals per year. By preventing surplus food from entering waste streams, these initiatives reduce environmental burdens associated with excess food production and disposal, such as greenhouse gas emissions, resource depletion, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

Surplus food redistribution through urban food hubs contributes to the achievement of global sustainability objectives, particularly SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and Target 12.3, which aims to halve global food waste by 2030. The findings also highlight the role of food hubs as effective components of broader urban sustainability strategies.

Overall, the study strengthens the evidence supporting food hubs as strategic instruments for climate change mitigation, resource conservation, and the transition toward more sustainable urban food systems.

South Korea has remained highly dependent on imported grains, with wheat self-sufficiency below 1% since 1990, exposing national food security to international price volatility and climate-driven supply stability. This study evaluates a climate-smart wheat cultivation system with speed breeding as an intensified domestic production strategy and quantifies its productivity, environmental impacts, and economic feasibility. Wheat (cv. Hwanggeumal) was cultivated under optimized controlled-environment conditions, enabling a shortened growth cycle of 90 days and up to four harvests per year. By intensifying sowing rates and planting density, projected yields reached up to 159.8 t/ha, compared to 4.4 t/ha under conventional field conditions. A life cycle assessment (LCA) and cost–benefit analysis (CBA) including sensitivity analysis, were conducted to compare climate-smart cultivation with conventional farming and import scenarios. Conventional wheat production emitted 0.27–1.05 kg CO₂-eq/kg, while the climate-smart system emitted 1.07–1.85 kg CO₂-eq/kg under favorable energy conditions. Imported wheat produced an additional 0.137 kg CO₂-eq/kg from distribution. Economically, the climate-smart system in this study achieved a minimum production cost of 747.21 KRW/kg, comparable to imported wheat. Our results show that energy optimization and renewable integration are critical for sustainable scaling of climate-smart wheat production systems.

The purpose was to evaluate the disintegration process and the compost quality produced from a mixture of synthetic compost with polybutylene succinate (PBS) of 70 µm thickness as food packaging material. PBS disintegration was characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. Compost quality was determined through a physicochemical analysis and phytotoxicity essays conducted with Solanum lycopersicum and Cucumis sativus seeds. Germination rate, root growth, stem and leaf length, and wet biomass of the plant crop were measured. PBS reached 99.68% of disintegration after 84 days of the composting process. SEM analysis showed that PBS thickness decreased 50.29% after 73 days of the composting process. PBS lost ~60,80% total mass at ~300°C when a primary thermal degradation occurred. A loss because of crystallization was identified on day 11 as a consequence of biopolymer degradation. The compost produced showed physicochemical properties suitable for agricultural use. Both crops reported a wet biomass average of 95.58% which is 0.13% greater than the wet biomass produced from a commercial compost. This study concludes that PBS is useful as a compostable packaging material and the compost produced from it is an option for waste valorization and agricultural use.

Participation in formal agricultural risk management mechanisms remains limited in high-value export systems, despite increasing exposure to production and market volatility. While existing research focuses on instruments such as insurance or contract farming, it provides limited insight into how participation is shaped by institutional dynamics within supply chains. This study examines why farmer participation remains constrained in Vietnam’s export-oriented dragon fruit supply chain.

The analysis takes a mechanism-based perspective and treats participation as embedded in supply chain governance structures rather than an individual decision. It draws on qualitative evidence farmers, traders, cooperatives, exporters, and local authorities, complemented by survey data.

The findings reveal a structural misalignment between formal risk management mechanisms and the market-driven, dynamic nature of risk in export systems. Price emerges as a central mechanism for coordinating risk, while farmers prioritize flexibility in responding to volatility. Limited participation therefore reflects an adaptive response to system conditions rather than a failure of individual adoption.

By reframing participation as a system-level outcome of governance alignment, this study advances research on agricultural risk management and supply chain governance and highlights the limits of formalization in misaligned risk environments and risk management approaches that account for price-based coordination and farmer flexibility.

The economic return on extensive sheep farming (pasture-based systems) of the Southern of Portugal is low, as it occupies degraded soils. Therefore, the environmental perspective prevails, with the recovery of soil functionality and the preservation of the Montado as an ecosystem of high nature value. This study assesses the impact of two grazing management systems and stocking rates (SR), continuous grazing (CG) with low SR versus deferred grazing (DG) with high SR, on soil compaction. The study was carried out between December 2023 and June 2025 on a 4-ha pasture. This area of natural grassland was divided into four grazing parks of 1 ha each, two under DG management and two under CG management. During the study, the cone index (CI, in kPa) was measured in the topsoil layer (0–30 cm) on eight dates, with an electronic cone penetrometer at 48 georeferenced areas. The results of CI measurement showed no significant differences between treatments in all depths measured (0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm). These findings are encouraging from the point of view of soil conservation and sustainability, revealing good prospects for the possible intensification of extensive livestock production.

Pea haulm (pea production agricultural residue) was valorized by integrating pretreatments with ultrasound-assisted extraction after microwave-assisted hot-air drying (200 W; 40 ⁰C, 60 ⁰C, 80 ⁰C). Drying severity bleached color (lightness, 76.9 to 93.4) and decreased extractables: total phenolic content (TPC, 17.2 to 14.5 mg GAE/g dry matter (DM)), total flavonoid content (TFC, 8.1 to 6.6 mg CTE/g DM), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity (DPPH, 115.7 to 109.0 μmol TE/g DM), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP, 69.1 to 58.7 μmol TE/g DM). At 40 ⁰C, pretreatments intensified extraction: high pressure maximized TPC (21.4 mg GAE/g DM) and TFC (13.7 mg CTE/g DM) with higher DPPH (132.2 μmol TE/g DM); pulsed electric field yielded the highest FRAP (77.5 μmol TE/g DM). These results showed that gentle drying (200 W and 40 ⁰C) and high-pressure pretreatment enhance ultrasound-assisted extraction of phenolic compounds from pea haulm, offering potential for the sustainable production of antioxidant-rich bio-ingredients that have a variety of functionalities with a wide variety of applications, including bio-based polymers.

This study addresses the industrial valorization of lignocellulosic waste material, a renewable resource essential for transitioning toward a circular bio-based economy. The primary obstacle to its conversion into bioenergy and functional materials is natural recalcitrance, largely determined by the complex lignin-polysaccharide matrix. This work focuses on the rapid characterization of various lignocellulosic waste materials from agricultural, wood and food sectors as a prerequisite for optimized biotechnological processing. Following sampling strategies established in the WoodSpec project (MSCA No. 838560), the methodology employs infrared/near infrared spectroscopy alongside the Van Soest method to define the chemical composition and heterogeneity of the material. Current results provide a detailed characterization of the waste materials, specifically mapping the lignin content and its potential impact on fermentation processes and enzymatic accessibility. These findings are crucial for selecting the most effective delignification strategies via white-rot fungi fermentation, reducing the need for energy-intensive physical or chemical pretreatments. By establishing a spectroscopic method for characterizing the material properties, the study demonstrates how rapid analytical tools can streamline the reuse of biomass. This approach supports sustainable development goals by improving the efficiency of green economy sectors and enhancing the understanding of microbial deconstruction of complex lignocellulosic systems.

The environmental impact of petroleum-based plastics has driven the development of sustainable biosystem technologies focused on transforming waste materials into high-performance alternatives. In this study, biopolymer-based films and functional coatings reinforced with agro-food and household waste were developed and evaluated to enhance mechanical, barrier, thermal, and surface properties. Films based on potato starch and gellan gum were reinforced with garlic skin particles and calcium carbonate micro- and nanoparticles derived from eggshells. These reinforcements were processed through controlled particle-size reduction and incorporated at different loadings to evaluate their influence on material performance. The resulting films and coatings were characterized using tensile testing, thermogravimetric analysis, microscopy techniques, contact-angle measurements, and image texture analysis. The results show that waste-derived reinforcements significantly improve material performance, leading to enhanced mechanical strength, increased surface hydrophobicity, improved water permeability, and greater thermal stability. Optimized formulations enabled the fabrication of compostable dishes and protective packaging materials with improved functionality. In addition, hierarchical coatings composed of eggshell-derived CaCO3 and ZnO nanoparticles generated stable superhydrophobic surfaces, exhibiting contact angles >150° and low sliding angles while maintaining mechanical integrity. Overall, this work demonstrates the effective valorization of agro-food waste as functional reinforcements for sustainable packaging and advanced surface engineering applications.

The transition toward energy-self-sufficient agricultural systems requires optimized integration of renewable energy technologies adapted to regional climatic conditions. This study evaluates hybrid wind–solar energy systems combined with battery energy storage supporting circular bioeconomy farms in north-eastern Poland. The objective was to determine how different shares of photovoltaic (PV) and wind power, supported by energy storage, influence energy performance and economic viability under an identical investment budget. A farm-scale energy model was developed using hourly meteorological data and electricity demand profiles, including energy consumption associated with biochar production. Three investment scenarios were analysed: 20% PV–80% wind, 50% PV–50% wind, and 80% PV–20% wind capacity shares, each integrated with the same battery storage capacity to enable load balancing and increased self-consumption. Energy indicators included annual generation, self-consumption rate, seasonal energy balance, storage utilization, and reduction of energy deficits. Economic evaluation was performed using levelized cost of energy, net present value, internal rate of return, and payback period. Results show that wind-dominant systems improve winter reliability, PV-dominant systems reduce energy costs, while balanced hybrid systems maximize storage effectiveness and overall system efficiency. The study demonstrates that integrating energy storage significantly enhances renewable energy utilization and supports resilient, low-emission agricultural energy systems.