The problem

Despite the development of renewable agri-product technologies and their potential as an environmentally friendly fuel source, uptake has been limited. This situation denies us the environmental benefits of renewable products. It may also imply that the related EU-funded research has not been entirely successful. This lack of progress hinders the contribution that this sector can make to meeting the EU’s international obligations under the Kyoto Protocol.

Overview:

ENFA will make an integrated assessment of major non-food options in the EU forestry and agricultural sectors. The ENFA model will:

• Combine both traditional (i.e. food) and alternative (i.e. non-food) management choices in the agricultural and forestry sectors with newer non-food options
• Undertake analyses and forecasts that incorporate such factors as opportunity costs, return on investment, and market price adjustments
• These analyses and forecasts will contribute to the development of future EU agricultural, environmental and energy policies

Contribution to policy development:

ENFA will underpin policy development by:

• Reducing uncertainty about the market potential of agricultural non-food options
• Identifying and prioritising future research needs
• Analysing options for the abatement of greenhouse
  gas emissions
• Testing alternative policy designs and intensities
• Providing quantified information that strengthens the EU’s negotiating position in international environmental policy negotiations

Project deliverables

Reports:

Annual report, May 2006-2007 – Costs, CO₂ emissions and energy efficiencies for reed canary-grass (RCG) bio fuel chain, May 2006 – Technical reports on RCG, May 2006 – Reports on willow production chain, May2006 – Reports on Miscanthus and switchgrass biofuel chains, July 2006 – Farm income and employment effects associated with energy production, November 2006 – Bio-fuel case study report, May 2007 – Forest bio-fuel opportunities, success factors for annual fibre systems, bio chain computer models, November 2007 – Final report, May 2008

Dissemination

• Establish project website – May 2005
• Workshops for non-project partners – November 2006, August 2007, February 2008
• Network with commercial and research organisations – ongoing
• Publish non-technical summaries in the popular and trade press and significant results in international peer-reviewed journals – as needed

Technical information

Project acronym: ENFA
Project’s official full title: European Non-Food Agriculture
Research priority: 1.1. Modernisation and sustainability of agriculture and forestry, including their multifunctional role in order to ensure the sustainable development and promotion of rural areas
Specific webpage: www.uni-hamburg.de/Wiss/FB/15/Sustainability/ENFA/
Proposal/contract no: 6581
Start date: 1 May 2005
Kick off meeting: May 2005
Completion date: May 2008
European Commission scientific officer: François Constantin, François.Constantin@ec.europa.eu

Coordinator:
Dr. Uwe Schneider (schneider@dkrz.de)
Name: Hamburg University
Abbreviated name: UHH
Address: Research unit Sustainability and Global Change
Departments of Geosciences and Economics
Bundesstrasse 55
20146 Hamburg
Country: Germany
Tel: +49 40 42838 6593
Fax: +49 40 42838 7009
Website: www.uni-hamburg.de/Wiss/FB/15/Sustainability

Partners

Name: University of Utrecht
Abbreviated name: UUTR
Country: Netherlands

Name: Trinity College Dublin
Abbreviated name: TCD
Country: Ireland

Name: Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research Aberystwyth
Abbreviated name: IGER
Country: United Kingdom

Name: A&F Wagenigen
Abbreviated name: A&F
Country: Netherlands

Name: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Umeå
Abbreviated name: SLU
Country: Sweden

Name: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Upsala
Abbreviated name: SLU
Country: Sweden

Name: Central Petroleum Laboratory (formerly European Baltic Renewable Energy Centre) Warsaw
Abbreviated name: CLN (EBREC)
Country: Poland

Name: University of Hohenheim
Abbreviated name: UHOH
Country: Germany

Name: Agricultural University of Athens
Abbreviated name: AUA
Country: Greece

Name: Joanneum Research Graz
Abbreviated name: JR
Country: Austria

Name: French Institute of Agronomy Research Grignon
Abbreviated name: INRA
Country: France

Name: Obersteiner Consulting Engineers
Abbreviated name: OCE
Country: Austria

Name: University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna
Abbreviated name: BOKU
Country: Austria