From 7 to 10 October 2025, partners of the ECONUTRI Project gathered in the historic city of Braga, Portugal, for the 4th General Assembly Meeting, hosted by Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD). The meeting marked a major milestone as the project enters its final implementation phase before its conclusion in April 2026.
Day 1 – Welcome Reception
The event opened with a welcome drink at Hotel Mercure, giving partners from Europe and China a chance to reconnect in a relaxed setting and exchange insights ahead of the busy week of presentations and discussions.
Day 2 – Scientific Progress and Knowledge Exchange
The second day was dedicated to updates from all demonstration sites and the latest progress across the project’s work packages:
- WP1 – Communication, dissemination, and exploitation activities were reviewed, focusing on outreach achievements and clustering efforts.
- WP2 – Partners presented advances in innovative technologies for nutrient recycling and organic waste valorisation.
- WP3 – Discussions centred on optimized fertilizer use and improved cropping technologies.
- WP4 – Updates highlighted nature-based solutions reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) and ammonia (NH₃) emissions.
- WP5 – Partners shared findings on environmental, life-cycle, and socio-economic assessments.
The day concluded with productive work package group discussions and a joint networking dinner, reinforcing collaboration among teams.
Day 3 – EU–China Cooperation and Stakeholder Engagement
Day three showcased the project’s strong EU–China partnership, with Dr. Qing Chen (China Agricultural University) presenting the latest research outcomes and future perspectives from Chinese partners.
A dedicated Stakeholder Session followed, featuring presentations from Portugal Stakeholders: IMF Biochar, SIRO Composts, PipeMaster Technologies, Herculano, and Chinese Stakeholders: FarmX, Staney Group and Genliduo BioTech, each introducing innovative approaches aligned with ECONUTRI’s mission to reduce nutrient losses and promote circular agriculture.
Afternoon sessions focused on data management, system integration (WP6) and project coordination (WP7), concluding with an open discussion on next steps and future impact.
Day 4 – Management Committee & Field Visit
The final day hosted the Management Committee Meeting, where WP leaders discussed deliverables, upcoming milestones, and continued EU–China collaboration.
Partners then visited UTAD’s demonstration site at the Cooperativa Agrícola de Barcelos (Agribar), where participants observed innovative nutrient management technologies applied in corn fields, followed by a visit to the majestic hilltop sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte, one of Braga’s most iconic landmarks.
The event concluded with gratitude to UTAD for their warm hospitality, excellent organisation, and commitment to fostering collaboration among project partners.
The General Assembly in Braga not only marked a key step toward project completion but also reaffirmed ECONUTRI’s enduring spirit of partnership, innovation, and global cooperation in sustainable agriculture.
Enjoy the phots highlighting key moments of the meetings.
Photos
1st Day Opening-Dimitrios
1st Day AUA Dimitrios Savvas
1st Day UTAD Henrique Trindade
WP1-SPI Andre
WP2-AUA Athanasios
WP2-NIBIO Dmitry
WP2-UNITO Luisella
WP2-UTAD Rupesh
WP3-AUA Panagiotis
WP3-UNITO Fransesca
WP3-UTH Sofia
WP3-Wim
WP3 -WUR Caroline
WP4-ARI Dionysios
WP4-ATB Wajid
WP4-ILVO Chari
WP5-AUA Vasileios
WP5-ESSRG Balint
WP5-IGZ Modarelli
WP6-JHI Pete
WP6-NIBIO Remi
WP6-SPI Zigi
WP7-Metec Marco
Stakeholder FarmX -Jima Fengli
Stakeholder Genliduo BioTech – Kun Huang
Stakeholder HERCULANO – Pedro Martins
Stakeholder IMF Biochar -Behrouz Gholamahmadi
Stakeholder Pipemaster – Joao Calixto
Stakeholder SIRO Composts – Hartmut Nestler
Demo site ATB-Wajid
Demo site AUA+Wonderplant-Dimitrios
Demo site CAU-Yuhui Qiao
Demo Site ILVO-Chari
Demo Site INHORT-Lidia
Demo Site JHI-Pete
Demo site VERVAET-Jelle
Demo sites SVG-Chen 2
Demo sites SVG-Qing Chen
External advisors
