- Plants projects in FP7-

SWEETFUEL project

 

 

1. Theme - Acronym - Start & end date - Budget

 

FP7 theme: Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Biotechnology

Projects acronym: SweetFuel
Start and ending date: 01/2009 - 12/2013

EU contribution: 2.99 M€

 

2. Coordinator & address

 

Name coordinator: Dr Serge Braconnier

Full address: CIRAD, Avenue Agropolis - TA A-104 / 01 (Bât. 1, Bur. 104)
34398 Montpellier Cedex 5
France
Tel: +33 4 67 61 75 39
Fax: +33 4 67 61 57 42
serge.braconnier<x>cirad.fr

 

3. Full title & contract number

 

Full title: Sweet sorghum: an alternative energy crop

Contract number: FP7 - 227422

 

4. Type of project (large CP, small CP, NoE, SCA, SICA, etc) 

 

Specific International Co-operation Action / Small or medium scale focused research project

 

5. Summary / objectives

 

Sweet sorghum, as a source of either fermentable free sugars or lignocellulosics, has many potential advantages, including: high water, nitrogen and radiation use efficiency; broad agro-ecological adaptation; rich genetic diversity for useful traits; and the potential to produce fuel feedstock, food and feed in various combinations. Fuel-food crops can thereby help reconciling energy and food security issues. This project will breed for improved cultivars and hybrids of sorghum for temperate, tropical semi-arid and tropical acid-soil environments by pyramiding in various combinations, depending on region and ideotype, tolerance to cold, drought and acid (Al-toxic) soils; and high production of stalk sugars, easily digestible biomass and grain. SweetFuel aims also to identify and recommend the best cultural and harvest practices to make the system more sustainable and to provide for integrated technology and impact assessments including economics, dissemination and coordination. Research involves structured participation of stake holders, including policy makers. Project outcomes will be new germplasm, sustainable practices and commodity chain concepts adapted to each target region.

 

6. Participants & addresses

 

1. Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique (CIRAD), France
2. Agricultural research Council – Grain Crop Institute (ARC-GCI), South Africa
3. Alma Mater Studiorum – Universita di Bologna (UNIBO), Italy
4. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria (EMBRAPA), Brazil
5. International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), India
6. Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg (IFEU), Germany
7. KWS SAAT AG, Germany
8. Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon (UANL), Mexico
9. Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC), Italy
10. WIP Renewable Energies (WIP), Germany

 

7. Project website

 

Project weblink: www.sweetfuel-project.eu