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The 3th Continental Legume Innovation Network (C-LIN) workshop was held on the 16th - 17th of September 2019 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, hosted by the Jozef Stefan Institute and co-hosted by the University of Hohenheim. The meeting brought together actors and professionals involved in all parts of the regional legume agri-food chain (LAFC), to interact with members of the TRUE project. The project TRUE (TRansition paths to sUstainable legume-based systems in Europe) is involved in the development of European strategies for the sustainable production and use of plant proteins obtained from legumes. An increase in production of legumes is expected to lower the usage of non-renewable resources used in the production of mineral fertilisers. It will also improve crop diversity and increase human and animal consumption of legumes. An important objective of the project TRUE is to assess environmental, social and economic benefits of incorporating legumes into agri-food chains, as well as to investigate in what way such incorporation is meeting the key goals of sustainable development. The task of the TRUE project is also to engage with different stakeholders in the LAFC. Therefore, the workshops participants were representatives of growers, food industry, transport, trade and consumers, whose activities already incorporate legumes or who are planning to do so. On the first day of the workshop, we focused on assessing the key sustainability aspects of individual links within the LAFC as well as the chain as a whole. The knowledge gained will help the workshop participants to reach sustainable development targets in their own area of work. Researchers as well as stakeholders taking part in the TRUE project, through the workshop discussions, obtained useful information that will be used for future development of the evaluation model for the assessment of sustainability of the LAFC. Day two focused on knowledge exchange, showcasing examples of good practice during a field trip. The participants first visited the company Žito d.o.o, a food company that, while modern, maintains its roots in a rich and prosperous tradition. They are constantly following the trends and successfully introducing them into modern production technology with a revolutionary market approach, which includes legumes. The next stop was Semenarna Ljubljana – a seed and packing company. Semenarna Ljubljana is one of the region’s top providers of quality seeds. Their development is based on their own crops, products and services. They maintain over 70 different seed varieties from 26 plant species (including common beans, soybeans, peas, chickpeas and lentils), of which 37 are indigenous Slovenian varieties. The last stop was at the Etri community, a leading group in the field of social entrepreneurship, whose aims are to build an inclusive society and change social norms. They are changing their practice in the fields of ecology, ergonomics and ethical economics. The story of the Etri community is about creating green jobs for individuals, often excluded from society, in collaboration with socially responsible companies. They intend to include more legumes in their meals and at the end of the visit they prepared a delicious legumes showcase lunch for the delegates. The whole event focused on the five links of the LAFC. 43 participants (21 females and 22 males) attended the workshop, of which six were TRUE members that acted as facilitators and four were invited government guest that discussed different aspects of LAFC related topics: regulatory organizations, education and knowledge transfer, financial and business mechanisms and public participation. |
