INEMAD Improve Nutrient and Energy Management through Anaerobic Digestion Jeroen Buysse – Erik...

INEMADImprove Nutrient and Energy Management through Anaerobic Digestion

Jeroen Buysse – Erik Meers

Ghent University

Jeroen BuysseFaculty of Bioscience engineering – Department of Agricultural Economics

The phosphate crisis (Cordell et al., 2009)


Evolution of inputprices (FADN, Belgium)


Exported or processed nutrients from animal manure (in million kg)


KBBE.2011.1.4-06: Towards land management of tomorrow – Innovative forms of mixed farming for optimized use of energy and nutrients

KBBE.2011.1.2-02: Reducing mineral fertilisers and

chemicals use in agriculture by recycling treated organic waste as compost and bio-char products


Text of call: general objective

An important element of agricultural sustainability is to establish optimized flows of energy and nutrients with a high degree of recycling by transforming waste into resources such as fertilisers. In addition, optimizing the carbon cycle towards greenhouse gas mitigation is a new challenge for land managers.


Text of call: analysis of the problem

Modern specialised crop production systems rely on external inputs for feed and fertilisation, whilst specialised livestock systems face dramatic costs and problems in waste disposal. The profitability and importance of traditional mixed farming systems is drastically reduced because of pressure for specialisation, economies of scale and work load reduction.


What is a traditional mixed farming system?

Exchange and transport of manure exists already many centuries

Specialisation started since the abundance of subsistence farming and has continued ever since


Transport of manure over water in Bruges (Debaenst 1999)Year 1000 kg manure Year 1000 kg manure

1696-1697 8.695,- 1701-1702 17.280,-

1697-1698 8.967,- 1702-1703 15.546,-

1698-1699 16.239,- 1703-1704 15.591,-

1699-1700 15.453,- 1704-1705 14.178,-

1700-1701 14.858,- 1705-1706 12.726,-


This transport was demand driven


Text of call: specific research objectives

develop new strategies to connect livestock and crop production at farm, district and landscape level

The project will evaluate new innovative ideas and develop new strategies to connect livestock and crop production at farm, district and landscape level in order to optimize energy, carbon and nutrient flows preserving natural resources and maximising production. In addition, diversified land use can open up new possibilities for combining food production with biomass production and on-farm production of renewable energy from livestock manure, small biotopes, perennial crops and semi-natural non-cultivated areas.


Text of call: research questions

socio-economic aspects of collaboration models and implementation potential

innovative forms of collaboration between farmers test new combinations of agronomic practices and

livestock practices


Text of call: methodology

A participatory approach in the identification and evaluation of the systems will allow immediate transfer possibilities and assessment of legal and organisational challenges.

Models will be applied at the various levels to predict productivity gains and economic viability of the mixed farming systems developed.


Animal manure does not fit crop nutrient uptake

N uptake by crops

Org. manure N mineralisation

Jan Dec

kg N /day

INEMAD Improve Nutrient and Energy Management through Anaerobic Digestion Jeroen Buysse – Erik...

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