PROSPER
About the project
Project period: 2025–2029
The project Promoting Resilient Orphan Legumes for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security (PROSPER) aims to harness the untapped potential of resilient but underutilised legumes in order to promote agricultural diversification, strengthen food systems, and enhance sustainability across diverse European regions.
PROSPER adopts a participatory approach, bringing together multiple actors to pave the way for a more resilient future for agriculture. In close collaboration with farmers, industry, and other stakeholders, the project seeks to develop innovative, science-based solutions that improve crop productivity in challenging environments.
These solutions will also help to broaden food and bio-circular value chains, provide on-demand information services, and support technology transfer. In addition, by drawing on the combined expertise of the project partners, PROSPER will develop novel resilient legume varieties and evaluate their environmental and nutritional performance.
The overall objective is to promote biodiversity, ecosystem services, sustainable agriculture, and socioeconomic development – aligned with EU and global biodiversity policies.
The project is expected to have an impact on three levels:
Scientific
PROSPER will boost scientific progress by promoting minor crops, deepening knowledge of agro-biodiversity and how diverse cropping systems support sustainability and resilience. It will spur innovations in precision farming and breeding to better adapt these crops to different climates. By involving regional stakeholders, PROSPER will enable targeted research and strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration.
Economic
PROSPER will enhance rural economies by integrating minor crops into farming, creating new markets and value chains that support sustainable agriculture. This diversification reduces reliance on major crops, improves farmers' incomes, and strengthens food security. It will also generate new business opportunities and high-value jobs in agriculture and food technology, benefiting professionals such as engineers, data analysts, developers, marketers, and researchers.
Societal
PROSPER will increase public awareness of minor crops' benefits, boosting consumer demand for diverse, sustainable agricultural products and reducing reliance on chemical inputs. By promoting community involvement through Living Labs and multi-actor approaches, it will support sustainable farming, strengthen local economies, and encourage healthier diets. Vulnerable groups, such as low-income and marginalized rural populations, will directly benefit from these initiatives.
Project partners
- University of Pavia
- Benaki Phytopathological Institute
- Aarhus University
- Innova-Tech
- AgroParisTech
- INRAE
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica
- Mountains of Research
- Consejo superior de investigaciones científicas
- Solintagro
- InnovPlantProtect
- CookingLab
- Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma
- Università degli Studi di Firenze
- Agricultural University of Athens
- Universidad de Salamanca
- SmartAgrohub
- White Research
- Agri Obtentions
- Agroland
- Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation
- Eco Ruralis
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
- The University of Sfax
- Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics
- Euro-BioImaging
PROSPER is a Horizon Europe project funded by the European Union.