The RUNRES project (Closing the loop – nutrient recovery from waste for agriculture) continues to develop circular economy solutions in Rwanda, DRC, Ethiopia, and South Africa. With over 30 innovations launched, the project turns organic waste into agricultural inputs while strengthening local businesses.

Updates from the Novel Protein for Food and Feed Flagship Project include new results from projects addressing food waste management using black soldier fly larvae and participation in the Global Symposium on Insects for Food, Feed and Food Security in Africa.

Carbonyl sulfide (COS) is a gas used to study the carbon cycle because plants absorb it in a similar way as they absorb carbon dioxide. However, to use COS effectively, all sources and sinks must be understood and nowadays there still is an unexplained missing sink in high northern latitudes. Budget calculations of COS in boreal regions typically look at the contribution of forests, but not of wetlands. We measured COS fluxes over a boreal wetland, compared them to COS fluxes measured over a nearby forest and upscaled the fluxes to estimate their contribution to the boreal region and to verify if boreal wetlands can account for the missing sink. With our measurements we show the importance of including boreal wetland COS fluxes in budget calculation

Syntropic farming systems (SFS), inspired by natural succession and stratification, combine annual and perennial plants in diverse, actively managed systems. While most examples come from the tropics, they show potential to enhance agrobiodiversity, soil fertility, climate resilience, and yield quality. However, scientific data—especially from temperate regions—is limited. A review of 67 studies highlights SFS benefits but also notes challenges.

This annual research symposium brings together a diverse audience from academia, industry, government, and international organizations for interactive discussions and workshops on food system topics. The event also provides a platform for young researchers and practitioners to share their ideas and passion.