The project’s official event, held on 23 June, showcased advances in sustainable solutions to reduce the use of agrochemicals, with the participation of European authorities, technical entities, and consortium partners
Brussels, 25 June 2025. As part of the European Green Week, the LIFE NextFUMIGREEN project held its official event as a Partner Event recognised by the European Commission. Under the theme “Circular solutions for sustainable agriculture”, the event gathered over 40 participants from various countries and presented preliminary results on the development of a natural fumigant biopesticide for greenhouse horticultural crops such as tomatoes and peppers.
The event was opened by Antonio Martín Pérez, Deputy Director of Production Resources at the Regional Government of Andalusia, who highlighted the new 2025–2030 Circular Bioeconomy Action Plan as a roadmap for a more efficient and innovative agricultural transformation aligned with the principles of the European Green Deal. He also emphasised the role of the newly created Andalusian Cluster for Circular Bioeconomy as a scaling mechanism for initiatives such as LIFE NextFUMIGREEN.
Technical advances in natural biopesticides
The technical session presented the consortium’s key advances. Carlos Ramos, COO of FumiHogar, explained the benefits of the new biopesticide: low toxicity, inert residues, no water pollution, and an 80% reduction in labour compared to conventional methods. José Luis Bustos, CEO of BrioAgro, discussed how integrating sensors and artificial intelligence helps optimise agricultural resource use, improving efficiency and reducing environmental impact. Blanca Sabarit, a technician at Fundación Tecnova, presented the RUSTICA and DEMOEXTRACT projects, focused on circular economy and agrochemical reduction.
From a regulatory perspective, Marta Bachs (B&B Asesores) addressed the evolution of EU legislation on plant protection products and its alignment with the Green Deal. Abel Zaragoza, from Comercial Química Massó, offered a critical analysis of the current political framework: “Without tools to produce food, there is no real sustainability. We need regulations that ensure the viability of all agriculture.”
Europe as a platform to scale sustainable solutions
The institutional closing session, led by Finnova Foundation, highlighted the importance of synergies between European programmes to amplify the impact of sustainable solutions. Juanma Revuelta, CEO of Finnova, stressed the scalability of the LIFE programme through projects like LIFE COSTAdapta, LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0, and LIFE RESSKILL. As part of the Erasmus+ 2025 programme, a proposal was presented focusing on green and digital vocational training, with an estimated budget of €400,000, funded at 80%, and a tentative opening date in February. The initiative is especially targeted at projects involving Latin America. In addition, the concept of Next AL-INVEST Green was introduced, a future initiative aimed at eliminating pesticides in greenhouse crops and post-harvest processes, including warehouses, transport and containers. Finally, it was highlighted that the LIFE programme currently has an open call for pilot projects focused on sustainable post-harvest treatments, with the potential for replication at the European level.
Following this, José Manuel Requena, project manager at Finnova, explained how the Interreg programme supports cross-border cooperation for agricultural digitalisation through projects like Interreg HIBA+. Finally, Nuria Oller, an Interreg Volunteer Youth (IVY), shared her experience in HIBA+, an initiative centred on entrepreneurship, digitalisation, and professionalisation of the agri-food sector in cross-border regions between Spain and Portugal.
The event was moderated by Yolanda Durán, European communications officer at Finnova, and was offered in four languages thanks to a simultaneous translation system.
The full video of the event is available on the official YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/v-BKYCymq-E
About LIFE NextFUMIGREEN
LIFE NextFUMIGREEN is a European project funded 60% by the European Union’s LIFE Programme. With a total budget of €2,758,921.01, it aims to develop natural fumigants based on plant extracts to combat whitefly and botrytis in greenhouse-grown horticultural crops. The project is led by FumiHogar and involves BrioAgro, Comercial Química Massó, B&B Asesores, Fundación Tecnova, and Fundación Finnova.
More information: https://lifefumigreen.finnova.eu