AgriFood Lithuania DIH (AFL)

Coordinator

Country: Lithuania

Lead: WP1 and WP7
Take part in various areas, including managing projects, communicating and sharing information, providing research and technology support, collaborating on defining research and market needs, serving as a policy maker or regulator, possibly with standardization bodies, conducting research, testing and validating approaches and ideas, and creating prototypes and demonstrations.

AgriFood Lithuania is a Digital Innovation Hub and Cluster that brings together major research, business and public stakeholders in Lithuania for the common pursuit of digital transformations in the agriculture, food and associated sectors. The AgriFood Lithuania links stakeholders with international and cross-sector initiatives to provide all-round support in the research, development and deployment of AgriFood Tech innovations. AgriFood Lithuania is a member of the Lithuanian clusters network (KlasterLT), the European Cluster Collaboration Platform, European Clusters Alliance, Smart Sensors 4 AgriFood. Together with a consortium of partners under the “ESIC.LT” initiative has been confirmed as a European Digital Innovation Hub in Lithuania. From 2021 March AgriFood Lithuania DIH is EIT Food Hub in Lithuania. With Cluster mapping, you can discover a wide range of partners within the EU or worldwide from different countries, regions, sectors, or industrial ecosystems.

UAB ART21 (ART)

Partner

Country: Lithuania

Lead: WP4 and WP5
Get involved in supplying research and technology infrastructure, collaborating on defining research and market needs, developing technology, testing and validating different approaches and ideas, and creating prototypes and demonstrations.

About: ART21 is a boutique innovation house delivering Tech solutions that shape the future of agriculture, forestry, food and associated sectors. In order to support a more efficient, sustainable enviroment, healthy agriculture and food system, ART21 employs a collaborative approach integrating new scientific and applied research while developing new technologies and products or expanding the application of existing ones to better meet market needs.

Their areas of expertise include:

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Remote Sensing
  • Chemometrics
  • Precision Agriculture
  • IoT & Sensors
  • Automation & Robotics
  • Big Data
  • Blockchain

Role – Provision of research and technology, infrastructure. Co-definition of research and market needs. Technology developer. Testing/validation of approaches and ideas. Prototyping and demonstration.


UAB DOJUS AGRO (DOJUS)

Partner

Country: Lithuania

Lead: WP3 and WP6
Engage in activities such as collaboratively shaping research and market needs, conducting research, developing technology, testing and validating various approaches and ideas, creating prototypes and demonstrations, managing intellectual property rights including technology transfer, and acting as a public procurer of results.

About: DOJUS agro is a family business successfully operating in the field of agriculture for the past 30 years. Its main activities include the sales and service of agricultural, forestry and turf machinery and the supply of spare parts. Other areas of activity include the sale of used equipment and machine rental. DOJUS agro is the largest supplier of Western agricultural machinery in Lithuania and the market leader in the majority of main machine categories. In 2017, Plimsoll ranked the company 72nd among 619 of the world’s largest sellers of agricultural machinery. On average, the company sells over 450 self-propelled and 300 towed machines each year. Thanks to a well developed after-sales service, this number is annually increasing. In 2014 the company implemented the Precision Agriculture concept as a strategic business element and ever since witnessed the annual growth of the market in this field. A dedicated team of precision agriculture engineers and agronomists are capable to set up, support and optimize advanced technologies and give independent agronomic advisory services based on DGPS soil sampling.


UAB LITAGRA (LITAGRA)

Partner

Take part in testing and validating different approaches and ideas, as well as in piloting and demonstrating them.

About: Litagra history starts since 1991.The company holds (in Joniskis distr.) one of the oldest (since 1957) and largest manufacturers of compound feed in the Baltic States.  Decades of experience in agricultural production, constantly updated technological and management processes have allowed the company to adapt to market economy conditions and successfully compete in the production of quality feed, their supplements and premixes for modern livestock, poultry and fisheries farms. Few years ago the company opened the newest and most modern poultry farm in Lithuania (Panevezys distr.). 2022 have started the turkey farming business. In recent months, the subsidiary company “Sūduvos ūkis” of “Joniškio grūdai” managed by “Litagra” acquired 29 farms and a fodder factory located in Marijampolė district. Litagra holds 8 agricultural farms: „Aristavos“ Farm (Kedainiai distr), „Kalpokų“ Farm (Pakruojis distr) , „Šešupės“ Farm and recently acquired “Noragra”  (Marijampole distr) are engaged in both crop growing and cattle breeding and dairying. „Ranktinėlių“ Farm, „Beržų“ Farm and „Šlapaberžės“ Farm (all in Kedainiu distr) are engaged in crop growing only; „Baušų“ Farm (Salcininku distr.) are engaged in cattle breeding. The farms together have more than 4 000 animals and have been working roughly 9 000 ha of land.


NATIONAL PAYING AGENCY (NPA)

Partner

Country: Lithuania

Get involved in various aspects like managing projects, communicating and engaging with others, providing research and technology support, shaping both research and market needs, acting as a policy maker or regulator, including working with standardization bodies, conducting research, testing and validating approaches and ideas, and creating prototypes and demonstrations.

About: The National Paying Agency under the Ministry of Agriculture (NPA, www.nma.lt) was established in November 1999 for the purpose of administration of the support provided for agricultural and rural development by the Republic of Lithuania and the European Union (EU). NPA is responsible for all IACS controls in Lithuania including Agri-Environmental measures, cross-compliance, animal controls and all area-based subsidies. Alongside other activities the NPA develops a consistent land representation system for efficient estimation of carbon stock changes and measures that influence emissions of agricultural greenhouse gases (GHGs). This includes soil carbon sequestration and other measures intended to reduce net greenhouse emissions in farming. The NPA is involved in working out indirect predictions of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) for grasslands through digital soil mapping techniques as well as monitoring, reporting and verification via the development and utilisation of a hybrid Cropland Carbon Monitoring System. The NPA is among the public institutions, which for that purpose enhances the use of EO services by leveraging on GEOSS and Copernicus data/products. The above systems in development will be used by farmers and policymakers to manage local and national microclimate effects more efficiently in support of a shift towards a low carbon and climate resilient economy in agriculture following the principles embedded in the EU Green Deal strategic document. Currently the NPA actively participates in the development of operational agriculture EO services for monitoring practices that can reduce GHGs emissions (e.g., diversification) as indicated in the reformed CAP. While providing the consultancy services/communicating with its clients, the NPA has established strong communication with all relevant stakeholders, including the farmer unions, municipalities, academia and advisory bodies.


VALSTYBINE MISKU TARNYBA (SFS)

Partner

Country: Lithuania

Participate by contributing project information on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals, carbon stock changes in soils, and biomass in Croplands and Grasslands for Work Package 2 (WP2). Additionally, bring experience and expertise to Work Package 5 (WP5) for data, reporting, and governance systems, and to Work Package 7 (WP7) for policy guidelines and recommendations, as part of leveraging project results and validating approaches and ideas.

About: Lithuanian State Forest Service performs annual GHG accountings in Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector, and provides opinion about political decisions to the Ministry of Environment.


VYTAUTO DIDZIOJO UNIVERSITETAS (VMU)

Partner

Country: Lithuania

Lead: WP2
Get involved in supplying research and technology infrastructure, collaborating on defining research and market needs, performing research tasks, and assessing the potential for replicability and scalability of results.

About: Vytautas Magnus University is one of the most comprehensive higher education institutions in Lithuania and is falling between 3 percent of the most comprehensive universities in the world. Vytautas Magnus University is forming the cradle of interdisciplinary innovations that offer breakthroughs and sustainable solutions. Both researchers and an extensive network of partners allow them to feel the real needs of the market and focus research and experimental development on long-term and adaptable results. Total number of VMU projects in 2020 is more than 300 international, national science projects, excluding business projects. Total 12 projects of the program “Horizon 2020” were implemented in 2020. University researchers, acting proactively and following the latest innovation trends, work in the following research areas of agro-, forest- and aquatic ecosystems, impacts of climate change: precision agriculture, food technologies, climate change reduction solutions, research on various ecosystems, etc.


LIETUVOS MISKO IR ZEMES SAVININKU ASOCIACIJA (LFLOA)

Partner

Country: Lithuania

Take part in: LFLOA is actively involved in shaping private forest policies with various government entities such as The Parliament, The Government, and The Ministry of Environment, responsible for implementing forest policy in Lithuania. It also collaborates with the Ministry of Agriculture and National Paying Agency, which administers European Union support for rural development. LFLOA has significant experience organizing and managing various publicity events, and it will leverage this experience in leading and implementing project dissemination activities and performance monitoring. FOAL will utilize its network to support land mobilization for establishing biomass plantations.

About: Forest and Land Owners Association of Lithuania (LFLOA) is the national organization representing interest of family forest owners. Mission of LFLOA – to unite Lithuanian private forest owner and private forestry organizations into a self- sufficient association, which represents members of the association and protects their legitimate interest.
LFLOA represents the interests of family forest owners at the national and international levels, and after more than 20 years of activity has grown into a social organization, uniting over 6500 members. Accepted as a member of the Confederation of European Forester Owners (CEPF), European Landowners Organization (ELO), International Family Forestry Alliance (IFFA). As a member of the Chamber of Agriculture of The Republic of Lithuania, the Lithuanian Association of Impartial Timber Measuring Professionals, and a participant in the round-table of Forest Owners’ Associations‘ of the Baltic Sea Countries, LMSA is well placed in the forestry sector. A partnership with the Lithuanian Agriculture Advisory Service, Lithuanian Biomass Energy Association „Litbioma“, The Lithuanian District Heating Association is currently being developed and a cooperation agreement with the Association of Wood Working Industries „Lietuvos mediena” is in effect.


UAB MELDA (MELDA)

Partner

Country: Lithuania

Take part in testing and validating different approaches and ideas, as well as in piloting and demonstrating them.

About: Forestry (integrated forest maintenance, restoration, education, logging, timber trade, mushroom picking, berry picking, hunting, recreation).


UAB STRATEGY LABS (StrLABS)

Partner

Country: Lithuania

Get involved in reviewing the credibility methodology of carbon credits, integrating segments of carbon credit trading markets, and developing a long-term sustainability and exploitation strategy for green project results, including business modeling.

About: Strategy Labs is a management consulting firm supporting clients on a full scope of executive-level issues. The firm was established in 2012 and is a part of Lewben Group since 2014. Strategy Labs offer a full range of management consulting services from strategy & operations advisory to hands-on implementation support. The firm typically works with mid- and large-cap businesses and private equity firms & principal investors to support them in achieving significant and lasting impact. The company works with both traditional industries and emerging topics, e.g. ESG, SDGs, sustainability and climate change. Today sustainability and climate change is an inclusive part of a regular company strategy. Strategy Labs consultants are educated in leading international institutions, continuously trained, and have led or taken part in more than 250 client engagements. This gives them a fresh view on strategy.