Project: CropXR

2022-minimum 2026

Resilient crops with the development of smart breeding!

A broad collaboration between no fewer than 4 universities, 4 colleges and companies from the sector.

Project description

Problem

The Netherlands and the world face an immense challenge in the coming decades: with a growing demand for food and other crops, agriculture must simultaneously adapt to a changing climate and
to stricter sustainability requirements such as reduced use of crop protection products and fertilizers.

However, this challenge also offers an excellent opportunity for the already successful Dutch breeding sector: existing focal points in Dutch fundamental science can help develop a new generation of 'extra-resilient' crops that can meet the stricter requirements. In this way, the sector can maintain and expand its international top position and, in the long term, contribute billions of euros per year to the Dutch economy.

However, there must be people who can pick this up. The availability of, for example, bioinformaticians in the green domain is already a bottleneck. This will apply even more to researchers who optimally fit the interdisciplinary profile that is needed for research into and application of the new generation of breeding methods. Strengthening the innovation ecosystem also requires actions aimed at training human capital.

Approach

CropXR will be an institute in which excellent and broad knowledge from Dutch knowledge institutions, expertise and needs of Dutch companies, targeted knowledge development, and insights from social stakeholders come together and fertilize and strengthen each other. AGC coordinates the connection of education to the research program.

We are working on a learning community in which WO, HBO and industry come together in applied research projects and education. Knowledge and methods from the research program are processed in education modules and minors. In addition, there is a focus on LLO for professionals in the sector. AGC has a coordinating role in the various work packages of the project.

Partners

CropXR was developed by a consortium of:
Utrecht University
Wageningen University & Research
Delft University of Technology
University of Amsterdam
Plantum

The green colleges within CoE Groen are also part of the program. The connection of the colleges to the project is something that AGC is also making an extra effort for.

Updates

See below the roadmap we have developed for setting up a learning community

In the meantime, a vibrant learning community has emerged, with more than twenty projects and several events per year. Students are committed to the resilience of six crops within CropXR: onion, potato, lettuce, tomato, chrysanthemum and cabbage. They bring specific expertise from their education and often from their personal background – for example students who grew up in onion or ornamental horticulture companies.

In this community, students work on concrete innovations such as designing and optimizing rhizotrons (root observation systems) and the preparation of bioassaysDuring joint LC days, they meet researchers from the fundamental CropXR program and breeders from the sector – meetings that often lead to follow-up assignments, internships or even a first job.

What started as a student initiative has now grown into a professional research network, in which teacher-researchers, lecturers and CropXR PhDs also actively contribute. They work together in crop teams, in which serious practice-oriented research lines are set out and aligned with the fundamental program of CropXR. This interdisciplinary approach ensures depth and impact on educational innovation.

The learning community has been active within the CoE network of universities of applied sciences since 2023 and is already contributing to a flying start to the satellite program of CropXR. This commitment accelerates the connection between fundamental research and practice – exactly what the CropXR program focuses on: accelerating breeding.

At the same time, work is being done on a new, interdisciplinary minor:
The minor Advanced Plant Breeding for Future Food Systems will start in 2025 at Wageningen University & Research and is accessible to both university and HBO students. The minor brings together students from various disciplines – including plant biology, bioinformatics, social innovation science and systems biology – and challenges them to jointly develop innovative solutions for complex breeding issues.

Topics range from genetic diversity and AI applications to ethical dilemmas and societal impact. The minor offers a unique opportunity to work on current breeding issues from different scientific and practice-oriented perspectives. Collaboration with companies and researchers within the CropXR consortium is part of the program, including excursions, group assignments and possible practical research.

Minor students also participate in the Learning Community days, which results in direct cross-pollination between HBO and WO – in the form of substantive exchange, collaboration and joint research results.

In addition, CropXR also offers opportunities for professionals in the field.
Ideas are currently being developed for life-long learning (LLO) aimed at workers in plant breeding and agrifood or lateral entrants. These are designed in such a way that they can be deployed modularly and flexibly. In this way, the program meets the need for continuous education in a rapidly changing sector.