Development of a cost-optimized novel soil sampling methodology for precision agriculture

The project aims to develop a new soil sampling technology that enables the modeling of not only surface soil properties, but also subsurface properties and diagnostic properties which affect yield potential and might be addressed by agronomical actions. Survey sites are selected in 5 different locations of the country with varying geological, geomorphological and climatic conditions to develop a robust technology performing under diverse conditions

Precision agriculture technology is one of the main drivers of modern agriculture. Novel data collection equipment appears on a regular basis, geostatistical methods, clustering algorithms seem to be constant despite the fact that new methodologies are also available due to higher computing capacities, and higher resolution data collection.

We develop a new sampling technology that enables the modeling of not only surface soil properties, but also subsurface properties and diagnostic properties which affect yield potential and might be addressed by agronomical actions. Survey sites are selected in 5 different locations of the country with varying geological, geomorphological and climatic conditions to develop a robust technology performing under diverse conditions.

Cultivation development of dry beans

The cultivation area of dry beans in Hungary have shrunk during the last decades and currently stagnating at around 700 hectares annually. The highly variable yield, not modernized agrotechnology and challenging cultivation.

We modernize the cultivation technology of dry beans, by adapting and testing precision ag technologies and researching new solutions to optimize seeding, nutrient management and harvesting.

Development of field soil test method and rational cultivation techniques to reduce soil degradation

The aim of the project is to develop a soil survey methodology which provides farmers necessary and relevant information to identify the best cultivation technologies to combat soil degradation. The main focus area of the project is Hajdú-Bihar county, where a wide variety of soils are found, such as different steppe soils (mainly Chernozems), salt affected soils (mainly Solonetz) and high clay content soils (Vertisols).

The project utilizes the newest soil survey methodologies and equipment such as aerial and space surveys, automated field surveys (RTK-based terrain model, VERIS, stationary EC sensors), GIS methods and many more. The final guideline will support soil scientists to perform a detailed, specific soil survey to help farmers achieve sustainable soil and land management.

Adaptation of crop mixes adapted to crops and soil types for use in ecological seedlings

Our target is to optimize the forcrops on the three largest fields in Hungary with the formed cropmix. Winter wheat, maize, and sunflower are more than half of all arable land in Hungary, so there would be a significant need for optimal crop production of these crops. After the completion of the project, the selection of seeds for ecological seeding is more purposeful and professional.

Alternative utilization of maize production in the mirror of livestock needs, with particular reference to sorghum cultivation

Identify grain and silage sorghum that can be introduced into the crop rotation as an alternative to maize and to renew its production technology. The project includes the complete modernization of cultivation technology for grain and silage sorghum cultivation, optimization of machine linkage work both from a mechanical and operational point of view, adaptation to bound meadow soils and development of site-specific input materials supported by satellite navigation.

Research of the efficiency of high-speed sowing with different cultivation methods and crop plants

With the help of several farmers we are developing the high-speed sowing method for different cultivation technologies and the most important domestic arable crops (winter wheat, maize, sunflower, soybean and winter rape) in the project.

The effect of basic cultivation methods on the quantity and quality of the secondary sweetcorn

The research targets the growing of crop safe of the companies, because it investigates the adopted method for the second crop sweet-corn field, and the irrigation, also it supervises the tempo of the development of flora and also the yield which is reachable with different technologies and is realizable.

Improving physical properties and watermanagement of boundary meadow soils with the help of water management and soil improvers

The main target of the project is the creation/application of new types of rotation-free tillage and cultivation systems on fixed meadow and casting soils that can be cultivated in a gentle way with precision farming. The large amount of basic data which is going to be collected in R&D will provide the opportunity to produce high-accuracy terrain models, collect agronomic and technical data, and develop an objective decision support system.

Improvement of physical properties of meadow bound soils by the use of organic soil improvers

Our target is implementing a more precision tillage technology and a more efficient nutrient management system using precision farming on the renewed maize cultivation technology in the project.

The effect of algae and bacterial preparations on the profitability of maize cultivation under different cultivation technologies

The effect of algae and bacterial preparations on the profitability of maize cultivation under different cultivation technologies. Nowadays, the income-producing ability of arable crop production, including corn production, is increasingly diminishing. It is important to incorporate new technological variants into cultivation technology, both in terms of agro-technology and engineering. We can develop cultivation technologies for the soil, which are more favorable in terms of environmental load and competitiveness than the technological variants based on current averaging methods.

Precision plant protection system development and efficiency testing

The target of the project is to test new precision crop protection technologies on commonly grown crops. The project compares and analyzes conventional and precision plant protection activities and procedures.

Development of precision, resource efficient harvesting system

Technologies for harvesting arable crops will be investigated in the project (mainly maize or other cereals). The purpose of our development is to test a new harvesting process. The main goal is to reduce harvest time and costs and to harvest the best achievable quality of the crops.

Development of precision cultivation technology of silage maize using site-specific technologies

The use of tillage systems adapted to the conditions of the area has great importance for the cultivation of silage maize. In addition to the agro-ecological conditions of our country, we aim to apply moisture-saving systems, which help to reduce drought damage during the growing season.

The EU ILUC directive in 2015 introduced in the legislative framework a new concept for transport biofuels, the indirect land-use change (“ILUC”)

Following, the recently issued red ii Directive introduces an exemption for biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels certified as low ILUC-risk toward the phasing out requirement for high-iluc risk feedstocks.

Establishing the basis of agricultural innovation on the HU-SRB border region to enhance the competitiveness of agri SMEs

Bringing agriculture-related innovations to the market (quantitatively dominated by SMEs) is challenging. The parties lack business development skills and consciousness of applying the newest technologies. Our consortium’s main assumption is that once we are able to identify a group of SMEs opened to one type of innovation, this group will act as a catalyst of its environment. Building upon this hypothesis, we have identified two main pillars that we aim to implement during the project.

Employment and new colleagues

Discovery Center Nonprofit Ltd conducts research on soil databases and their mathematical statistical analysis in their daily operations to support precision farming and to produce digital soil maps. We have considerable experience in correlating, harmonizing and then evaluating soil and environmental data from a variety of sources.

TraCoReF | Transboundary Collaboration on Regional Foods in Visegrad Countries

Objective 1: Identification of the opportunities of local products’ development and recovering the path to obtain geographical identification with the help of external experts.
Objective 2: Identification of possible short-term and long-term collaborations in promotion of local food and regions that may be built in regional development.

Objective 3: Development of gastro-tourism by implementation and linkage of local products to gastronomy

grAvITAS | Establishing the basis of agricultural innovation on the HU-SRB border region to enhance the competitiveness of agri SMEs

Bringing agriculture-related innovations to the market (quantitatively dominated by SMEs) is challenging. The parties lack business development skills and consciousness of applying the newest technologies. Our consortium’s main assumption is that once we are able to identify a group of SMEs opened to one type of innovation, this group will act as a catalyst of its environment. Building upon this hypothesis, we have identified two main pillars that we aim to implement during the project.

BioInnovation4V4: V4 cooperation

This project is about to develop synergies and enhance cooperation between research, the public and private sectors in order to stimulate agricultural innovation in the Visegrad countries.

In all industries, innovation is the driving force of economic growth and development, of which agricultural and agricultural enterprises are no exception. There is a large gap between research institutes and potential end-users of research results (eg farmers, food industry). We believe that in order to make further progress in the sustainable growth of the bioeconomy, we need to focus on research, innovation and international cooperation in knowledge-based development.

We organized a workshop in early 2017, to help researchers, policy makers and their stakeholders to establish and strengthen an appropriate network, thus helping them to submit joint applications for larger projects to increase innovation capacity in the future.

CATAlySt: European Capacity Enhancement

In every industry innovation is the driving force of development and progress, and agriculture is certainly no exception. However innovation and innovative results do not always reach the end-users who could benefit from them, there is a big gap between research institutes and the potential end-users of research results. For this reason, agricultural innovation services appeared on the market with the aim of providing agricultural innovation advice and the EC’s Standing Committee on Agricultural Research introduced the concept of innovation broker, whose role would be to act as an intermediary between the demand and supply of agricultural research and extension services.

RAPIDINF: Disaster management

The main objective of the project is to provide a powerful tool to authorities and bodies responsible for disaster management to quickly and effectively address social and natural challenges. Our goal is to empower public authorities and public bodies responsible for disaster management with not only soft but also „hard” (e.g. technical) capacity building tools in order to tackle more effectively the challenges of our region, specifically the natural and social post-disaster situations.

We also seek to assist and support public authorities to improve their organizational and functional capacity in order to build sustainable livelihoods. We aim to make the authorities capable to provide the needed infrastructure in a cost-effective way and in a very short time after the calamity has occurred; we want to provide them proven solutions and methods to be able to build up their community affected by disasters and to be able to guarantee the civil safety of the affected communities.

One of the specific objectives is to understand the needs of different communities affected by disasters. We believe that any post-disaster intervention has to address the real needs of the communities and the recovery planning needs to follow the results of the needs assessment. This is the main driver of our aim to conduct a socio-cultural research among the affected communities and prepare the design basis of a modular complex infrastructure system that can be rapidly deployed.

HORIZONT2020: Research Center

Our R&D Center is currently seeking partners to implement a Horizon 2020 research project that aims to design and implement a clinical decision support system that addresses the cardiovascular diagnosis and care processes.

The developed cardiovascular therapeutic model will be supported by adaptive and workflow based processes that are modeled and developed based on existing and measured data.

AgriICT – Regional Summer School

Discovery Center is organizing a two-week training program centered around activities related to ICT in agriculture. The attendee’s first task during the Regional Summer School will be to carry out an inventory of all the relevant research programs in Europe and to identify overlaps and gaps in existing research agendas in Western Balkans. They will also compare the research agendas of different programs and exploring existing and potential linkages among them and with agro-industry. The ultimate goal will be to create strategic research agenda for ICTs in agriculture. It will feature a list of future priorities, as agreed by all the partners within the Regional Summer School.

Partners will improve the quality of Western Balkan research and development activities on ICTs in agriculture. It may also help to level up Central and Southern East Europe position in the development of novel ICTs and applications. The program may encourage V4 and WB youth to become more competitive without compromising on quality as well as protecting the agro-environment.

ShareMyGarden: Personal Gardening Assistant

A ShareMyGarden egy olyan idős emberek számára felépített IKT-platform, ami a kertészetet terápiás oldalról közelíti meg, segítve az idős embereket, hogy a társadalom aktív tagjai maradjanak megkönnyítve kommunikációt számukra a mindennapokban.

A program több elemből áll. Ennek része egy személyes kertészeti asszisztens (PGA), ami életkorbarát felületével megkönnyíti az idős emberek interakcióját, segítve őket abban, hogy aktívak maradjanak és önállóan irányítsák környezetüket, továbbá hasznosnak érezzék magukat a társadalom számára és javítsák otthoni kertjük funkcionalitását;
Része egy barátságos környezet (UFE), amely lehetővé teszi az idősek számára, hogy kölcsönhatásba léphessenek a szemantikus eszközök és érzékelők nyílt hálózatával, valós idejű felhasználói felület-alkalmazkodással a környezettudatosság jegyében;
Tartalmaz egy felhasználói profilt, fórumot, és piacteret, ahol az idős emberek képesek egymással kommunikálni és részt venni a társadalmi tudatosság kialakításában;
Eleme az életkornak megfelelő szolgáltatások keretrendszere (SCE), amin keresztül támogatja a gyors és könnyed alkalmazásfejlesztést, hogy különböző szolgáltatásokat akkor lehessen hozzáadni és elvenni amikor szükség van rájuk;

A szenzorok interakciója során a különböző eszközök összekapcsolása a felhasználó preferenciáinak és az egyes üzemek igényeinek megfelelően jön létre. A ShareMyGarden nem egyszerűen összerakja a meglévő technológiákat, hanem új eszközöket fejleszt, megerősíti az aktív időskor társadalom szerepvállalását és a mindennapi életének javítását.

Preparing interdisciplinary research teams in Kaposvár University for the participation in international programmes in the field of applied ecology, mathematics and environment-technology

The aim of the project was to support the creation of knowledge-intensive, value-added products and services in Kaposvár University. The project fostered the growth of Hungary to become an outstanding, R&D capacity accumulating, entrepreneurship-attracting knowledge-region, exerting multiplier effect on the region to increase its economical competitiveness.

The direct goal of the project was to prepare complex research projects with the participation of research teams and to develop the research management capacities within Kaposvár University.

Application possibilities of the collective intelligence by crowdsourcing in environment technology. Complex ecological solutions with remote sensing technologies. Applying multivariate mathematical models in the determination of viability limit in precision farming. Our aim was to establish connections between the participants of higher education and the internationally acclaimed institutes of certain research fields in order to facilitate the universities’ future contribution in various EU programs, for instance, Horizon2020.

YIBROVIC 2: Young innovation brokers for Visegrad countries – Summer School

YIBROVIC Summer School primarily aims to connect new generations of agriculture experts to exchange their knowledge and ideas. These new agricultural innovation brokers will develop innovative solutions for V4 and other partnering countries, formulating an innovation incubator, also establishing a network for sharing knowledge, ideas and best practices in the field of agricultural innovation brokerage.

AgENT – Agricultural Entrepreneurial Training for Young Community Leaders in Kenya

The AgENT Project offers skills development and intensive coaching for young community leaders intending to promote and develop agricultural ideas and growth of innovative agribusiness enterprises in Kenya.

Agriculture is a dominant economic activity in the developing country of Kenya. Rural economy and the ever growing population highly depend on agricultural activities and farm production. Despite this significance of the economy, farming is still less preferable amongst Kenyan youth.
Discovery R&D Center’s Agricultural Entrepreneurial Training (AgENT) for Young Community Leaders in Kenya project offers intensive coaching for young community leaders willing to promote and develop agro-entrepreneurial ideas and growth of innovative agribusiness enterprises in Kenya.

Discovery Center’s collaboration partners are Kenya National Farmers’ Federation (KENAFF) and Life Dace International (LDI). The organizations enable us to locally promote the opportunity and KENAFF also provides the room for the training. According to our plans, four agriculture researcher of Discovery R&D and six Kenya based experts will contribute during the training in order to adapt the introduced technologies to local circumstances. The consortium will work out detailed study materials for the young community leaders, which will be shared during the skills development part of the AgENT project.

After the specialized coaching, these agents will be capable to reach an estimated 500 basis of young agro-entrepreneurs and help them launching their own agricultural businesses by helping them with the preparation of business plans, fundraising, using ICT tools, creating marketing plans and connecting the peri-urban areas.

YIBROVIC: Young innovation brokers for Visegrad countries – Summer School

YIBROVIC Summer School primarily aims to connect new generations of agriculture experts to exchange their knowledge and ideas. These new agricultural innovation brokers will develop innovative solutions for V4 and other partnering countries, formulating an innovation incubator, also establishing a network for sharing knowledge, ideas and best practices in the field of agricultural innovation brokerage.