The Belgian Center for Fruit Growing (Pcfruit), together with the Universities of Hasselt and Maastricht, is starting a study on the usefulness of fruits in the production of building materials or textiles. This is reported by the Dutch Fruit Growers Organization (NFO).
Fibers from plants such as hemp are already being used as insulating material in construction. Pcfruit wants to explore whether substances found in fruit varieties could also find new uses. For fruit growers, this can be useful when, for example, there is an additional destination for fruits that are currently being processed industrially.
This includes ferulic acid. “This acid is found in several types of fruit. For example, it can be used in the textile industry to make clothing biodegradable,” Pcfruit Managing Director Dani Bylemans told VRT radio.
In addition to Pcfruit’s collaboration with the Universities of Hasselt and Maastricht, the pilot center is collaborating with the textile innovation center Centexbel in Ghent and Compas Agro in Venlo. The province of Limburg, Flanders and the European Union are jointly allocating 4 million euros for the study. This period is three years.
Bio-based building on the rise webinar – an opportunity for farmers?
Biologically based construction is in vogue. The government wants to promote bio-based construction. This opens up opportunities for farmers involved in farming. But what exactly is a biologically based design? What do politicians want to achieve with bio-based building? What can cultivation, research and supply chains do about it? Is it possible to profit from growing fiber crops? BO Akkerbouw, Duurzaam Praktijknetwerk Akkerbouw (DPA) and Nieuwe Oogst are organizing a webinar for arable farmers about the opportunities this new development offers. This will be an extensive program with speakers from Biobased Innovations Garden, Ballast Nedam, Van De Bilt zaden and vlas, Building Balance, Rabobank, Triodos and LTO. January 24 from 19.30 to 21.00. You can register here: Biobased construction on the rise, an opportunity for farmers?
Sebagéyan gedhé anggota FNV sing makarya ing hortikultura omah kaca ora sarujuk karo usul pungkasan majikan.
Miturut serikat pekerja, ana longkangan sing signifikan antarane tawaran final majikan lan syarat upah FNV. Perwakilan majikan ngusulake kenaikan upah 3 persen wiwit 1 Januari 2023, lan 2 persen wiwit 1 Juli 2023. Direktur Linda Slugter saka FNV Agrarisch Groen nyatakake yen kanthi proposal iki, jumlah karyawan mesthi bakal suda 5 persen. .
Slagter nelpon kaputusan saka anggota FNV ora setuju iki kandel. Dheweke uga percaya yen kesetiaan karyawan marang majikane asring diuji. "Kita kuciwa karo iki lan njaluk majikan supaya menehi tawaran sing luwih apik."
Kompensasi rega umum
FNV pengin kenaikan biaya urip dibayangke ing upah. Kajaba iku, serikat pekerja ngusulake kanggo nyakup kompensasi rega umum ing persetujuan kolektif. Slugter ujar manawa FNV ngerti manawa tukang kebon omah kaca uga ngalami kesulitan, nanging dheweke uga weruh manawa akeh karyawan sing ora ngerti carane ndhukung finansial.
"Iki ndadékaké rasa ora puas ing papan kerja, lan proposal pungkasan majikan kanggo persetujuan tawar-menawar bebarengan ora nambah kahanan," ujare pimpinan eksekutif serikat pekerja. Miturut FNV, rata-rata udakara 35,000 karyawan kerja ing hortikultura omah kaca. Ing mangsa puncak, jumlah iki luwih dhuwur.