ABOUT THE CROPDIVA PROJECT
CROPDIVA set out to strengthen the resilience of European agriculture and food systems by increasing agrobiodiversity. The project focused on six underutilised crops with strong potential for European climates and markets: oats, triticale, hull-less barley, buckwheat, narrow-leaved lupin and faba bean. By combining field research, genetic insights, processing work, consumer research and market analysis, CROPDIVA showed how these crops can play a meaningful role in future farming systems and value chains.
Why the Project Matters
Europe faces pressure to reduce its environmental footprint while maintaining stable food production. A reliance on only a few major crops leaves farming systems vulnerable to pests, diseases and climate extremes. It also limits dietary diversity, as many foods are still based on the same small set of staple crops, reducing access to a broader range of plant-based nutrients. At the same time, processors and consumers are looking for nutritious, plant-based and locally sourced ingredients.
CROPDIVA addressed these challenges by diversifying both what is grown in the field and what becomes available on the market. The project took a holistic, field-to-fork approach to ensure that new crop options are agronomically viable, environmentally beneficial and supported by realistic processing, marketing and product opportunities.
Our Approach
CROPDIVA’s approach connected work in the field, in breeding programmes and along the value chain. The project combined agronomy, genetics, processing, consumer research and market analysis to understand how six underutilised crops can realistically fit into European farming and food systems.
1. Testing crop performance across Europe 2. Designing resilient cropping systems 3. Building new value chains and products 4. Understanding consumers, markets and business models 5. Supporting breeding for future needs Show the five elements of our approach
CROPDIVA evaluated varieties and breeding lines of oats, triticale, hull-less barley, buckwheat, narrow-leaved lupin and faba bean at multiple field sites representing Europe’s main climatic zones. This generated comparable data on yield and yield stability, responses to drought, heat and nutrient limitations, disease resistance and pest tolerance, grain quality relevant for food and feed, and performance in both low-input and conventional systems. This made it possible to identify which crops and varieties perform best under specific environmental and management conditions.
The project went beyond single crops and developed diversified systems, including cereal–legume intercrops (for example, cereals with lupin or faba bean), rotations that improve soil health and reduce fertiliser use, management strategies that increase nitrogen use efficiency and buffer against climate variability, and cropping options that support pollinators and on-farm biodiversity. These systems helped stabilise production while reducing dependence on synthetic inputs.
CROPDIVA worked with food and feed processors to test how the crops behave in processing and product development. This included milling, fractionation and protein extraction; characterising nutritional composition and functional properties; assessing food safety and regulatory aspects; and developing prototype products such as bakery items, plant-based spreads, hybrid meat products, drinks and fibre-rich ingredients. This demonstrated that the crops are not only agronomically promising, but can also be turned into attractive, market-ready products.
Alongside technical work, CROPDIVA explored how these crops can succeed commercially. The project surveyed consumers across Europe to understand interest in plant-based and sustainable products, analysed preferred product formats, and examined how underutilised crops can be introduced through familiar categories such as bakery goods, pasta, spreads and hybrid meat products. It also considered how retailers and brand owners can position these crops for added value and clear shelf differentiation, and studied business and marketing models that connect farmers, processors and retailers in functioning value chains.
CROPDIVA characterised genetic diversity and key traits within each crop and linked these to field performance and end-use quality. This work identified traits associated with stress tolerance, yield stability, grain quality and nutritional properties; provided information useful for marker development and breeding tools; evaluated advanced breeding lines under realistic farm conditions; and fed data into a digital platform to support breeders and advisers. These outputs help develop future varieties that are resilient, nutritious and well adapted to European climates and value chains.
The CROPDIVA Consortium
CROPDIVA brought together a multidisciplinary consortium of universities, research institutes, breeders, food and feed processors, and industry partners from across Europe. This collaboration enabled the project to address the entire value chain, from genetic resources and agronomy to processing, product development, consumer research and market insights.
In total, 27 partners from 12 countries contributed their expertise. Their combined efforts ensured that each crop was tested under diverse environmental conditions and evaluated for real-world applications, helping demonstrate how underutilised crops can strengthen both farming systems and European food markets.
Lasting Impact
As CROPDIVA has now finished, it leaves a solid foundation for more diverse and resilient European agriculture and food systems. The project provides tested crop material, insights into successful intercropping and rotation strategies, and proven opportunities for food and feed applications. In addition, several key outputs make it easy for stakeholders and future projects to build on CROPDIVA’s results.
AI decision-support system
CROPDIVA developed an AI-based decision-support system that brings together knowledge from the project in an accessible, conversational tool. It can be freely queried by breeders, farmers, processors, retailers, researchers and other stakeholders, and offers a basis for future projects to build on and expand.
Stakeholder-focused brochure
The CROPDIVA brochure summarises the main findings of the project in a practical way, structured by stakeholder group. Breeders, farmers, food and feed processors, brand owners and retailers can quickly see which results and examples are most relevant for them, including concrete lessons from the field and from product development.