Françoise Bafort

IIS WASABI 2.0 is a Walloon (south part of Belgium) ecosystem including 64 Walloon partners from diversified horizon: R&D, Formation, Companies, Cities, Territory Developpers, gathered around the thematic of stimulating the horticultural agri-food sector in Wallonia by integrating production, processing, and distribution of horticulture, including organic waste and plants by-products, and animals with low conversion rates (fish, insects, poultry). The aim is to develop diversified, small-scale agri-food systems that are sustainable, circular, and resilient. To achieve this, we support stakeholders along the value chain to foster the development of the emerging horticultural agri-food sector, prioritizing sustainable local production and short supply chains. The objective is to bring Wasabi 2.0 partner(s) to European collaboration. Our consortium is already involved in 5 Horizon-Europe projects (just begin or on-going), 1 EU-China Joint Action (on-going), 1 Cornet (on-going), 1 Interreg NWE (just begin), 1 Eurostar (just begin) and 1 Interreg NWE (just submitted 1 step - pending) on various subjects : Sustainable urban agriculture, Valorization of organic waste, Sustainable agriculture, Valorization of plants by-products. The IIS Wasabi 2.0 is coordinated by the University of Liège. The University of Liège (ULiège) is a recognized institution of higher education located in Belgium, in the city of Liège. Founded in 1817, it is one of the oldest universities in the country. ULiège offers a wide range of study programs in various fields, such as sciences, technology, health sciences, social sciences, humanities, and arts. The university is distinguished by its cutting-edge research and commitment to innovation, as well as its collaboration with academic, industrial, and governmental partners both nationally and internationally.