Marginal lands and industrial crops for the European bioeconomy
Combining bio-based products, climate resilience and biodiversity through innovative agricultural value chains.
Supporting the European Bioeconomy
The transition to a bio-based economy requires a sustainable supply of biomass, while ensuring food security and respecting our environment.
Climate-resilient industrial crops grown on marginal agricultural land can provide sustainable biomass for the European bioeconomy, without reducing the land available for food, while enhancing soil health and protecting biodiversity.
MIDAS is a Horizon Europe project that aims to:
Map and characterize marginal land in Europe for low-ILUC biomass production
Grow industrial crops on marginal land with climate-resilient and biodiversity-compatible systems
Produce sustainable biomass feedstock additional to food production
Build value chains and develop business for innovative bio-based products
Bio-based value chains
MIDAS adopts a resource-efficient biorefinery concept to develop innovative value chains for a wide range of bio-products.
Protecting soil health and biodiversity
The use of selected industrial crops and the adoption of innovative cropping systems protect pollinators, enhance biodiversity at landscape level, remove carbon from the atmosphere and reduce soil erosion.
Europe's Marginal Lands
In this StoryMap we explain
how we define and mapped marginal lands for the current (2020) situation and for
the future (2050).
Supporting the European Green Deal
Supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals
News
Upcoming webinar – Farming for Bio-based Materials and Biodiversity
10 September 2025
Over 30 % of Europe’s agricultural land is considered marginal due to challenging conditions such as poor soil health, water scarcity, and steep terrain. The
Beyond biomass: How cropping systems can shape insect biodiversity in marginal land
3 September 2025
In the MIDAS project, we believe in cultivating more than just biomass on marginal lands—we’re cultivating biodiversity. Our mission is to develop climate-resilient farming systems
New article: Agroforestry with industrial crops can enhance biodiversity in marginal land
2 September 2025
Can we design agricultural systems that produce sustainable materials for the European bioeconomy while protecting and enhancing the biodiversity of agro-ecosystems? This is one of
