Franco-Japanese symposium on soil microorganism interactions

For fifteen years, Vitagora has been working closely with its Japanese partners, KBCC (Kyushu Bio Cluster Conference) and NARO (National Agriculture and Food Research Organization), on topics of mutual interest in agri-food innovation, particularly research into taste, health, and nutrition.

This year, the partners are once again pooling their expertise to organize a Franco-Japanese symposium on the theme of “interactions between soil microorganisms,” illustrating the dynamic scientific and agri-food cooperation between France and Japan.

Symposium on soil microorganism interactions

The symposium began with a presentation by Fabrice Martin, Director of the Agroecology Research Unit, who introduced the Optileg project. This six-year project, coordinated by INRAE, aims to encourage beneficial interactions between legumes such as peas and lentils and soil microorganisms in order to promote low-input protein production for more sustainable agriculture. Next, Laurent Philippot, Research Director at INRAE, discussed the HARMI project, highlighting the potential of microbiomes for sustainable development.

Sophie Bourgeteau-Sadet, researcher at UMR Agroécologie, then took the floor to detail the Metha-BioSol poject,, which explores the impact of digestates from methanization on the biological and ecological quality of soils through the use of bio-indicators. Next, Dr. Ryo Ohtomo, principal researcher at NARO, outlined the benefits of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for soil health, a crucial topic for sustainable agriculture. Dr. Akira Kawaguchi, also from NARO, presented a biological control solution for grapevine crown gall disease using a non-pathogenic bacterial strain.

The day continued with pitches from three innovative companies from the Vitagora network in the field of agroecology: Agrial, France's leading agricultural and agri-food cooperative; Solicaz, a company specializing in ecological engineering and the restoration of natural soil capital in tropical areas; and Auxoway, an agri-tech start-up that aims to revolutionize practices in the seed and agri-food sectors.

Organized in partnership with Agronov, Dijon Métropole, INRAE Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Kyushu Bio Cluster Conference, NARO, ProDij, the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Region, UMR Agroecology, and the University of Bourgogne, this major scientific event provided an opportunity to discover scientific and technical advances in the impact of soil microorganisms on sustainable agriculture, while facilitating meetings between international scientific and industrial experts.