🔬 What’s inside crops like sweet potato and cassava? 🌱At CREA Ricerca in Rome, researchers analyse starch by breaking it into glucose and measuring it through light absorption. This helps turn underutilised crops into real food products within ROTATES. #ROTATES #Agroecology #FoodInnovation #MRTCrops

💧 World Water Day Water access shapes agriculture, yet inequalities persist. The 2026 theme Water and Gender highlights how women are central to water use but underrepresented in decisions. Learn more: www.unwater.org/our-work/wor... #WorldWaterDay #ROTATES

🌱 New publication linked to ROTATES! Frédéric Baudron (CIRAD) explores how smallholder realities shape the link between farming and biodiversity. Yields are only one priority, alongside risk, labour and stability. 🌍 A key insight for agroecological transitions. 🔗 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

🌱 First scientific publication from ROTATES! Researchers from @cirad.bsky.social published a paper in Nature Genetics presenting YamHub, an international platform for yam research and breeding in Guadeloupe. 🔗 Discover YamHub: www.yamhub.fr 🔗 Read the article: doi.org/10.1038/s415...

🌱 In French Guiana, ROTATES is taking action on the ground. With Panakuh and @cirad.bsky.social, farmers gathered to plant cassava and test agroecological systems designed to reduce deforestation. From tackling “witches’ broom” to intercropping and rotations, local knowledge meets innovation.

In "Challanges in developing value of chains of minor crops", Cesar Revoredo-Giha (SRUC) and Carla Barlagne (INRAE) explore why scaling MRT crops in EU requires action across the whole value chain, from farmers to consumers. 🌱 Read the article: rotates.eu/2026/01/26/c...

In “What Is the Multi-Actor Approach and Why It Matters for Innovation”, Tamara Kozic and Dr. Saša Štraus (ITC) explore how co-creation and collaboration make innovation more relevant and impactful. 👉 Read the article: rotates.eu/2026/01/21/w...

In “Hidden Underground: Why Root and Tuber Crops Matter”, Hanâ Chaïr (CIRAD, ROTATES) explores the resilience and potential of MRT crops in Europe. 👉 Read the article: rotates.eu/2026/01/19/h... #ROTATES #CIRAD #MRTCrops #HorizonEurope

At ROTATES, we see pulses as small crops with a big impact 🌱 Packed with protein, vitamins & minerals, they improve soil, boost biodiversity, and support resilient, sustainable farming. Crop diversity = healthier soils, better diets, stronger agriculture 💚 #WorldPulsesDay

🔬 Within ROTATES, CREA analysed sweet potato leaves and roots to measure total dietary fibre. This work helps understand the nutritional value of minor root and tuber crops and supports their integration into sustainable European food systems.🌱 #ROTATES #HorizonEurope #CREAricerca #Agrobiodiversity

✨ The first #ROTATES Newsletter is live! Your quarterly update dedicated to Minor Root and Tuber (MRT) crops and their contribution to agrobiodiversity, climate-resilient farming systems, and innovation. 🌱Living Labs • Breeding Hubs • Case Studies • Partner updates

Tuber Tidbits #2 🌱 Did you know that root and tuber crops don’t just grow underground, they survive underground? Sweet potato, yam, cassava and taro store energy below the soil, helping them cope with drought, heat and climate stress.

🤝ROTATES × PROSPER: a new partnership for crop diversification and resilient agri-food systems. Together, we share a common vision: diversifying agriculture, strengthening value chains, enhancing farmer resilience & connecting biodiversity. Stronger collaboration means greater impact!

✨ ROTATES wishes you a bright and inspiring 2026! A new year begins, bringing fresh opportunities to strengthen our collaborations, connect with our community and continue placing Minor Roots and Tuber at the forefront of our ambitions. Warmest wishes for a successful 2026 from the ROTATES team!

🌱Seasonal greetings from ROTATES Thank you to all our partners, farmers, researchers & pilot Living Labs for a year of collaboration and shared progress toward resilient, biodiverse agri-food systems.

🌱Partner spotlight: ACOESTE (Madeira, Portugal) ACOESTE is a non-profit agricultural association supporting farmers on the west coast of Madeira through training, technical advice, and innovation🌍

🌱Predicting Yam Performance with Leaf Spectra? Yes, we do! The @cirad.bsky.social DEFI team in Guadeloupe is advancing ROTATES’ work by using leaf spectroscopy (NIRS) to predict yam performance before harvest. @inrae-france.bsky.social @universitedeliege.bsky.social @enoll-network.bsky.social

🌱World Soil Day and why it matters for ROTATES Our project works to improve soil health by integrating Minor Root & Tuber crops into diverse farming systems across Europe. @cirad.bsky.social @inrae-france.bsky.social @universitedeliege.bsky.social @enoll-network.bsky.social

🌱Partner spotlight: Thomas Plants With over 30 years of expertise in vegetable seedling production, Thomas Plants is a key player supporting growers across France. Their R&D division develops climate-resilient varieties, including new sweet potato lines tailored for European conditions.

🌱Tuber Tidbits #1 Did you know that minor root and tuber (MRT) crops like sweet potato, yam, cassava and taro are still considered “minor” crops in Europe while they’re already very common in other countries?

🌱Partner spotlight: Université de Liège – Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech & TERRA (Belgium) As the bioengineering faculty of ULiège, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech and the TERRA research center focus on sustainable agriculture, biodiversity and resilient ecosystems🌍 @universitedeliege.bsky.social

🌱Partner spotlight: Institut Lyfe (France) Known worldwide for excellence in gastronomy & hospitality (formerly Institut Paul Bocuse), Institut Lyfe combines education, research & innovation. “Transforming food and hospitality through knowledge, innovation, and creativity.”

🎓New PhD position within the #ROTATES project! Explore the genomic diversity of cassava and taro: key crops for biodiversity and resilience in sustainable agri-food systems. 📍Montpellier, France (CIRAD – AGAP Institute) Focus: Comparative genomics, molecular evolution, pangenomes

🌱 The #ROTATES Newsletter is coming soon! Get the latest updates on agrobiodiversity, crop innovation, and sustainable food systems. 👉 Subscribe here: rotates.eu/newsletter/ #HorizonEurope #Sustainability #FoodInnovation

🌱Partner spotlight: ENoLL – European Network of Living Labs @enoll-network.bsky.social is the world’s largest network of certified Living Labs, with 170+ members! In ROTATES, they bring: 🤝Expertise in user-centred co-creation 🌍A global innovation ecosystem tackling real-world challenges

🌱 Partner spotlight: CREA – Research Centre for Engineering and Agro-Food Processing As Italy’s leading agri-food research organisation, CREA brings 30+ years of expertise in cereal transformation & pasta quality. “Meeting 21st-century food challenges with circular, bio-based solutions.”

🚀 The ROTATES website is live! Check out our new home online 👉 rotates.eu Follow our journey as we boost agrobiodiversity with minor root & tuber crops 🌱 and build resilient, sustainable food systems across Europe & Africa 🌍. #ROTATES #HorizonEU #AgroBiodiversity

🌱Partner spotlight: ITC – Innovation Technology Cluster Murska Sobota (Slovenia) ITC drives innovation, digitalisation & sustainability in agri-food🌍. In ROTATES, they bring: 🤝Multi-actor approach expertise 💡Living Lab & Pilot coordination 📈Cross-sector collaboration & knowledge sharing

🌱 Coordinator spotlight: @cirad.bsky.social CIRAD (France) leads ROTATES, bringing decades of experience in tropical & Mediterranean agriculture 🌍. Their expertise covers genomics, crop systems, plant health & value chains for cassava, yam, taro & sweet potato.

🌱 Together in ROTATES: boosting resilience & biodiversity through agriculture! 🤝18 partners across 🌍 join forces to promote minor starchy root & tuber crops like yam, taro, sweet potato & cassava. @cirad.bsky.social @inrae-france.bsky.social @universitedeliege.bsky.social

ROTATES Consortium brings together exceptional expertise, spanning the entire agri-food value chain: #farmers, #researchers, #processors, #marketers and #consumers. Uniting agronomy, data science, entomology, and social science, ROTATES channels knowledge to cultivate the agriculture of the future.

🌱 What if the key to a resilient future is buried beneath our feet? ROTATES is unearthing it, with cassava, yam, taro & sweet potato. From France to Cyprus, Madeira to Guadeloupe, and even the Republic of Congo, this project is planting the seeds for renewal. #ClimateResilience #EUResearch

🌱 The ROTATES Project just kicked off in Montpellier (7–8 July)! A Horizon Europe effort to boost agrobiodiversity by integrating sweet potato, yam, cassava & taro into EU farming systems. Let’s rotate toward resilient agriculture. #ROTATESproject #Agroecology #HorizonEurope #FoodSecurity