Videos

Hannes

Wilms

KU Leuven

Helping farmers... by cloning coconuts

Coconut milk, coconut water, coconut oil,... More and more coconut products are popping up in our supermarket. But soon the supply of coconuts will no longer be able to follow the demand. Luckily, Hannes Wilms & his KU Leuven colleagues are developing a new method to grow millions of palms starting from one single coconut, as to save us from a coconut crisis.

Karimi

Solomon

FWO

KU Leuven

Better storage leads to better apples

Meet Karimi Solomon, a researcher at KU Leuven - FWO. Karimi studies the aroma of apples. Does that mean he sniffs apples all day long? Not exactly. Watch the video to hear Karimi explain why & how he studies the aroma of apples.

Ruben

Van De Vijver

ILVO

KU Leuven

Drones map potato diseases

In Belgium, we grow a lot of potatoes. Unfortunately, potato plants are very susceptible to diseases. To prevent the spread of diseases, farmers spray their entire potato field with pesticides. Ruben Van De Vijver (ILVO) wants to use drones and artificial intelligence to spray only sick plants. Find out more in the video.

Maria

Culman

KU Leuven

VITO

Satellite images: giving computers better eyes for tree mapping

Trees are an important source of food and fuel for local communities all over the world. It is important to map them, so as to be able to protect them. But how do you start mapping millions of trees? Well, by combining satellite images with digital image processing technology. Problem solved? Not yet, as even computers have a hard time recognizing trees on top-down satellite images of the Earth's surface. Maria Culman (KU Leuven - VITO) explains how she intends to overcome this challenge.

Wannes

Slosse

UGent

Strong together: Congolese coffee farmers in conflict area

Do you also just love coffee? A lot of good coffee comes from Kivu and Ituri, regions in eastern Congo where fierce fighting has raged for years between rebel groups and the state. How do coffee farmers manage to produce and sell coffee despite this difficult situation? Cooperatives play an important role in this, explains Wannes Slosse.

Sébastjen

Schoenaers

FWO

UAntwerpen

How plants really grow

Biologist Sébastjen Schoenaers (UAntwerpen) watches his son Ferre grow rapidly. Yet Ferre grows 150 times slower than an ordinary corn leaf 🌱 We still don't understand how plants do this. Sébastjen zooms in on the plant up to molecular level to figure out how it really grows 🔬 This can help us grow plants better and faster.

Joran

Verspreet

VITO

Micro-algae: how to make space food your daily snack?

Micro-algae form a healthy protein-rich meal. No wonder this is eaten by astronauts during space travels 👨‍🚀 Joran Verspreet's (VITO) mission is to get this fancy space food onto your plate 🍽

Karina

Rios Rios

VITO

Feeding your superhero bacteria with prebiotics

Your gut is filled with 'superhero' bacteria that help you maintain your body in a healthy way. These superheroes rely on prebiotics; compounds that help them grow. Karina Rios Rios (VITO) is looking for such prebiotics in unsuspected resources... Find out how she wants to help you feed your superhero bacteria.

Lise

Soetemans

VITO

More and healthier strawberries thanks to insect breeders 🍓 🐛

Insects and fruit, it doesn't seem like a very successful combination. And yet, insect breeders and their 'critters' can help strawberry farmers to grow more and healthier strawberries. Lise Soetemans (VITO) explains how.

Maroua

Grira

UGent

Reforesting 80.000 trees a day: a mission impossible?

Did you know that it's possible to grow 1 million new trees in one year starting from (fragments of) one single plant? By using the promising technique of in vitro propagation, Maroua Grira (Ghent University) wants to save tree species such as Mahogany & Dalbergia from extinction.

Lotte

Van Peteghem

UGent

What if we fed bacteria to our fish and pigs? 🦠 🍽 🐟 🐖

Imagine that you could use the CO2 emissions of factories to feed animals! Two birds with one stone. Well, this is possible! in this video, Lotte Van Peteghem (Ghent University) explains how she would like to use the CO2 emissions of steel factory Arcelor Mittal to eventually feed about 150,000 pigs

Evelien

Cronin

ILVO

UGent

Innovation for a more sustainable agriculture 🚜 👨🏽‍🌾

A strawberry picking robot: a fine example of innovation in agriculture. Yet innovations seem difficult to spread in the agricultural sector. That's why Evelien Cronin is researching how we can improve the innovation process: "Alone you go faster, but together you get further."