On December 4, the Estonian Research Council organized the national science forum “TeadusEST 2025: Competition at the top of Estonian Science is Fierce”, which focused on Estonian centres of excellence and the evaluation of science.

At the event, Inga Hiiesalu-Vahter introduced the centre of excellence AgroCropFuture, “Agroecology and new crops in the future climates”, where UTARTU is partner. In her presentation, she spoke about the importance of the centre of excellence and its goals.

Agriculture currently faces many challenges. However, more unstable weather and economic conditions create favourable conditions for innovation. AgroCropFuture studies new cultures and their yields in changing conditions. In addition, they look into soil microbiome and its impact on yields and ecosystem services. The interaction between cultures and the microbiome is important, and cultures with so-called plastic properties are stronger in complex conditions. Finally, AgroCropFuture contributes to the digitalization of data and analyses and the development of the PlutoF database, including the development of AI for eDNA mapping and analyses and projections.

The Agroecology Center of Excellence is led by the Estonian University of Life Sciences, and the project will last until 2030. The project is funded by the Estonian Research Council.