Project: Tracing rice and valorizing side streams along Mediterranean blockchain

Acronym	TRACE-RICE
Project Topic	The overall objective of TRACE-RICE is to achieve a multidisciplinary critical mass to address pressing challenges to the Mediterranean rice sector by enabling the transfer of competences, technologies and organizational innovation among the partners. The work plan will facilitate adoption of cost-efficient and environmentally safe tools and technologies and promote innovative business models, improving quality, sustainability and opening new markets, with a focus on authenticity, for rice produced in the Mediterranean. Activities are focused on creation of expedite tools for rice authenticity, innovative solutions for contaminant mitigation, product traceability, conversion of by-products to innovative natural functional ingredients and creation of robust models from unstructured data. TRACE-RICE pays particular attention to implementation of RFID tags for wireless and real time supply chain integration, enabling a more sustainable use of resources and minimizing waste. The project will also target upscaling and replication of successful case studies in two different rural territories, taking account of their diversity. Liaison with standardization bodies will allow a large dissemination of validation data obtained by their inclusion in harmonized protocols. The dissemination and adoption of techniques along the rice Mediterreanean value chain will be achieved via a communication plan for the 3 countries involved and further linking to the European Federation of the sector for a wider dissemination. TRACE-RICE will identify business models with high potential for empowering rural communities to take advantage of the opportunities arising from improved rice value chain optimisation and new markets. It will directly support the creation of sustainable jobs and growth and in the long-term strengthen rural economic diversification, supporting Regional and Rural Development policy.
Network	PRIMA
Call	Section 1 Call 2019 - Agro-food Value Chain

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
1	Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, I.P., INIAV	Coordinator	Portugal
2	University Alexandria	Partner	Egypt
3	Alamal Rice Company, Alamal	Partner	Egypt
4	Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, iBET	Partner	Portugal
5	Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier (ITQB NOVA), UNL - ITQB	Partner	Portugal
6	CASA DO ARROZ	Partner	Portugal
7	Ernesto Morgado, SA, EM	Partner	Portugal
8	Mater Dynamics	Partner	Portugal
9	Building Global Innovators, BGI ;	Partner	Portugal
10	Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas – Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos, CSIC - IATA	Partner	Spain
11	Desarrollos Panaderos Levantinos, S.L., DPL	Partner	Spain