Citizen science project "Soja in a 1000 gardens" shows efficacy of local soil organisms for successful soybean cultivation in first field trials

In March 2021, VIB, together with then Minister of Innovation and Agriculture Hilde Crevits, launched an appeal to the Flemish people to grow soy in their own gardens. That call was part of a project by VIB, together with partners Ghent University, KU Leuven and ILVO, to find bacteria that occur naturally in Flemish soils and that work well with soy plants in our regions. Participants were asked to sacrifice one square meter of their garden to plant soy. With success, as the project managed to get more than 1,000 participants (including farmers) to participate, which together allowed VIB and ILVO to identify bacteria that are necessary for quality soybean cultivation.