Dr inż. Arkadiusz Matuszewski, the laureate of the 14th edition of the NCBiR’s LEADER programme

Dr inż. Arkadiusz Matuszewski will receive more than PLN 1.5 million in funding for his research on “Kokogel – the use of hydrogels in poultry production, and the development of the organic fertilizer production using chicken manure enriched with active biological additives”. All winners were awarded prizes at the 14th edition of the LEADER Programme Gala, held on 21 March 2024.

LIDER is the programme offered by NCBiR. It is designed to enhance the competencies of young scientists in conducting investigations and leading their research teams while carrying out projects with implementation prospects.In the 14th edition of the NCBiR’s LIDER project competition, 41 projects were granted financial support, with a total amount of financing of PLN 70,334,420. Dr Matuszewski representing the Department of Animal Environment Biology, the Institute of Animal Sciences will be granted PLN 1 547 806.25 for the execution of the project. The project is expected to last for three years.

The project’s objective is to develop an organic fertilizer formula that uses the synergy effect arising from the combination of different compounds: chicken manure, microbial consortia derived from rhizosphere, activated carbon, and hydrogel. Adding hydrogel as early as the rearing stage will improve litter quality and animal welfare, and provide a substrate for the further production of an innovative fertilizer. The use of the product will rebalance the biological life of the soil, improve the condition of the plants, and strengthen their resistance to stress caused by drought and other diseases.