FABAPUZZLE

"Optimizing the Faba Bean Value Chain for Enhanced Quality, Quantity, and Climate-Resilience."

Faba bean is a promising but underutilized protein crop in Europe. The FABAPUZZLE project brings together partners across the value chain to improve its performance from seed to food.

⌐ The project has been granted 7.975.169 DKK in funding.  
⌐ The project starts on 1 May 2025 and will end on 31 December 2027.

Introducing the FABAPUZZLE project

Background for the project:

Faba bean (Vicia faba) offers major sustainability and nutritional advantages for plant-based food systems, yet its production and processing are limited by variable yields and inconsistent quality. Current varieties struggle under climate stress, and downstream applications face challenges like off-flavors and anti-nutritional factors. To meet the growing demand for local, high-quality plant proteins, new solutions are needed that integrate genetics, agronomy, and food science.

The activities 

FABAPUZZLE is a Dutch-Danish collaboration bringing together breeders, farmers, processors, and researchers to address key bottlenecks across the faba value chain. The project combines field and greenhouse trials, genomic screens, enzymatic profiling, and advanced food quality analyses. Partners work closely to align breeding, management, and processing strategies, culminating in an integrated yield and quality modeling framework.

Outcomes

The project will deliver new insights into how genetics, environment, and novel farming practices interact to affect yield and quality in faba bean. It will produce improved tools for selecting varieties suited to plant-based food applications and generate practical innovations for cultivation and processing. By building an open, collaborative platform, FABAPUZZLE aims to strengthen the European protein transition and accelerate the adoption of faba as a reliable, high-value, crop for future food systems.