Due to its high protein and gluten content, semolina made from durum wheat is particularly suitable for the production of pasta, as it makes the dough elastic and easy to work with. However, durum wheat is not only popular with producers, there is also demand from customers for pasta made from durum wheat, especially for organic products made in Luxembourg. However, there is currently no high-yielding cultivation of this grain in this country, as it thrives particularly well in dry locations.

Nevertheless, progress in the culture of durum wheat and climate change mean that the cultivation areas are expanding further and further north. The “Institut fir Biologesch Landwirtschaft an Agrarökologie Luxemburg” (IBLA) is currently testing different varieties of durum wheat as part of its organic variety trials. In our latitudes, it is likely to be mainly winter-hardy durum wheat varieties that can achieve good yields thanks to their early sowing.

These are excellent prerequisites for carrying out the project “Establishing a value chain from the cultivation of durum wheat and further processing into pasta”, which is being funded by the Ministry of Agriculture as part of the “Plan d’action national de promotion de l’agriculture biologique PAN-Bio 2025”. The organic egg marketing association “BIO OVO S.A.” has set itself the goal of launching a new pasta product on the market containing a maximum of durum wheat grown in Luxembourg. In addition to expanding the range of organic foods produced in Luxembourg, the production of pasta allows the utilisation of eggs that cannot be sold due to optical defects.

The successful, organic cultivation of durum wheat is central to the entire project. In this respect, the “Institut fir Biologesch Landwirtschaft an Agrarökologie Luxemburg” (IBLA) plays an important advisory role for the farmers participating in the three-year project.

The durum wheat will be processed into semolina at the “Dörrwiesmühle” in St. Wendel (Germany) and the pasta will be produced at the organic farm “Miller-Mariany”.