MED-GOLD will demonstrate the proof-of-concept for climate services in the agriculture sector by developing case studies for three hallmarks of the Mediterranean food system: grapes, olives and durum wheat. Agriculture is primarily climate-driven and hence highly vulnerable to climate variability and change. Evidence suggests that the Mediterranean region is under immediate threat of shifting climate patterns and the associated ecological, economic and social effects. Developing a capacity to turn the increasingly big climate-related data into tailored climate services that can inform decision-making in agriculture, is therefore a priority both in Europe and worldwide. The long-term goal of this project is to make European agriculture and food systems more competitive, resilient, and efficient in the face of climate change, by using climate services to minimize climate-driven risks/costs and seize opportunities for added-value. The MED-GOLD project aims to develop climate services for olive, grape, and durum wheat crop systems that are the basis for producing olive oil, wine and pasta. This set of crops and related food products is of utmost climatic, ecological, economic, and cultural relevance to the Mediterranean region. Because olive oil, wine and pasta are not only hallmarks of the Mediterranean diet but also food commodities with a global market, there is considerable potential for developing climate services with high added-value for olive, grape, and durum wheat. A key challenge is to co-design prototype pilot service applications involving both suppliers and users in the three major traditional Mediterranean crop systems so as to demonstrate the added-value of data/information-driven responses to changes in the climate system. The operational decision-making of users will be reviewed to either identify key decisions or introduce new actions that can benefit from climate-related information at different timescales from months to decades.

This project aims at the development of fully integrated, small, low-cost, standalone smart system used for grape maturation monitoring. It will consist of an optical detection head ( flexible strip or transparent canopy) connected to the grape bunch, including power, signal pre-processing, and wireless communications. The detection head will be optically based (UV-VIS-NIR) using an integration of LED sources and photodiode/interference filter arrays at wafer level or wafer package level. This project aims at the development of a fully integrated, small, low-cost, standalone device used for grape maturation and vine hydric stress monitoring. It will consist of an optical detection head connected to the top of the grape bunch, including power, signal preprocessing, and communications. Reflectance and fluorescence measurements will be used at various wavelengths to probe spectral signatures for phenols (for instance anthocyanins reflectance have a maximum absorption band at around 500-540nm, and flavonols-reflectance at 300-400 at about 370nm), for clorophile chlorophylls (fluorescence at 680-750nm) and other indexes. pH and Brix will be correlated with the optical reflectance and fluorescence measurements. The project concept originated from conversations between Sogrape (a major wine producing company with estates in Portugal, Spain, Chile and Australia and the realization of the pressing need for the development of a standalone device for grape maturation and vine hydric stress control. Partners with the required know how were then contacted to bring in and incorporate the various components required at wafer level, wafer package level, component level and system level necessary for the devclopment of an electronic smart system. Furthemore, the consortium as a whole can carry developed systems into volume production.

The current changes in climatic conditions including recurrent droughts in Mediterranean countries become a huge threat to the sustainability of grape production, food security and farmers’ incomes in this region. In addition, the majority of the grown grapevine cultivars (Vitis vinifera L.) is susceptible to fungal diseases requiring use of chemical pesticides that are harmful to human health and the environment. A true challenge is currently the evolution towards production systems combining sustainability, economic viability, and more eco-friendly practices. Using and managing functional microbial diversity (FMD) with beneficial viticultural practices is among the most promising and innovative levers in farming system. Manipulation of plant microbiome has great potential in reducing disease incidences, promoting plant growth and fitness and increasing productivity even under stress conditions. MiDiVine project aimed at developing knowledge, tools and integrated approaches based on grapevine genetic resources and agricultural practices promoting functional microbial diversity (FMD) to better improve grapevine production and resistance against the main foliar and trunk diseases (grey mold, downy mildew and esca) under drought stress conditions, thereby reducing pesticide use in vineyards. The project will focus on the characterization of FMD and the identification of beneficial microbes from traditional cultivated/elite cultivars with different practices and indigenous vines for improving grapevine health and productivity in open vineyards under water shortage conditions. MiDiVine project will analyze the impact of plant genotype, soil type and agricultural practices including the use of covers and service plants, on FMD and the efficiency of beneficial microbes against diseases under stress conditions. The proposal will therefore provide innovative and sustainable solution to improve agroecosystem services by managing soil microbiome and intercropping in Mediterranean countries in order to reduce dependency on agro-chemical pesticides in vineyards, These objectives might be achieved through the development of instruments, such as innovation partnerships, to promote innovation in viticulture by bridging the existing gap between research and farming practices and facilitating communication and cooperation among stakeholders. The project will especially focus on (i) the valorization of local/elite grapevine genotypes and indigenous varieties to characterize FMD to increase sustainability and resilience of farming systems; (ii) understanding the genetic and physiological bases of grapevine adaptation to abiotic stress and resistance to pathogenic oomycete and fungi and development of new protection strategies through multi-factorial approaches, based mainly on the promotion of beneficial FMD; (iii) identifying beneficial microbes and managing FMD in vineyard systems as an innovative strategy for restoring soil functionality, avoiding water scarcity, ensuring sustainable grapevine protection against diseases, and thus improving profitability and (iv) disseminating practical experiences within Mediterranean regions with local cultural practices in which the actors will develop, test and validate the new tools and strategies integrating FMD for effective resilience to drought as well as integrated disease management in new farming systems.

The DIRECTIVE 2009/128/EC ON THE SUSTAINABLE USE OF PESTICIDES gives directions for attaining the sustainable use of pesticides in the EU. The objective is to minimize risks and impacts for the environment and human health by promoting alternative strategies. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is one of the cornerstones of the Directive. NOVATERRA aims to reduce the use and negative impacts of CONTENTIOUS PLANT PROTECTION PRODUCTS (PPP) for integrated pest, disease and weed management in the two main Mediterranean crops in Europe: grapevines and olives. NOVATERRA will develop a pool of novel, integrated and sustainable strategies, technically and economically viable, resulting from three different approaches: a) To develop novel combinations of ALTERNATIVE, non-synthetic PRODUCTS and biological control techniques for plant protection, b) To optimize the application and dosage of PPP through SMART FARMING technologies and c) To mitigate the appearance of pest and diseases through the use of new SOIL MANAGEMENT strategies. Those approaches will be evaluated and validated in a combination of integrated solutions for updating and improving IPM strategies. Indicators for measuring the impact of crop management and protection on human health, air, water, soil, biodiversity, energy will be implemented. Further analyses will be done in terms of economic cost-benefit for farmers to adopt the different techniques and farmers and consumers’ willingness to pay. The consortium composition will guarantee a multi-actor approach with contributions coming from research institutions, growers, technological SMEs, auxiliary industry and relevant associations. Finally, the Exploitation Plan together with the Communication and Dissemination Plan will ensure the outreach of results among the stakeholders in the European farming sector. NOVATERRA outputs will also be key for further discussion with policymakers in terms of EU plant health policies and risk assessment around PPPs usage.

The EMBEDED project aims to demonstrate alternative business models in 36 months by transforming waste from Europe traditional agrifood industries into biochar and construction boards, with a long-term carbon sink effect and short resilient value chains. The validation of the km.0 application of biochar on primary producer plantations and the regional market characterization will be conducted. Valorisation streams aim to combine marginal revenues from mainstream residues (olive pomace, olive stones, grape mark) with overlooked or underutilised ones (cork bark left on field, press-cake from fresh grass, grape stems), with five demonstration pilots planned in Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and Czech Republic. Four of the pilots will have pyrolysis for the manufacture of biochar, using a modular method that fits pre- and post-conditioning phases into a single-maned portable unit. In two of the pilots, extractive methods aimed at bio-active chemicals will be evaluated to determine the added benefit of a cascade valorisation. Using a modular but stationary pilot, the Board production plant will capitalize on the cork outputs geographical. The consortium comprises 14 participants, comprising 5 SMEs and 1 LE that includes 2 technological developers and many influential figures in the agri-food industry of each designated region. In order to implement technology replications and technical transfer using the multi-actor strategy, the EMBEDED project will use 15% of the requested grant (750 k€) as financial support.