CLIMED-FRUIT
SUMMARY
CLIMED-FRUIT aims to share practical knowledge from various Operational Groups (OG) across Europe to better adapt perennial Mediterranean crops (grape vine, olive, fruits) to climate change and mitigate its effects. The project involves a multi-actor consortium of advisors, farmer organizations, research and education institutes, and standardization organizations across seven countries (France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Serbia).
Key focus areas include:
- Soil conservation and carbon storage
- Improving crop resilience to climatic hazards (frost, hail)
- Innovative water stress management practices
- Adapting food chain processes to climate change and diversification
- Preserving biodiversity for better resilience to climate change and pests
Best practices will be shared through digital formats, cross-visits, and local dissemination events. Additionally, new knowledge will be gathered through an open contest inviting abstracts from various European and international projects. The best solutions will be presented at an online conference and ranked by participants based on cost/benefit ratio, then widely disseminated.
Knowledge will be spread using social media, videos, podcasts, and editorial partnerships with technical reviews. A forum will be established to capitalize on existing OG experiences and encourage new OGs to explore practical climate adaptation knowledge.
OBJECTIVES
CLIMED-FRUIT has the following specific objectives (SO):
Objective 1: build a network of OGs, based on 5 sub-topics, and provide feed-back from stakeholders who are already experienced OGs
Objective 2: collect results obtained from a core group of 9 Operational Groups (OGs), and OG and projects outside consortium, related to strategies to adapt and increase the resilience to climate change in the crops in the Mediterranean area in 5 main sub-topics
Objective 3: select and shape the information according to the targeted stakeholders (scientists, agronomists, advisors, farmers, citizens, and policymakers) and their applicability (usefulness, readiness, cost/benefit).
Objective 4: translate the most significant informative documents into the 7 languages most used in the EU Mediterranean area (English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Croatian), enabling wide access to practitioners
Objective 5: share useful information with findings from European and international (i.e. North Africa) research and innovation, especially multi-actor projects and private initiatives and enable cross-fertilization among OGs, other EU projects and amongst agricultural sectors (grape, olive, citrus, nuts …)
Objective 6: disseminate the documents through diversified forms and media, choosing the most effective for each category of stakeholders. A communication and dissemination plan will be closely monitored, and partnerships with the most popular journals or magazines will be set up.
Objective 7: promote peer learning amongst farmers and advisors through cross visits and cross-fertilisation, and strengthen advisory role as a knowledge transfer facilitator.
Objective 8: feed EU repositories and initiatives, in particular EIP Agri and CAP networks, to share better the knowledge collected by OGs on climate resilience for perennials and inform farmers on innovation.
Objective 9: foster and support the creation of new OGs on the topic, especially in countries where so far OGs on the topic are not implemented.
Why are these objectives pertinent to the work programme topic?
CLIMED-FRUIT aims to scale up local solutions to the EU level, raising awareness of innovative practices developed by Operational Groups (OGs) across Europe in line with the EU climate-neutrality goal by 2050 and the Horizon Europe Mission. The project focuses on improving the understanding of climate change risks and mitigation solutions, particularly for perennial Mediterranean crops. It emphasizes carbon storage, climate resilience, and practical solutions, promoting co-design, co-implementation, and co-evaluation of these methods.
Key activities include a mix of on-field and online events to enhance digital skills and foster interconnection among Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) across different EU regions. CLIMED-FRUIT supports the EU Green Deal, Farm-to-Fork strategy, CAP, and Organic Action Plan objectives, aiming to:
– Achieve a neutral or positive environmental impact
– Mitigate and adapt to climate change
– Reverse biodiversity loss
– Ensure food security and nutrition
– Increase organic farming
– Enhance food system resilience
– Reduce dependency on pesticides and fertilizers.
METHODOLOGY AND APPROACH
SEASN’s INVOLVEMENT IN THE PROJECT
SEASN’s member, the Institute for Science Application in Agriculture (IPN), participates in this project as an affiliated entity, while SEASN itself participates as a beneficiary. SEASN is responsible for leading Task 1.3 in Work Package 1, providing tools, materials, and methods for organizing digital cross-visits. Additionally, SEASN leads Task 4.2, which focuses on creating digital stories for mainstream farmers, and Task 4.4, which involves producing technical articles. These tasks are part of Work Package 4, and SEASN serves as the leader for each.
DELIVERABLES of the project
One of the project’s key deliverables includes Digital Stories and Extended Practice (EP) Abstracts. The Extended Practice Abstracts provide valuable insights into the project’s selected practices, offering a structured overview that includes an introduction to the Operational Group or project behind the practice, a detailed description of a specific practice implemented for climate change mitigation or adaptation, and a simplified cost-benefit analysis to assess its impact. Additionally, you can explore all the Digital Stories to see these selected practices and gain a deeper understanding of their application.
Here you can view the Extended Practice Abstract in PDF format or watch the Digital Stories by following the link to the YouTube platform:
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- The use of subsurface irrigation in viticulture (.pdf, YouTube)
- Spontaneous plant cover in almond trees (.pdf, YouTube)
- Green manure in Mediterranean viticulture (.pdf, YouTube)
- On-farm production and application of compost tea (.pdf)
- Improving the shelf life of organic table grapes through an innovative packaging system endowed with a breathable device (BlowDevice® Technology) (.pdf)
- Late winter pruning to prevent spring frost damage and maintain freshness of the grape/delay ripening (.pdf, YouTube)
- Precission irrigation at the service of the vineyard (.pdf, YouTube)
- The sustainability of the avocado crop in Europe (.pdf, YouTube)
- Rice straw mulching to increase water efficiency in citrus production (.pdf, YouTube)
