Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Long-term Europe-Africa Research and Innovation Partnership for Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture

Titre : CAMA : Research-based participatory approaches for adopting Conservation Agriculture in the Mediterranean Area

Pays/Région : Italy ; Greece ; Tunisia ; Algeria ; Morocco ; Spain ; Portugal ; France

Date : Start date 2020-07-01 // End date 2023-06-30

Identifiant : 233-CAMA
Type de projet : Development and innovation oriented (research) project

Contexte
Among the major challenges in the multidisciplinary fields of research, agricultural entrepreneurship and sustainable development science in the Mediterranean there are some related to encourage the spread of innovative techniques in agronomics to improve soil fertility and at the same time ensure satisfactory harvests, even in the presence of a reduced availability of water due to the growing drought. According to studies and estimates of the White Paper on Agriculture and Climate Change of the Ministry for Agricultural Policies, 75% of Italian soil is at risk of accelerated erosion due to the steepness and non-conservative management practices. According to an ISPRA’s Report, Italy, due to water erosion of the soil, i.e. the loss of the most superficial layer of the soil due to the action of rainwater, is losing 8.77 tons of soil per hectare every year with levels above the EU average. Crop management in Mediterranean rainfed cropping systems, is usually finalized to a more efficient water use. Most soils have low soil organic content, due to low water availability, high temperature and tillage intensity. Conservation agriculture (CA) – no soil layers inversion, plant residues mulching and crop rotations - could reduce the risk of soil quality degradation and improve nutrient and water use efficiencies.

Objectif
The funding will be used to study the main social, economic and agronomic obstacles that prevent the implementation of conservative agriculture by small farmers from different areas of the Mediterranean in order to preserve soil quality and reduce water erosion, thanks to innovative practices of conservative agriculture and testing of new varieties of legumes, to the recovery of traditional association practices and cover crops. The main activities will be evaluation, monitoring, dissemination of knowledge and exchange of know-how on the Italian and other countries of the researchers and farmers of the CAMA project team. The presence in the consortium of farmers’ associations, public research institutes and a post-graduate education center will guarantee a strong multidisciplinary, multicultural interaction and exchange at local and international level between scholars and all final beneficiaries.

Coordinateur : Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA)
Partenaires : Agromnia Arvalis - Institut du Végétal Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza (IAMZ-CIHEAM) University of Lleida CSIC - Spanish National Research Council Portuguese Association for Mobilization of Soil Conservation (APOSOLO) National Institute for Agrarian and Veterinary Research (INIAV) Hellenic Agricultural Organization DEMETER (ELGO) Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique de Tunisie (INRAT) Association for Sustainable Agriculture (APAD) École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique (ENSA) Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA-MAROC)

Financement principal : Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) (H2020)
Budget : 1 500 000 EUR

FNSSA project database