AIR Institute brings together organizations from across the Mediterranean to boost the economic growth of smallholder farmers

By The AIR Institute

The AIR Institute coordinates the FARMS4CLIMATE project, which pursues modernization and economic growth through the promotion of carbon agroecological agriculture. To this end, it has the collaboration of partners in northern and southern Mediterranean countries, whose representatives attended the kick-off meeting held in Salamanca, coordinated by Juan Manuel Corchado, president of the AIR Institute. The following entities are part of the project:

  • Soluciones Agrícolas Ecoinnovadoras (SAE), Spain.
  • Fundación Commonland (AVA), Spain.
  • Università degli Studi della Basilicata (UNIBAS), Italy.
  • Agreenment srl (AGM), Italy.
  • Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC), Italy.
  • IFOAM AgriBioMediterraneo (IFOAM), Greece.
  • Sekem for Land Reclamation (SEKEM), Egypt.
  • Heliopolis University (HU), Egypt.
  • Institut National de Recherche en Génie Rural, Eaux et Forêts (IEF), Tunisia.
  • SQLI Services (SQLI), Tunisia.
  • International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Lebanon

 

Over the next three years, funded by the PRIMA Foundation through the Horizon 2020 program, the project proposes a strategy for agricultural transformation through improvements in circular farming, crop rotation, carbon farming and digital tools. To ensure effectiveness and economic benefits, smallholder farmers and agricultural organizations are contacted to assess their specific needs.

Over the course of FARMS4CLIMATE, living labs or laboratories will be set up in different parts of the Mediterranean to be used as areas for demonstrating innovative farming techniques and obtaining feedback from farmers. In addition, technologies such as Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence will be used to predict how much fertilizer or other resources the farmer needs, as well as recommending sustainable agricultural practices and gender transformative approaches.

The ambitious goal pursued by the FARMS4CLIMATE project will result in a series of sustainable agriculture tools that can be extrapolated to generate a positive impact on agriculture in countries around the world.