ABOUT US

The agricultural sector face two major challenges: water scarcity and climate change. The current agricultural model must adapt to these challenges and move towards conservative agriculture with the implementation of new agricultural practices and technologies that ensure maximum performance in the application of resources. Faced with these future prospects, CICLICA proposes an alternative production system where traditional crops with added value go from being cultivated with sustainable agricultural practices and management and new adapted technologies. The objective of CICLICA project is to ensure the strengthening of Mediterranean agricultural systems based on agroecological principles with adapted species, solving the growing pressure due to the degradation of natural resources and the effects of climate change. The project is ambitious because of the combination of techniques/technologies and nano-biotechnology has not yet been tested in real situations for use in this type of crop. This approach will result in a better understanding of the short- and long-term effects of using unconventional water resources in irrigation and will be a key challenge in promoting the expansion of agricultural water reuse in rural areas and autoctonous crops, ensuring the sustainability of the field and food security.

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Period of Implementation
Jun 1, 2022 - May 31, 2025
Total Budget
EUR 1.00

Project team

Partners

Donors

OUR IMPACT

Goals

The goal of the project is to promote the farming systems in the Mediterranean region based on agrological principles, to face the growing pressures from natural resources degradation and climate change, through (1) introduce integrated on-farm practices aiming to mitigate the impacts of abiotic stresses overcrop health and productivity, (2) boost the sustainable balance between agricultural productivity and ecosystem services, considering the application of low-quality water for irrigation, managing water quantity and quality during irrigation using superabsorbent polymer, crop- water productivity, soil health, and environmental foot print.

Objectives

To validate the implementation of water saving strategies (sustainable irrigation, mulching and subsurface drip irrigation) with the use of Nano-biotechnology as techniques to mitigate salinity and water stress (novel ecofriendly superabsorbent polymers and biofertilization using indigenous mycorrhizal complex) under climate change conditions. To improve the soil health by using novel eco-friendly superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) and Biofertilisation using indigenous mycorrhizal complex (AMF), as an economical and environmental- friendly alternative to synthetic fertilizers. To introduce alternative crops in the farming system and regulate its capacity to face abiotic stresses and its resilience to climate change. To deliver zero-pollution recommendations based on the LCAs conclusions to address all potential environmental impacts including those under climate change conditions. To develop specific and adapted training programmes in partner countries, to transfer knowledge to the local companies and farmers in order to develop potential businesses based on new bio based products.

Problems and Needs Analysis

The Mediterranean is among the most sensitive areas on the planet and constitutes one of the most exposed to the risk of drought. The area suffers from a non-capillary distribution of energy and a physiological scarcity of water resources, which affects the resilience of agricultural chains, thus determining an objective risk to maintain food security in the production of agricultural commodities, the fundamental food of any population. Climate change, together with the disproportionate exploitation of natural resources, will cause an even stronger decrease in the availability of water, energy, and food, as well as an imbalance of the ecosystem, thus affecting to a greater extent the resilience of food systems and therefore in life quality of the population. In this regard, it should also be underlined that, especially in the Mediterranean context, agriculture provides a significant revenue, and its support translates into an important contribution to the country’s economic growth. At the same time, at the different levels of the agricultural food chains (i.e. from the soil to the market) different kinds of biowaste are generated and often managed inappropriately.

Intervention Strategy(ies)

In this sense, CICLICA propose an alternative farming system where traditional add-value crops change to be grown from “wild” to “domestic”, with sustainable practices and technologies adapted. With the motto “back to the past with current knowledge”, CICLICA will develop an integrated farming system combining water saving strategies, biotechnology techniques and genetic regulation

Impact Pathway

CICLICA will impact various agricultural, ecological, social and economic sectors: i) leading to an improvement of innovative sustainable food production systems in saline environments, ii) tackling the impacts of climate change and challenging soil issues (i.e. salinization) through the optimization in the use of non-conventional water resources, iii) defining the actual irrigation requirements in the short and medium term and adapting technology to more cost-effective small-farming systems. The overall approach of this proposal is increasing biodiversity and ecosystem services by applying advanced farming practices and biotechnology techniques in alternative crops. The new perspective comes from the assumption that technology development, societal engagement and transferring knowledge will be enhanced by the new sustainable agro-ecosystems technologies, in a form that best fits the needs of end-users and the associated supply chain. The expected impacts will be easily monitored all along the cropping systems, using LCA methodology helping to improve environmental footprints and the economic and social resilience of Mediterranean smallholder farming, compared to traditional farming systems.

WHERE WE WORK

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