Project: Resilient Mediterranean with a holistic approach to sustainable agriculture: Addressing challenges of water, soil, energy and biodiversity

Acronym	ReMe-diation
Project Topic	Olive oil is the key element of Mediterranean diet whose health benefits are widely documented. The increased demand for olive oil and the desire to increase profitability have therefore led to an intensification of olive cultivation. Unsustainable agriculture practices in olive cultivation have amplified concerns about soil, groundwater contamination, water resource degradation and loss of biodiversity. Based on these grounds, the overarching goal of the project is to introduce sustainable agriculture practices that could provide socio-economic (by presenting new products) and environmental benefits (by increasing biodiversity and conserving soil and water) through different methods that contribute to the zero-pollution ambition and resource recovery. The specific objectives are to: implement an intercropping system in an olive grove by introducing local leguminous crops (that can adapt to climate change); produce bio-char from the residual biomass resulting from the maintenance of olive and cork trees to amend soil; test and apply the nature-based solution of constructed wetlands for treating the wastewater from cork and olive oil industry; recover/produce high value-added by-products from agricultural and industrial residues and the reed biomass grown in the constructed wetlands; produce renewable energy via anaerobic digestion of lignocellulosic agricultural/industrial residues and reed grown in the constructed wetlands; identify optimum energy conversion routes (electric power, heat, cooling) of the biogas production under Mediterranean context in the countryside; analyse anaerobic digestion residues (from biogas) as biofertilizer and identify possible routes for the production of bio-based chemicals via valorisation of lignin in the anaerobic residues; evaluate the project results with regards to economic, ecological and social parameters. The project will contribute to the following expected impacts: • Implementing intercropping system with minimal tillage in olive grove by introducing local leguminous crops will provide a more sustainable olive production with more efficient use of soil. This will improve soil properties, provide an additional income and protect farmers against financial losses due to climate change. The wastewater of olive oil and cork industry will be utilized in constructed wetlands, which will provide clean water for the production of legumes and increase the biodiversity in the region. • Anaerobic fermentation of different organic waste streams will contribute to a sustainable provision of energy/electricity and also improve waste management in Mediterranean area. Hence, it will improve the economic and social resilience in the region. • Biochar and biofertilizer applications will provide a more sustainable agricultural practice by not only enhancing the soil quality, fertility and crop production but also reducing the waste in the farming systems. It will also decrease the need of chemicals and provide financial benefit to farmers.
Network	PRIMA
Call	Section 2 – Multi-topic 2021

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
1	Hamburg University of Technology	Coordinator	Germany
2	Technical University of Crete	Partner	Greece
3	University of Beira Interior	Partner	Portugal
4	Akdeniz University	Partner	Türkiye
5	Ankara University	Partner	Türkiye