The project aims to develop an agroecological sheep/goat farming system (HaloSheep) based on the valorization of spontaneous halophytes of saline area of the coastal Mediterranean regions, threated by climate change (CL), salinization of water and soil, anthropogenic pressures, biological invasions, and extinction of native species. This project is based on a multidisciplinary approach considering soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, plant-animal-human food chain, and socio-environmental constraints. The challenge is to maintain a balance between productivity, household food security, and environmental preservation in systems developed in high salinity and in a context of CL. The consortium is multidisciplinary with complementary skills to carry out systemic approaches and model the functioning of the ecosystem and provide tangible solutions improving the sustainability of the ecosystem and its resilience to CL. The work will be carried out in collaboration with development organizations, associations, and breeders. Six Mediterranean countries (Tunisia, Greece, Turkey, Italy, France, Spain) are implicated and three of them (Tunisia, Greece and Turkey) are concerned by the prototype study, on the field. In each country, one or two locations are considered (Kerkennah archipelago for Tunisia, Creta and Aegean Islands for Greece and lake of Burdur and Yarışlı for Turkey). The approach is to characterize first the existing agrosystem and then to propose innovative practices, based on agroecological concepts (HaloSheep agroecosystem) to improve the technical, economic, social and environmental sustainability. The typology of sheep/goat production system will be done to evaluate the importance of this activity in the target areas. The spatio-temporal flora diversity will be analysed to identify the most valuable pasture resources and model some species dynamic in a context of CL. Sustainable feeding systems based on halophytes and maximal incorporation of local resources will be developed. Genetic diversity of local breeds will be explored to identify high impact candidate alleles that may contribute to adaptation to harsh conditions and CL. In pilot farms, risks factors for animal health and welfare will be identified and assessed to develop and promote best practices for livestock health and welfare. Health benefits (antibacterial and antiparasitic effects) of halophytes extracts will be also evaluated. Sensorial and nutritional milk and meat qualities produced according to innovative feeding practices will be appreciated, to assess labelling possibilities, considering ecological, agronomical, socio-economic and regulatory data. The novel products can be highly valued in a context of promotion of agroecological and sustainable agriculture. Finally, economic, social, and environmental sustainability of the HaloSheep agroecosystem will be studied to highlight the potential increase of income for sheep and goat farms. HaloSheep project will impacts at the short and long terms, it will increase knowledge concerning the genetic diversity of local breeds, their adaptation capacity to salinity, thermic stress and their phenotypic traits that provide a longer-term impact as a basis for the sustainable development of small ruminant system. It will improve knowledge about extremophile flora, represented by halophytes and their possible adaptation with CL. The project is expected to help local communities to develop farms based on local breeds in order not only to increase production by terms of yields but also by terms of better-quality products and better biodiversity and environment management. The sustainability and viability of the farms could be achieved, with parallel amelioration of farmers ‘income.

SUSTEMICROP is a Research and Innovation project that aims to increase the resilience of Mediterranean cropping systems and the competitiveness of small farmers in a climate change-affected environment, through the development of innovative, affordable, and systemic solutions with positive economic, environmental, and societal impacts. SUSTEMICROP will deliver a package of sustainable strategies, products, and tools that, when applied individually or adopted as a whole under integrated management, will allow small farmers to increase their competitiveness, adopt innovations and achieve overall sustainability. The project Consortium is composed of 11 Partners from 8 different countries, covering a range of complementary competences and skills. They all have specialised profiles and possess in-depth knowledge of the role that natural capital plays in developing crop strategies oriented towards sustainability, impact assessment, digital management tools, and an extensive capacity for the development of solutions adapted to small-scale farming for the project target crops (hop, grapevine (both vine and table grapes) and date palm), with high replicability and transferability potential into other crops and Mediterranean regions. Partners will execute SUSTEMICROP over 36 months with a total budget of € 2.248.894,80 requesting a public contribution of € 1.464.049,00. The project will generate broad scientific-technological knowledge (TRL 4) and develop applicable solutions (TRL 7), under an overall approach structured in 4 technological areas: 1) the selection of new Biological Control Agents (BCAs) and the use of compostable plant residues to generate BCA-amended compost to control soil-borne fungal pathogens; 2) the use of biopesticides based on natural resources for controlling key plant fungal diseases; 3) the use of fungal disease resistant crop varieties (genotypes) better adapted to adverse effects due to climate change and 4) sustainability assessment of agroecological innovations and related digital solutions support tools. In addition, the project foresees activities to approach the farmer (and other relevant stakeholders) to evaluate the agroecological innovations acceptance, allowing to connect the results generated with the reality of the primary sector. Overall, SUSTEMICROP will generate a significant and quantifiable impact, in the short term (2024) and medium term (2030), aligned with PRIMA SRIA and the 2030 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS, that will contribute to achieve the European GREENDEAL, the FARM-TO-FORK and the EU BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY in the agri-food chain.

For the UK to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2050, it is estimated that the mix of Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR) technologies required will equate to ca. 35 M tonnes of carbon (MtC) p.a. Biochar can potentially make a major contribution both to this target and the adoption of farming practices described by the Committee on Climate Change (2020) to achieve a 64% reduction by 2050 in greenhouse gas emissions across agriculture, land use and peatlands by 64% from the 2017 level of 16 MtC. However, there are some significant challenges to overcome. There is limited availability of virgin wood to produce biochar and there are no large-scale production plants operating in the UK. Further, as well as economic viability and societal acceptability, there are concerns over biochar stability with initial degradation occurring over relatively short timescales. We propose to conduct the most ambitious and comprehensive demonstration programme to date involving arable and grassland, woodland, contaminated land, and where soil erosion control is required. Using over 200 tonnes of biochar, we will address uncertainties regarding the extent and scope of deployment and its stability with respect to carbon sequestration, together with quantifying effects on ecosystem services. The proposed research programme is highly inter-disciplinary, bridging engineering, geoscience, bioscience, social science and techno-economics, specifically designed to provide answers to the key challenges outlined and establish whether biochar can make a significant contribution to meet the UK's 2050 GGR target . The quantitative approach that we will adopt based on internationally leading science represents a step-change for biochar research in the UK, which has focussed primarily on agricultural benefits and not addressed the key challenges regarding carbon sequestration that are needed to reduce the uncertainty for policy development. Alternative bio-derived feedstocks that will significantly increase the production potential by >1 MtC p.a, will be identified. Two of our industrial partners, CEG and CPL operate demonstration and commercial plants, making them ideally placed to establish biochar production at scale in the UK. The extensive trials will provide a sound basis for establishing the potential for biochar deployment across agriculture, contaminated and reclaimed land and woodland, enabling regional and national scale effects to be quantified. To date, most field trials have been relatively localised and short-term. We aim to deploy char in large-scale farming and land management scenarios where the effects of 'real-world' management practices on the behaviour of char will be evaluated. Our excellent links with the farming sector, including the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and the National Farmers' Union, will provide the springboard to explore a wide range of stakeholder perspectives on biochar's role in GGR to aid policy development. . The Demonstrator will address concerns over environmental health and soil ecosystem service functioning and will provide the first comprehensive assessment of biochar stability in the UK and its impact on greenhouse gas soil emissions, with our international leading biological science and analytical capabilities. This will enable robust policy to be developed in which payments are based on the amount of carbon sequestered over extended timescales. Our business models will be based on our integrated life cycle and techno-economic analysis, identifying the carbon prices required to make deployment feasible and incorporating co-benefits of biochar use in agriculture. The Demonstrator will provide the Hub with all the necessary scientific, technological, environmental, economic and societal evidence to enable biochar deployment to be assessed in relation to other GGR approaches.