Expected impacts
The actions that will be supported by PRIMA in pillar 2 are expected to generate impacts at different levels:
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Protection of the natural resources. Mediterranean countries rely on a great diversity of incredibly valuable natural resources, i.e. biotic or abiotic materials that we can use but cannot create, such as water, air, soils or biodiversity, whose management is of vital importance for societies. However, the Mediterranean ecosystem is rather complex and fragile, threatened by climate and land use changes, overexploitation of resources by increasing population, soil erosion, compaction and salinization, water pollution, habitat destruction and fragmentation, and biodiversity loss. The future of the Mediterranean agriculture and more generally of Mediterranean societies relies on their ability to adopt a more sustainable way of managing natural resources. Agricultural systems are diverse and range from rain-fed low-input systems to highly intensive systems, but they all contribute to economic and sustainable development. Aquaculture, as coastal or as integrated with farming, also plays an important role in generating income despite some systems being controversial due to their polluting effect. The impacts of agricultural and aquaculture production systems on the natural resources, soil, water and biodiversity require to improve their environmental, social and economic sustainability at farm, regional, national, global or ecosystem levels. One major expected impact of the PRIMA programme will be to increase the protection of natural resources and thus the long-term sustainability of agricultural systems and aquaculture;
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Strengthening the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems. Adoption of innovations and achieving changes in farming practices is not only a question of finding technical solutions. It is also a question of social and economic conditions for realising investments and ability to get knowledge and experience, where public policies have a role to play, in providing economic incentives, information, training and advice. Research should translate into innovations and into socio-economic development. However, the way from research to innovation is not straightforward. It is not a linear process, that would go top-down from researchers to extensionists and then to farmers. Indeed, farmers and agribusinesses are also innovators, they are part of an innovation system, where innovation comes from interactions among the different actors. In agriculture, the AKIS concept (Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems), helps describe the mechanisms from Research to Innovation. In particular, it enhances the fact that farmers and their organisations should be involved all along the Research system. In the EU Member states, the experience of Extension Services, the involvement of farmers and end-users in the advisory systems has proven their efficiency. This is not the case in most of the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries. In both cases, PRIMA will support Research and Innovation as a part of the AKIS, with particular attention to the involvement of farmers and other end-users in the whole process. That is the condition for new crops, techniques, or farming systems to be adapted to the diversity of Mediterranean environmental constraints, available resources, cultural habits of growers and to the heterogeneity of farming structures;
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Support to small farmers. While the average size of farms in 2013 in European countries was 16.1 hectares of utilized agricultural area (EUROSTAT, 2016), because of a limited agricultural area and fragmented land ownership, the average farm size in the SEMCs is lower than in the European countries, ranging from 1.4 hectares per farm in Egypt, Palestine and Lebanon to 3.5 hectares in Jordan. Focus on technologies and productions adapted to small farmers is one objective of PRIMA pillar 2, which should produce innovations able to improve livelihood of Mediterranean population.
Pillar 3: Mediterranean food value chain for regional and local development
Scope
This pillar aims at providing a contribution to deal with food insecurity growingly spreading throughout the Mediterranean basin. It also intends to valorise the identity, nutritional aspects and other properties of food based upon Mediterranean biodiversity, traditional knowledge and cultural heritage, in order to make food sector an engine of growth.
More specifically, the pillar will address the need for solutions enhancing organisation and coordination in the food chains to improve efficiency, lifetime and waste valorisation to increase quantity, sustainable quality and recognisability of the product, and to valorise and recognize the product on domestic and international markets.
Secondly, the pillar highlights the relevance of innovating the traditional Mediterranean foods through more sustainable production systems, protecting them by quality labels (included geographical indications) and guarantee systems, in order to consolidate an affordable and balanced Mediterranean diet based on healthy food that, within a broader context of increased understanding of what are the interlinkages between nutrition and health, is able to curb the always more spreading dietary-drift phenomena.
Thirdly, the pillar stresses the key role played by the socio-economic determinants of changes in food habits, namely the need for a greater involvement of rural and industrial stakeholders, also through tailored strategies, capacity building activities and policy and investments, to ensure both food security and regional development, by integrating small producers, often isolated, into formal supply channels, urban markets, but also local alternative food networks. In this context, the pillar highlights the need for organisational innovations, intersectoral integration and, more specifically, for business models, management systems, training, communication strategies, e-infrastructure for data sharing and integration, as well as performance measurement systems that, focusing on quality and sustainability, are able to improve competitiveness of both food firms, localized agri-food systems and value chains and, more broadly, are able to promote jobs and regional economic development.
Acting against food insecurity and promoting food as an engine of sustainable development and economic growth, the pillar pursues social finalities broader than food security, first of all the mitigation of socio-economic uncertainties at the basis of migratory flows and political instability of the area.
Finally, the pillar recognizes the key role played by food choices and habits of young generations in shaping the sector, as well as the opportunities that the food system offers them.
Research challenges & Priorities to be addressed
In order to pursue the abovementioned scope, several challenges at regional level must be overcome, challenges that call stakeholders to play a more active and coordinated role:
Valorisation of the cultural identity and nutritional qualities of Mediterranean food and the development of new, evidence-based, healthy food products based on the constituents of the Mediterranean Diet. Research areas should cover:
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Construction of a compositional database focused on the content of health-promoting bioactive compounds in fresh and traditional food products, also in relation with the culinary traditions;
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Protection of authentic fresh and traditional Mediterranean food products by reliable traceability methods based on omics approaches;
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Application of new processing and packaging technologies to traditional products, to improve their sustainable production in the Mediterranean constraints, while preserving their molecular and sensorial identity;
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Realization of inventories of Mediterranean traditional products linked to biodiversity, cultural heritage and other local specific resources, endowed with data on their respective nutritional value and carbon/energy/water footprint, and realization of dedicated marketing solutions to improve their profitable commercialization;
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Development of new nutritionally balanced Mediterranean food products processed by adopting technologies addressing sustainability, accessibility, affordability and convenience values, while enhancing the nutritional quality and potential health benefits;
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Transformation dynamics of diet and, at the same time, preservation of local resources as important elements of the Mediterranean cultural inheritance.
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Recovering and re-use of bioactive compounds from waste processing and by-products of Mediterranean crops as ingredient in functional foods.
Enhancement of the links between nutrition and health with the aim of preventing diet-related diseases in the Mediterranean area, while valorising regional productions. Research areas should cover:
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Strengthening of the link between the Mediterranean diet and health benefits characterising and quantifying the different active substances with evident positive effects contained in local products;
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Demonstration of the genetic, epigenetic and behavioural determinants of chronic diseases, specifically focused on regional basis, in order to prevent the risk of many non-comunicable diseases by stimulating the consumption of healthy food in vulnerable targeted population groups;
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Assessment of the eating habits, their heterogeneity and their determinants in order to stimulate particularly younger generations to adopt Mediterranean traditional eating habits and abandon imbalanced diets;
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Recovery of ingredients, environmental conditions, culinary traditions and practices, with revisiting of such in light of the new scientific knowledge.
Enhancement of organisation and coordination in the food chains, with the aim of increasing quality and recognisability of the products, improving the introduction of eco-innovations such as efficiency and waste valorisation in agri-food clusters and value chains, as well as integrating small producers into formal supply channels in order to better link them to urban markets, but also into local alternative agri-food systems able to valorise the specificities of origin products and to reduce post-harvest losses. Research areas should cover:
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Optimization of all processes along the whole food chain (from production to storage, passing through transportation and commercialisation) to minimize waste and losses and recycling biomasses within the Mediterranean production system;
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Development of recognized quality labels (included geographical indications) based not only on quality assurance systems, but also on the specific characteristics of the products and/or specific characteristics of the production environment/process;
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Harmonization of norms and standards throughout the sectors along the supply chain (covering, among others, areas such as hazards and risk assessment, assurance of food shelf life, control of storage and transportation conditions);
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Development and optimization of novel preservation and processing technologies to reduce both environmental impacts and food waste generated;
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New value chains from agriculture and aquaculture side- and by-products, as well as energy recovery from waste in the landfill;
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New production systems able to ensure spatial organization of land-uses that could improve the resources management and develop environmental services produced by agriculture;
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Development of models for hazards prediction and risk assessment from the primary production up to food storage, transportation and preparation in the changing (pedoclimatic and societal) environment to prevent food crisis and facilitate trading in the Mediterranean regions.
Involvement of rural and industrial stakeholders to ensure both food security and regional development by increasing sustainable production, to be pursued through the design of appropriate agricultural and food policies, increased public and private investments, as well as research activities. Research areas, in particular, should cover:
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Strategies that, by adopting organisational and technological innovations and appropriate legal and institutional frameworks, are able to increase quantity and quality of regionally-produced food production and demonstrate them on objective basis;
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Strategies aimed at supporting the competitiveness of localized agri-food systems and recommendations for public policies to support collective actions, horizontal and vertical integration;
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Policies aiming at supporting multifunctionality through diversification of farm activities, direct selling, rural tourism;
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Inter-professional supply-chain organizations and consortia;
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Capacity building for rural and industrial stakeholders, through easily-accessible dedicated training programmes aimed at facilitating the adoption of solutions for the sustainable improvement of food security, that are tailored on the structural and dimensional characteristics of the Mediterranean enterprises;
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Capacity building for public and private stakeholders to promote rural areas as experiential rural tourism destinations, strictly linked to traditional agri-food products.
Increase in the adoption of sustainable innovations (technological, organisational and cultural) and business models among firms with the aim to improve their competitiveness, promoting jobs and regional economic development. Research areas should cover:
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Innovative business models for quality and sustainability of Mediterranean food productions and competitiveness of businesses operating in the sector;
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Planning, management control and measurement systems to support the execution of sustainability and quality-oriented business strategies;
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Marketing strategies and tools able to valorise food identity;
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Organizational and cultural changes needed to support the adoption of technological innovation in the sector;
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Inter-regional and multi-country chains and business models for farms and food companies and networks;
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New solutions for market access in non-Mediterranean countries;
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Building of networks and infrastructures for disseminating knowledge and practices, promoting reliability of measurement data, harmonization, data integration & sharing and interoperability;
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Performance management and measurement systems for quality and sustainability of typical high value Mediterranean productions and agro-clusters and harmonization with the current EU certification schemes based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA);
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Impact of different business models and management systems on jobs and development.
In the light of the consideration above exposed, the present pillar identifies the following priority topics to be addressed, priorities linked to one or more objectives of the pillar 3:
Priority Topics
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Orienting youth and industry towards sustainable competitive business models and reducing food waste in the whole value chain
Stimulating, by training and dissemination activities, both young generations of entrepreneurs and firms already operating in the sector at changing their perception of the sustainability-business relationship, and encouraging them to consider the incorporation of sustainability principles in their business models as a way not only to contribute to the improvement of both social and environmental conditions of the Mediterranean area, but also as a means to increase competitiveness and growth in the sector as a whole.
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Valorising food products from traditional Mediterranean diet
Increasing the quality of traditional foods through the improvement of both raw material composition and production technologies and procedures from one side, and preserving Mediterranean cultural inheritance through the respect of the range of agricultural and food products that have traditionally characterized the Mediterranean diet over history, also by means of geographical indications and other collective quality labels and the support to collective producers’ organizations, from the other side. Elaborating territorial strategies aimed at integrating agri-food production with other related activities, such as tourism and non-food artisanal products.
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Food safety in local food chains, health risk and hazards assessment
Elaborating and, above all, adopting innovative solutions aimed to improve quality control mechanisms and techniques throughout supply chains at both local and territorial levels in order to preserve food quality and safety along the entire food chain. Enhancing the links between place of origin, food processing and food quality & safety combining tradition, innovation, security and safety in food production and use.
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Organisation and coordination in the food chains for improving efficiency and waste valorisation
Elaborating and, above all, adopting innovative solutions aimed to create or, whether already existing, strengthen synergies and symbiotic networks among supply chains of different sectors, with the final goal of transforming waste generated in certain supply chains and by-products into added-value products for supply chains of other sectors.
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Integration of smallholders into formal supply chains
Facilitating formal supply chains and, in particular, improving the integration of small producers into formal supply chains, with the final goal, from one side, of overcoming existing geographical and logistical barriers that hamper the access of small producers to more structured commercial channels, therefore increasing their inclusion and, from the other side, to lay the bases to the formulation of harmonized standards for all agri-food supply chain relevant actors across Mediterranean. Elaborating strategies aiming at enhancing the competitiveness of Small and Medium Enterprises in localized agri-food systems, by means of public policies at territorial level (included provision of services, training activities) and support to collective action (such as territorial branding). Exploring innovative territorial pathways to integrate agri-food products and geographical indications, tourism, services, biomass production, etc.
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Health effects of the dietary shifts and promoting healthy and sustainable diet for the Med populations
Raising awareness among both Mediterranean population and agricultural producers about the key role played by the adoption of the Mediterranean diet for the prevention of chronic diseases, namely cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and metabolic syndromes, as well as about the relationship between diet and health in the Mediterranean context, by characterising and quantifying the different active substances contained in local products with specific reference to a) the genetic, epigenetic and behavioural determinants of chronic disease, specifically focused on regional target populations, in order to prevent the risk of many non-communicable diseases and b) the eating habits, their heterogeneity and their determinants in order to stimulate particularly younger generations to adopt traditional eating habits and abandon imbalanced diets.
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Technological and organizational innovation in the agri-food chain to promote suppliers and products with higher quality and sustainability level. Leadership role and solutions for competitiveness
Improving the overall supply chain performance, as well as to develop or strengthen, if already existing, the collaborations among supply chain actors though the introduction of technological and organizational sustainability and quality-oriented innovations recognizing, among the others, the role played by the supply chain leader, which has the task of both transferring knowledge to smaller producers and combining their needs to maximize business opportunities, acting as leader of change towards greater quality, safety and sustainability of agri-food productions.
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Expected Outputs
A broad range of outputs is expected to be obtained by the present pillar. In particular, outputs can be classified according to the following categories:
Outputs related to valorisation of the nutritional qualities of Mediterranean foods and the development of new functional food products based on the constituents of the Mediterranean diet:
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Better exploitation of the raw products and the biodiversity to increase the nutritional quality of food products or to produce stable nutritionally dense ingredients;
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Development of new products, bioactive extracts, and functional ingredients using side- and by-products from agriculture, which will target food, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical or environmental applications (natural additives, functional foods, bioenergy, biodegradable packaging materials);
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Selection and production of naturally fortified plant varieties (such as legumes and cereals) and friendly processed food products more convenient for the consumer;
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Development and optimization of innovative preservation and processing technologies including non-thermal technologies, smart packaging and non-cooling demand for the preservation of food;
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Proposition of locally processing solutions deriving from sustainable traditional recipes preserving the nutritional value of food.
Outputs related to improvements in the adoption of Mediterranean diet by the populations of the area through innovative solutions, both in terms of recipes and composition of products:
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New formulations of recipes (nutritionally adequate and compatible with other dimensions of sustainability) based on new ingredients, new processing methods or a combination of both factors;
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New Mediterranean diet-based healthy foods formulated or fortified to include health-promoting factors, such as polyphenols, anti-oxidants, bioactive peptides, resistant starch, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) enriched foods.
Outputs related to the enhancement of organisation and coordination in the food chains for efficiency, waste valorisation and integration of small producers into formal supply channels:
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Individuation of solutions to improve both horizontal and vertical coordination of food chains;
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Integration of all processes along the whole food chain to minimize waste and losses and recycling biomasses;
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Development of new modes of locally distribution and communication (relation between producers and consumers);
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Optimization of transportation and logistics in the food and water supply systems;
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Optimization of processing technologies and production lines able to reduced water and energy consumption;
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Effectively recovering energy from waste in the landfill, in composers as well as via biogas production from slurry;
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New norms and standards on hazards and risk assessment, as well as on minimum quality requirements, shared throughout the sectors.
Outputs related to the involvement of rural and industrial stakeholders to ensure both food security and regional development:
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New technology-based strategies aimed at increase quantity of regionally-produced food;
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New capacity building programmes for rural and industrial stakeholders based on the adoption of technological solutions for improving food security and safety;
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New agricultural and food policies aimed at increasing food security in the Mediterranean area;
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Increased public and private investments for improving food security, especially in rural areas.
Outputs related to the adoption of organisational innovations and more sustainable business models among firms for sustainability, competitiveness, promotion of jobs and regional economic development:
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Individuation of innovative business models for quality and sustainability, both at single-firm and at system of local players (producers, industries, tourism actors) levels;
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Individuation of innovative planning and management control systems for quality and sustainability, both at single-firm and value chain levels;
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Performance management and measurement systems for quality and sustainability, both at single-firm and value chain levels;
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Individuation of best practices in sustainable business models, in terms of ability to create employment and territorial development, as well as to enhance the emergence of young entrepreneurs in the agri-food sector;
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Satisfaction of policy needs (single policies and coordination among policy areas) to boost organisational innovation.
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Improved harmonization and interoperability and development of cooperation networks and new web based application and services based on data integration and sharing.
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