Prima strategic Research and Innovation Agenda Version February 22, 2017 Foreword

Main Actions

In the light of the priorities indicated, key actions to be carried out, with the respective specific activities, are indicated in the following table:

Priority Topic	Main Actions
Orienting youths and industry towards sustainable competitive business models	Awareness raising and knowledge dissemination actions Training and Mobility actions
Specific examples or recommendations
Promotion of the importance of the adoption of sustainable business models for multi-actor aggregations in the Mediterranean context. Special emphasis on the driving role of the agro-food industry in promoting a sustainable adaptation of the productive chain to afford the climate change challenges Training and information activities specifically oriented to reduce food waste
Valorising food products from traditional Mediterranean diet	Research and innovation actions Awareness raising and knowledge dissemination actions
Specific examples or recommendations
Evaluation of the impact of the climate change on the nexus between the environmental ecology and the food quality based on the Mediterranean diet principles Selection of culture varieties rich in bioactive compounds and optimizing production technology in order to obtain added value ingredients and recovery of ingredients, culinary traditions and practices, with revisiting of such in light of the new scientific knowledge Promotion of the importance of innovating Mediterranean culinary heritage to get to new and improved products and development of Geographical indications and other collective quality labels Elaboration of territorial strategies aiming at integration of agri-food production with other related activities, such as tourism and non-food artisanal products
Food safety in local food chains, health risk and hazards assessment	Research and innovation actions Innovation actions Awareness raising and knowledge dissemination actions Training and mobility actions
Specific examples or recommendations
Development of models for hazards prediction and risk assessment extended to food storage and transportation conditions, and suitable procedures for qualifying and classifying production sites and zoning Development of new systems and devices for food-safety monitoring along the entire food chain and definition of best practices for all the food value chain phases, including post-sales Development and validation of agronomic and phytosanitary bio-based protection practices, selection and characterisation of plant with protective characteristics and increasing of plant resistance barriers Development of innovative packaging for better controlling product deterioration, reducing the use of preservatives, the microbiological risk and/or extending the shelf-life
Organisation and coordination in the food chains for improving efficiency and waste valorisation	Awareness raising and knowledge dissemination actions Innovation actions
Specific examples or recommendations
Promotion of the importance of overcoming existing fragmentation in Mediterranean food value chains Improvement of supply chain management across different productive systems (e.g. energy, materials, agro-food) to create synergies among supply chains in order to design optimized processes for better a exploitation of side- and by-products from one sector to another
Integration of smallholders into formal supply chains	Research and innovation actions Awareness raising and knowledge dissemination actions SMEs actions
Specific examples or recommendations
Development of supply chain models with fast response and flexible adaptation to mutating societal and environmental condition in the Mediterranean area, specifically designed to reduce resource wastage and maintain quality standard in the mutating scenario; connection with policy Promotion of the importance of integrating smallholders into formal supply chains Support to SMEs in accessing to formal supply chains
Health effects of the dietary shifts and promoting healthy diet for the Med populations	Research and innovation actions Awareness raising and knowledge dissemination actions
Specific examples or recommendations
Evaluate how the societal and environmental mutations in the Mediterranean area will affect the affordability of a healthy diet and propose actions to contrast the adverse conditions or to mitigate their negative effect on agro-food productivity Promotion of the importance of the adoption of the Mediterranean diet in terms of both health and sustainability
Technological and organizational innovation in the agri-food chain to promote suppliers and products with higher quality and sustainability level. Leadership role, solutions, competitiveness	Research and innovation actions Innovation actions Awareness raising and knowledge dissemination actions Training and mobility actions SMEs actions
Specific examples or recommendations
Development of effective strategies, adoptable by network or chain organizations, to facilitate exchange of sustainable technologies and sharing and synchronization of relevant information along the multi-actor production chain (e.g. metadata models, web platforms) in order to guarantee competitive business models and safe-quality standards Development of coherent sustainability and quality performance systems to valorise typical high-quality Mediterranean production and pilot test it on a number of case studies Promotion of the importance of adoption of technological and organizational innovations in food value chain for greater quality and competitiveness of the sector Training and information activities specifically oriented to improve adoption of technological and organizational innovations in food value chain, especially among SMEs, for greater quality and competitiveness of the sector

Expected Impacts

The present pillar expects to generate several socio-economic and environmental positive impacts, namely:

• 
  Increased opportunities for food industry and other SMEs. For food industry, the most tangible impact will be a considerable in the economic performance, a better valorisation of resources, and increased revenues from sales of new products. With reference to food SMEs, it is fundamental to underline that they account for a large share of the total number of SMEs and have much innovation potential, but such potential is unequally distributed across the area. While, for example, about half of Spanish food SMEs and about 54% of all Italian food SMEs carry out product or process innovations (with 28% developing such activities on their own), these percentages are significantly lower in SEMCs due to the predominantly micro-character of the local food producing and processing companies, with restricted or no market access. Low level of innovations, on the other hand, can be considered at the basis of current situation of the fragmentation of Mediterranean: food industry, in fact, is not competitive in a market dominated by large food multinationals. It is therefore clear that the introduction and adoption of technological, organisational and management innovations will be able to make Mediterranean agri-food SMEs more competitive from multiple points of view (e.g. improved cost structures, better market access, increased sales figures or profit margins);
  
• 
  Improved livelihoods for farmers. Farmers would be amongst the immediate beneficiaries of improved local and regional food chains. Improved performance, coordination and sustainability of food chains can alleviate poverty, create jobs and lower food prices. Moreover, R&I on a sustainable and competitive agri-food sector will provide incentives for young people to invest in sectorial entrepreneurship. In this regard, large, long-term R&I programmes could represent a means of attraction for potential young entrepreneurs through activities such as education and increased awareness with regard to sustainable agricultural practices and agri-food chain structure and functioning, capacity-building with regard to implementation of relevant education, especially with reference to organisational and management skills and financial instruments supporting access to land and entrepreneurial investments, as well as insurance coverage. This will result in the creation of new generations of educated young entrepreneurs, able both to use advanced technologies and to run their business on the basis of management and organisational skills. Improved productivity and profitability of firms will incentivize entrepreneurs to have a longer-term stake in their farmland, also in the light of a renewed consciousness of soil health and sustainability, as well as of the importance of R&I programmes to protect both the fertile but fragile Mediterranean natural resources and services these resources provide;
  
• 
  Larger scale economic impacts. In the Mediterranean area, strong efforts are needed in product, processing and marketing innovation to succeed in competitive food markets (both locally and internationally). Many can be the positive impacts of the elaboration and adoption of innovations focused on food chain performance and sustainability. In this regard, many companies, and mostly SMEs, are developing products and services that can help business customers in pursuing a healthy diet, with positive effects on the reinforcement of mutual trust and consequent increase both in profitability of firms and search for quality for customers. Moreover, the implementation of innovations in (traditional) food products can contribute to job opportunities: product innovation in food SMEs, in fact, is significantly linked to employment, and process innovations do not necessarily reduce employment in the food industry. Additional market opportunities will be created for agricultural producers of raw materials for traditional food products;
  
• 
  Improved nutrition and health for the people of the Mediterranean area. The activities identified by the present pillar are likely to have positive indirect impacts on nutrition and health in the Mediterranean area. In particular, developing and implementing innovative solutions for sustainable and quality-oriented food chains would likely lead to a significant improvement in both the productive processes used in manufacturing foods and the quality of food produced. Sustainably managed food value chains will also improve the livelihoods of farmers and create large-scale economic opportunities in the food industry and other sectors, improving nutrition and health status of the people of the Mediterranean area. More specifically, the establishment of clear links between food, nutrition and health in the Mediterranean would lead to positive effects on the diet of the population in the Mediterranean region towards health-promoting nutrition and agri-food value chain reorganisation;
  
• 
  Greater political stability and reduced internal and external migration. It is now widely recognised that, at global scale, increased frequency and severity of droughts and storms, changes in rainfall patterns and losses of agricultural productivity are likely to increase migration in the coming decades. These, in fact, are putting at serious risk the economic survival of people living in the area, and are fostering migration flows. In this regard, addressing the challenge of more sustainable water provision and more competitive and profitable food systems through the deployment of innovative solutions able to tackle the adverse effects of environmental changes while improving socio-economic conditions of the area can have positive impacts on nutrition and health status for the people of the Mediterranean region, also providing them with significant opportunities to enhance their economic conditions. These improved conditions will contribute to greater political stability, which in return will reduce internal and external migration;
  
• 
  Positive environmental impacts. Increased investment in cooperation on R&I with a long-term perspective, in line with a common defined strategic R&I agenda, focusing on food value chain for regional and local development, would create the appropriate conditions to develop and implement resource-efficient and cost-effective solutions in the Mediterranean area. This would bring benefits to the environment, reducing resource use and waste generation. The achievement of such positive environmental effects will certainly be reinforced by the frame of increased collaboration and exchange of knowledge and expertise among Mediterranean countries promoted by PRIMA initiative within which innovative solutions will be developed and demonstrated, framework in which all the Countries participating share the same challenges to the climate change, increasing population and social instability.
  

6. 
   Overall Impacts
   

Impacts of economic nature

Technological development. PRIMA will allow the rapid integration of the R&I programmes and activities of the Participating States within the context of a jointly formulated strategic R&I agenda. This, in turn, will provide a comprehensive, long-term stable and predictable framework for all relevant stakeholders to tackle challenges of unsustainable managed water provision and food systems, which will ensure the best delivery of the scientific and technological outcomes, whether on the input side or on the output side.

Economic Growth. The focus that PRIMA will put on the deployment of investments on sustainable solutions to improve water provision and food systems across the Mediterranean region, ranging from the development of improved irrigation technologies and plant-management techniques to products, processing and marketing innovations and services, will help business customers raising productivity, and will render both Mediterranean agri-food businesses and agricultural producers of raw materials for traditional food products more competitive, through better valorisation of resources, increased revenues from sales of new products or access to markets, as well as improved cost structures and profit margins. This, in turn, will contribute to generate employment.

Impacts of social nature

Working conditions. Improved performance, coordination and sustainability of food chains on which PRIMA will focus will alleviate poverty, create jobs and lower food prices. This will provide incentives for young people to invest in sectorial entrepreneurship, representing a means of attraction for potential young entrepreneurs, especially in the light of foreseen education and capacity building activities on sustainable agricultural practices, agri-food chain structure and functioning, as well as on organisational and management skills often lacking among farmers. This will contribute to the creation of a new generation of entrepreneurs, able both to use advanced technologies and to run their business on the basis of management and organisational skills that will increase productivity and profitability. Improved productivity and profitability of firms, in turn, will incentivize entrepreneurs to have a longer-term stake in their farmland and, consequently, in protecting both fertile but fragile Mediterranean natural resources and services these resources provide;

Public health and safety. Sustainably managed water provision and food systems will also improve the nutrition and health status of the people of the Mediterranean area. Developing and implementing innovative solutions for sustainable and quality-oriented food agri-food chains, in fact, would likely lead to a significant improvement in both the productive processes used in manufacturing foods and the quality of food produced. Moreover, the establishment of clear links between food, nutrition and health in the Mediterranean would lead to positive effects on the diet of the population in the Mediterranean region towards health-promoting nutrition and agri-food value reorganisation through a multidisciplinary approach (agriculture, food technology, nutrition science, social sciences, economics, psychology, sociology, IT experts) and the involvement of a wide range of societal and value chain actors;

Political stability and reduced migration. Addressing the challenge of more sustainable water provision and more competitive and profitable food systems through the deployment of innovative solutions able to tackle the adverse effects of environmental changes while improving socio-economic conditions of the area will have positive impacts on nutrition and health status for the people of the Mediterranean region, also providing them with significant opportunities to enhance their economic conditions, but will also contribute to greater political stability, which in return will reduce internal and external migration. It is now widely recognised, in fact, that, as an effect of climate change, increased frequency and severity of droughts and storms, changes in rainfall patterns and losses of agricultural productivity are likely to increase migration in the coming decades. These, in fact, are putting at serious risk the economic survival of people living in the area, and are fostering migration flows.

Impacts of environmental nature

Efficient use of resources and adaptation to climate change. Increased investment on food value chain for regional and local development would create the appropriate conditions to develop and implement resource-efficient and cost-effective solutions in the Mediterranean area, bringing benefits to the environment and reducing resource use. The achievement of such positive environmental effects will certainly be reinforced by the frame of increased collaboration and exchange of knowledge and expertise among Mediterranean countries promoted by PRIMA initiative within which innovative solutions will be developed: all the participating Countries will share the same challenges due to the climate change, scarcity of some key resources with respect to populations’ demand and social instability. More specifically, positive large-scale impacts at the environmental level will be achieved by:

• 
  Improved water conservation by developing (i) novel plant and animal varieties for irrigated and dry farming conditions, (ii) innovative irrigation technologies and user-centred water conservation processes; efficient water allocation between different economic sectors, (iii) user-centred water-saving processes and programmes and (iv) improved water governance, management and coherence between agriculture, water and energy policies;
  
• 
  Sustainable farming practices by implementing innovative solutions for (i) reducing land conversion and habitat loss, (ii) improving water- and fertilizer-use efficiency, (iii) reducing soil erosion and degradation, including loss of organic matter and microflora, (iv) developing and using more environmentally-friendly fertilisers and pesticides and (v) increasing productivity of local crops and farm animals;
  
• 
  Recovery of water and nutrients from wastewater for agricultural use by developing (i) new site-specific policies, (ii) user acceptance strategies and (iii) and innovative wastewater treatment and reuse technologies;
  
• 
  Water desalination by developing (i) technological breakthroughs in energy consumption and desalinated water quality, (ii) brine disposal, (iii) integration into energy networks and local water management strategies and (iv) coordinated strategies for water reuse solutions and desalination as to close water loops;
  
• 
  Reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions;
  
• 
  Reduction of harvest shocks due to droughts;
  
• 
  Building of resilience and adaptation capacity in the Mediterranean area.
  

Monitoring of Impacts

With reference to the monitoring process, the framework of Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be used to monitor impacts of activities encompassed within PRIMA. This framework includes three specific goals, among the 17 SDGs, dedicated to food security (# 2 End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture), sustainable management of water (# 6 Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all) as well as sustainable use of land (#15 Sustainable land use, forest and other terrestrial ecosystems), for which there are several indicators that can be used to monitor the magnitude of the effects produced by projects under the PRIMA initiative. However, it should be taken into consideration that there are many other issues that can be positively affected by sustainable food production and water provision systems and that are linked to other SDGs. This means that, while improving the efficiency and sustainability of food production and water provision, the PRIMA initiative will also generate a positive effect on other SDGs, namely:

• 
  No poverty (SDG 1)
  
• 
  Good health and well-being (SDG 3)
  
• 
  Clean water and sanitation (SDG 6)
  
• 
  Affordable and green energy (SDG 7)
  
• 
  Decent work and economic growth (SDG 8)
  
• 
  Reduce inequalities (SDG 10)
  
• 
  Sustainable communities (SDG 11)
  
• 
  Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
  
• 
  Climate action (SDG 13)
  
• 
  Sustainable management of oceans and coastal areas (SDG 14)
  

The selection process of feasible indicators for the monitoring systems will be carried out on the basis of specific criteria to be satisfied:

• 
  Cover most of SDGs: starting from the SDGs about food security and water provision (the specific topics of PRIMA initiative), an improvement of the selected indicators should be able to positively influence the achievement of as many goals as possible;
  
• 
  Consider biophysical limits: it is fundamental to have indicators that give information about the biophysical limits of the system, from both resource consumption and environmental loading point of view;
  
• 
  Consider the nexus: food, water, and energy have a strong relationship with each other and play a crucial role in the achievement of SDGs. The use of indicators that can highlight the linkages among all three is needed;
  
• 
  Consider both national and sectorial systems: some indicators have to monitor national systems (e.g. poverty, health, land use, GHGs emissions), while others shall monitor sectorial systems (e.g. agriculture, water services);
  
• 
  Be limited in number: the indicators should be limited in number in order to have an effective tool that can easily support the monitoring process of projects under the PRIMA initiative;
  
• 
  Data availability should be guaranteed frequently enough to be meaningful in the PRIMA time horizon.
  

As an example, a short-list of possible indicators (with their units) that can be suitable for PRIMA monitoring is reported:

1. 
   Multidimensional Poverty Index
   
2. 
   Population overweight (%)
   
3. 
   Land Use (%)
   
4. 
   GHG emissions (total and AFOLU – t CO_2e)
   
5. 
   Cereal Yield (kg/ha)
   
6. 
   Agriculture Value Added (US$/worker)
   
7. 
   Fertilizers consumption (kg/ha_{arable land} – available also at 5km x 5km scale)
   
8. 
   Crop water productivity (kg/m³)
   
9. 
   Proportion of total water used (% – available also at 5km x 5km scale)
   
10. 
    Population using safely managed water services (rural, %)
    
11. 
    Population using safely managed sanitation services (rural, %)
    
12. 
    Amount of agricultural residues used for energy purpose (t/ha)
    

These indicators are reported in the table below, with the aim to show which SDGs are mainly affected by the improvement generated by the PRIMA initiative.

Furthermore, for these indicators a baseline has been calculated. Being the number of indicators small, a synthetic representation of the state and of the trends of a country such as radar (or amoeba) diagrams can be used, without using any superindex hiding precious information in an arbitrary weighing process.