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Integration of
all processes along
the whole food chain to minimize
waste and losses and recycling
biomasses
Development
and optimization of
novel preservation and processing
technologies to reduce food
waste
Creation of new value chains from
agriculture and aquaculture by-
products and discard
Energy recovery from waste in the
landfill
Dissemination and outreach
6
Best practices in sustainable
business model in the agrofood
sector
Support
to
SMEs
business
development
and
chain
management
Creation of new business and
entrepreneurship
opportunities
from a sustainable and innovative
use of local resources
Research projects
Capacity building
and training
SME partnership
Dissemination and outreach
Future PRIMA Initiative Workplan: how the SRIA will be developed, methodology and timeframe agreed
among the Participating States
The SRIA will be established during the next 18 months, through the methodology that is described in details
in the 4PRIMA proposal recently submitted to the H2020 topic SC5-12-2016. Briefly this includes: 1) A first
priorization of the objectives to be pursued by the PRIMA Joint Programme, which describes 8 technical goals
(
Smart and sustainable farming; Water-saving solution; Nutrition/Mediterranean diet; Food and Water chain
efficiency; Reduction of impact of pest and pathogens in farming; Innovative business models in agri-food
industry; Land and water sustainability in arid and semi-arid watersheds; Policies and governance of water
management systems), 2) Definition of the set of working documents that will be specifically designed as a
tool for a CSA. the consultation will be developed, 3) Implementation of the results of the consultations of
expert and stakeholders, the prioritization of need and gaps, setting the definitive contents of the SRIA,
adjusting priorities (also by allocating them in urgent, medium and long term span) and considering which
are the most suitable type of actions to be implemented in each items (projects, mobility) for the benefit of
the broader Euro-Mediterranean research and innovation community.
Within the same 18 months’ time frame of the 4PRIMA activities, PRIMA participants will also design a
specific implementation plan for accomplishing the technical objectives defined. This is also described in
details in the 4PRIMA proposal and will allow translating the research and innovation priorities for the short
medium and long term as described in the PRIMA SRIA into common actions to be set up. The main goal is
thus to facilitate and to speed up the start of PRIMA activities. This includes: 1) Promoting networking,
coordination, alignment, collaboration and integration of national research programmes and activities; 2)
launching joint Calls for Collaborative research; 3) launching calls for Innovation and demonstration projects;
4) bringing together research and enterprises to promote adoption of innovative solutions; and 5) fostering
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capacity development for research and innovation in Mediterranean Partner Countries through promoting
mobility, staff exchange grants, research training networks, mentoring and partnerships at individual or
institutional or regional level The PRIMA Programme will include the following activities:
Table 11. –PRIMA Projects
Collaborative Research Projects
Innovation Projects
Prototype development
Network of infrastructure
SME Partnership
Capacity building and training
Dissemination and outreach
Tentative duration
24-48 months
Indicative budget
3-8 M Eur
Indicative number call launched per year
1-3 calls
Eligibility criteria
Minimum eligibility of projects: minimum 3 Partners from
different countries, among which at least 1 MPC
Participation of other countries (Y/N)
Yes, according to rules defined by the DIS
Participation of private entities, industries, SMEs
(Y/N)
Yes, based on rules of national research programmes regarding
eligibility of actors from
private sector
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Introduction
The PRIMA Initiative will help to reduce the fragmentation of programming in the Euro-Mediterranean Area
by strengthening coordination among national research programmes of European Member States,
Associated Countries and Mediterranean Partner Countries.
It will set the basis for pooling fragmented human and financial resources in order to improve both the
efficiency and the effectiveness of research efforts in the Euro-Mediterranean Area, thus contributing to the
achievement of an effective (pan)-European Research Area.
The PRIMA Initiative is rooted on the results of a broad array of projects, such as Mediterranean-focused
INCO-Net projects (MIRA, Med-Spring), ERANETs (ARIMNET, ERANET-MED), and BILAT
projects as well as on
other national/international initiatives dealing with food systems and water-related issues and mobility of
researchers (e.g. Expo Milano 2015 “Feeding Knowledge” Programme).
PRIMA will stem from the understanding that only a comprehensive and integrated action will deliver a
significant impact on the Euro-Mediterranean Research & Innovation domain. Complementarities with on-
going and future EU and international actions in research and innovation with a focus on the Euro-
Mediterranean will be of striking importance to maximise outreach and exploitation of the results of PRIMA.
Critical evaluation of past and ongoing activities: advancement of PRIMA
to achieve successful results and established targets - evaluation
why past
and ongoing activities are not sufficient or have not reached PRIMA
expectations
In the current scenario of fragmented funding, a large number of proposals for activities, projects and
initiatives to be developed in the field of food and water systems have been recorded. When focusing only
on those ERANETs dealing with Agriculture, Water and Energy, and Climate Change, over 190 eligible
proposals have been submitted in response to the ERANETMED call for proposals (CfP) and over 65 eligible
proposals have been submitted across the two waves of ARIMNet. Despite this positive interest, the extent
of funding has been very limited, especially when compared to the high expectations of the applicants. The
number of funded projects is in the range of about 30. Moreover, a lack of massive, regular and structured
involvement of industry, civil society and other relevant stakeholders has been registered.
This implies that a more coherent, and ‘complexity-durable’ joint programming action like the PRIMA
Programme, which will be able to gather a higher critical mass in terms of funding, would enable adequate
support for excellent research teams to embark on their work, avoiding the missed granting opportunities
associated with the existing ERANETs. A longer-term and more-structured programme will therefore result
in the achievement of significant impact in terms of scientific outputs, innovation potential and its return on
the local territories addressed by these projects.
Furthermore, with respect to the programmes analysed below, the majority of funded activities involve
collaborative research and some fellowships/scholarships. Capacity-building and innovation have featured
less prominently, giving more weight to the need for a joint programming initiative that can address these
two areas and would enhance the added-value of the current scenario of research cooperation in strategic
topics for the Euro-Mediterranean region.
An initiative like PRIMA could constitute the instrument that enables an enlargement and deepening of
activities of the Mediterranean-oriented ERANets, the EC-funded JPIs, the KICs and the EIPs, and ensure
synergies as well as a broadening of their scope and an enhancement of their results. In particular, it will
support the role of scientific diplomacy in a region fraught with geo-political tensions.