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Project Topic
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WaterMellon aims to improve Mediterranean dry farming's ability to withstand and recover from challenges by combining traditional water-harvesting methods with modern agricultural techniques. The initiative aims to achieve sustainable food production and improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers by providing training to local farmers, restoring traditional water structures, and applying novel cropping methods designed for arid environments.
The work is being organised in six work packages, covers 11 Mediterranean countries, contains 20 participants, includes five water harvesting systems (modern and ancestral), develops innovative cropping systems in 19 sites with 7 of them to be the demonstration sites of the project.
The farmers’ engagement (WP1) is key element for the WaterMellon success. In each site the
project’s partners working with local cooperatives/associations to train them and to organise the value chains (products included). The knowledge collected will enable the smallholders’ farmers to develop additional lighthouses, regional projects and/or living labs.
Existing and new innovative water harvesting systems (WP2) will be utilized, including: a Flexible Water Tank System, a Sub Water Retention System, a Surface Flow Constructed Wetland, a new atmospheric moisture capture system (hydropanels), and a rehabilitation of an ancestral hydro technology (Khettaras) using Remote sensing and GIS. These technologies will be combined with novel cropping systems (WP3), including rotation schemes with improved conventional (cereals, legumes, etc.) and new underutilized crops (quinoa, sorghum, tef, millet, lupin, tritordeum), as well as introducing perennial crops (opuntia, carob tree) with enhanced drought/saline tolerance. The principles of conservation agriculture, smart irrigation and soil amendments will be applied in the novel cropping systems. Seven demonstration sites will be developed combining the under-development water harvesting systems and the novel cropping systems.
A large number of novel value chains (farming systems combined with water harvesting techniques, food and feed products development and circular use of the wastes) will be developed (WP4). The most promising ones will be further analysed (at least one per participating country) in terms of sustainability (LCA), profitability (CANVAS business model) and social impacts. A circular economy concept is being considered and thus the crops wastes and residues will be used for soil amendments production (biochar and bio composts) that will applied on project’s fields. A Decision Support System (DSS) will be developed for stakeholders involved in water management and agricultural development by providing spatially explicit information on water availability, soil conditions, and crops dynamics.
The DSS will consult the relevant stakeholders (farmers, policymakers, end-users, scientific community, etc.) to take the right decisions and select the farming system that will better fit in each region considering the scenarios of climate change and the WaterMellon findings. A tailored Dissemination, Communication, and Exploitation Strategy plan (WP5) and results exploitation have been planned. A tailored website will be developed in the languages of the participating country (English and French included) to present in detail the field sites and demonstration sites as well as the planned DSS. Joined activities have been planned with funded PRIMA, H2020, Horizon Europe and Soil Mission projects, while jointed deliverables (WP6) are foreseen between the projects that will be funded under the same topic.
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