Programme title: Boosting functional biodiversity to maximize ecosystem services for Mediterranean crop production
Funding Source: General Secretariat for Research and Innovation (GSRI)
Coordinator of the project: University of Palermo
Funding amount: 100%
Start Date: 1/9/2022
End Date: 31/8/2025
Duration: 3 years
The project with acronym «ECOBOOST» is implemented with the participation of BPI as partner and is 100% financed by the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation in the framework (GSRI) of “PRIMA Program (Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area)”. The purpose of the project is to develop and implement agricultural practices that enhance functional biodiversity and maximize ecosystem services in the production of solanaceous plants (tomato, eggplant, pepper) while minimizing the negative environmental impacts of intensive agriculture, ensuring farmers' income. This goal will be achieved by adopting a holistic approach that will provide Mediterranean farmers with the knowledge and tools to implement agro-ecological practices and promote biodiversity at different levels, through the utilization of available genetic material from the Mediterranean, the strengthening of natural enemies and pollinators and the utilization of the soil microbiome. In particular, the participation of the BPI is focused on the investigation of modern approaches to the optimization of biological and integrated pest management systems and the assurance of agricultural production and plant capital. In this context, it includes the development of methods to enhance biological control agents by utilizing local wildflower plants that favor the activity of natural enemies and pollinators.
Website: https://saafunipa.wixsite.com/ecoboost

Participants:  Benaki Phytopayhological Institute
APIVITA AE
Benaki Phytopathological Institute
Democritus University of Thrace
Isparta University of Applied Sciences
Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria
Mohammed V University of Rabat
National Agronomic Research Institute
Universität Göttingen
Université de Sousse
Université Frères Mentouri de Constantine
Project Manager BPI: Dr Panagiotis Milonas

Programme title: Boosting technologies of orphan legumes towards resilient farming systems in the Greater Mediterranean Region: from bench to open field
Funding Source: General Secretariat for Research and Innovation (GSRI)
Coordinator of the project: University of Pavia
Funding amount: BPI’s funding – Prima
Start Date: 1/1/2020
End Date: 31/12/2025
Duration: 5 years
The project with acronym «BENEFIT - Med» is implemented with the participation of BPI as a partner and is 100% financed by Benaki Phytopathological Institute. The current climate change scenario predicts that global warming will have a dramatic impact on the Mediterranean basin, posing additional threats to the sustainability of current farming systems. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically increased food insecurity. BENEFIT-Med will promote the use of orphan legumes by implementing innovative/sustainable priming treatments to improve seed germination under water/heat stress, fundamental to address increased productivity/food security by stakeholders. The final outcomes are a sustainable priming treatment to improve germination of climate-ready crops from high-quality seeds and directions on their cropping. Such main goal will be met by the following specific objectives: i) set up a cartography of vulnerable Mediterranean sites and a Database to integrate available information on orphan legumes with knowledge gathered by BENEFIT-Med, ii) develop tailored ‘on-farm’ seed priming to improve seed germination under stress conditions along with a sustainable, circular process for implementation of inoculant its production in locus, iii) validate effect of priming on agronomic performance and yield stability in open-field trials set in Tunisia, and Morocco, iv) valorize the importance and properties of local legumes, v) quantify the impact of climate change and variability on existing and new farming systems, vi) estimate the life cycle of the new farming system, vii) establish a multi-stakeholder platform to promote the new farming system at multiple levels, through a participatory model, with focus on specific training/capacity building activities.
Website: https://www.benefit-med.eu

Participants:  Agricultural University of Athens
AGROLAND S.A.
Associação BLC3 - Campus de Tecnologia e Inovação
Benaki Phytopathological Institute
Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine
Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture l'Alimentation et l'Environnement
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
University of Sfax
Project Manager BPI: Dr Dimosthenis Chachalis