LILAS4SOILS
Fostering Carbon Farming Practices through Living Labs in the Mediterranean & Southern EU for the healthy future of European soils
Agriculture soils are being heavily affected by climate change and are highly vulnerable to degradation and desertification, particularly in the southern regions of the European Union. The Mediterranean region is essential for the whole EU agriculture and food systems, but it is also warming 20% faster than the global average. If climate change is not mitigated, yields of crops like wheat, maize and sugar beet could decrease in southern EU by up to 50 % by 2050.
Although agriculture has been identified as a significant contributor to GHG emissions (13% of EU total emissions), it is also one of the sectors with the biggest potential to adapt to and mitigate climate change. In this sense, Carbon Farming appears as a promising solution for soils’ health and for the sustainability of EU agriculture.
LILAS4SOILS, The Project
Over the course of 5 years and supported by 11.6 millions euros in funding, LILAS4SOILS will put in place 5 Living Labs (LLs) in 6 countries to foster collaboration among farmers, agri-food businesses, researchers and local authorities to co-create and implement Carbon Farming Practices (CFPs) in 85-100 demo-sites.
CFPs will span across peatland management, agroforestry, livestock and manure management, nutrient management, and maintaining soil organic carbon. CFPs impact on soil carbon sequestration and environmental co-benefits will be assessed through the adoption of homogeneous Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) technologies.
The 5-year project involves 24 expert partners including universities and research organisations, public authorities, representatives of the industry, farmer organisations and more than 50 individual farmers, ensuring a multi-actor approach. Through directed Open Calls, LILAS4SOILS will encourage the participation of 35-50 additional farmers and support the testing of 15 MRV innovative technologies that overcome the limitations of the conventional ones. More than 25 stakeholders will be involved in each LL for interdisciplinary knowledge exchange, which will include policy, cross-fertilisation and replication workshops within other regions in EU
Meet the Transversal Partners and the 5 Living Labs
Consortium Partners
EIT Food Role
As Coordinator, EIT Food South will ensure smooth collaboration among all consortium partners, oversight and reporting of all activities, as well as achievement of project results and impacts. EIT Food will also leverage its networks to identify additional farmers and MRV technology companies, and to ensure the effective cross-fertilisation and replication.
We participate in the Project contributing in the work packages of the identification of social, economic and environmental impacts, mainly in the identification and involvement of the main stakeholders, as well as in the support to the communication and dissemination of the results of the project.
Project lead
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