• On 8 and 9 March 2024, CIHEAM Zaragoza will host an international seminar on the future of conservation agriculture within the framework of the EU-PRIMA funded project CAMA
• The event will be an opportunity to discuss the latest advances on research applied to Mediterranean conservation agriculture, as well as to exchange experiences and visions on the future of this cropping system

CIHEAM Zaragoza organises an international seminar on the future of conservation agriculture in Mediterranean areas together with the Research Station Aula Dei of the Spanish National Research Council (EEAD-CSIC) and the University of Lleida (UdL), with the collaboration of the CAMA project Coordinator (CREA, Italy) and all the project partner institutions.

The seminar marks the end of this 4-year research project of the EU PRIMA programme, integrated by 13 partners from 8 EU and African countries. The CAMA project (Research-based participatory approaches for adopting Conservation Agriculture in the Mediterranean Area) aims at understanding and overcoming the barriers that prevent the adoption of conservation agriculture in the Mediterranean basin. A multidisciplinary and participatory research has been deployed during the course of the project, seeking to identify socioeconomic, technical and agronomic constraints for the adoption of conservation agriculture. The aim was to test and validate new and adapted techniques of conservation agriculture in the field, measuring their positive effects on soil properties and conservation, water use efficiency and crop development.

Conservation agriculture in the Mediterranean

In Mediterranean conditions, conservation agriculture could reduce the risk of soil quality degradation and improve nutrient and water use efficiencies, while providing a more stable yield, supporting smallholder agriculture. However, the rate of adoption of conservation agriculture is still low and very heterogeneous among and within Mediterranean countries. The need of adjustment and adaptation of the technical practices to local and farm conditions is solved in many cases through applied research and development. Other barriers of socio-economic and cultural nature hampering a faster expansion of conservation agriculture may be overcome through active farmer organisation and public policy support.

During the event, results, recommendations and conclusions of the CAMA project will be presented. The factors influencing Mediterranean farmers’ adoption of this system will be discussed too, bringing together the experience of stakeholders from the Mediterranean basin countries on public policy support and farmer organisation.

About the Seminar

• Date: 8 and 9 March 2024*
• Time: 9:00-18:30 ECT
• Venue: On line and face-to-face at CIHEAM Zaragoza
• Programme

*Attendance (face-to-face or online) to the first day of the seminar is open.
Participation to the field visit on 9 March is by invitation only.  

This Project is part of the PRIMA programme supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme