Developing policy recommendations to support innovation in soilless agriculture within the Nile River Basin: A participatory approach using Multi-Actor Working Groups

Increasing demand for energy, food and water in the Mediterranean along with the decline of freshwater availability due to climate change necessitate the exploration of options for producing more food with less water, land and energy. Innovations in soilless agriculture aim to address this challenge by exploring novel approaches towards food production including aquaponics and hydroponics. However, inadequate and inefficient legislation and policy frameworks are ill equipped to provide the support necessary for the successful uptake and scale out of these new technologies.  This paper examines the implementation of soilless technologies in the water-stressed Nile River Basin. By applying a stakeholder-centered participatory approach developed by the project which takes into consideration the Water-Energy-Food- Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus, we present targeted policy recommendations for the development of soilless agriculture in the region which inherently embed the views of key local stakeholders.