Neglected and underutilized plant species to enhance productivity of marginal lands in the Mediterranean basin

The Mediterranean region is experiencing severe environmental pressures due to climate change, population growth, agricultural intensification, and desertification. Impacts will be exacerbated in the coming decades and require adaptation strategies to increase the resilience of ecosystems and counteract land degradation. Throughout the Mediterranean, desertification combined with reduced freshwater availability will be the main factors limiting agricultural production, driving the need for alternative low-water demanding crops. Some Neglected and Underutilized Species (NUS), typical of the Mediterranean area and already used by rural populations, are adapted to grow under drought conditions, in combination with other soil limiting factors, such as high salinity, reduced nutrient inputs, and desertification. These species have the potential to ameliorate soil quality and to be a viable alternative for farmers, especially smallholders, to generate economic value.

The VENUS project (i.e. ConVErting marginal lands of the Mediterranean basin into productive and sustainable agroecosystems using low water demanding Neglected and Underutilized Species) aims to demonstrate the environmental potential of introducing NUS, known for their resilience under extreme conditions, and their economic potential as marketable products, including food, cosmetics, and energy applications. Specifically, 10 pilot sites have recently been established in 7 Mediterranean countries (Greece, Italy, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Algeria) to collect data on biotic and abiotic factors regulating the NUS production systems, to test the suitability and sustainability of NUS, and to assess the impact of their cultivation on soil health quality. The local results obtained at the pilot sites, combined with an analysis of the distribution of the most recent databases available in the literature of key abiotic/climatic factors across the Mediterranean, will be useful for the scalability and transferability assessment of NUS production systems to a wider scale. Furthermore, NUS production system at each site will be analysed to assess their quality for various market applications (i.e., food, cosmeceutical and pharmaceutical, and energy production), and social acceptance with the final aim of producing a set of commercially viable and sustainable business models at partners’ pilot regions and countries, providing alternatives to farmers struggling with water scarcity and other limiting factors.

Funding

This work was conducted in the framework of the project VENUS - “ConVErting marginal lands of the Mediterranean basin into productive and sustainable agroecosystems using low water demanding Neglected and Underutilized Species” funded by the PRIMA programme (Grant Agreement No. 2312) supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.