FRONTAG NEXUS
Pushing the frontiers of climate-smart agriculture in the Mediterranean
FrontAg Nexus is a project co-funded by the EU program PRIMA. Starting in May 2023, it will focus on sustainable agri-food practices, and will address the pressing challenges of climate change, natural resource scarcity, and food insecurity in the Mediterranean region, particularly in Israel, Italy, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, and Jordan.
The Mediterranean region, a climate change hotspot, is facing numerous difficulties within its food systems. FrontAg Nexus aims to help shape the food production by incorporating climate-smart and water-saving technologies, such as hydroponics, aquaponics, recirculating aquaculture, vermiculture, and insect farming for feed and fertiliser.
The project’s expected impacts include increased resilience to climate change and improved socio-economic conditions for vulnerable populations. FrontAg Nexus will introduce renewable energy sources, promote climate neutrality, control harmful substances, and increase the availability of nutritious and safe foods. With the adoption of a water, energy, food, and ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus thinking and a participatory multi-actor and multi-contextual approach, the project will contribute to food and nutrition security through year-round production of fish protein, vegetables, and fruits.
By utilising hydroponics, aquaponics, insect farming and vermiculture, and fostering collaboration among all relevant stakeholders along the supply and value chain, including refugees, women and young adults, start-ups, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), FrontAg Nexus strives to address the challenges within the European food systems.
Funding program | PRIMA |
---|---|
Call | 2022 Section 1 NEXUS WEFE IA |
GA No. | 2242 |
Duration | 2023-2026 |
EC Funding | € 3.206.895,00 |
Website | frontagnexus.eu |
# Sectors | alternativeproteins, mena, urbanfarming |
Impact of Climate-Smart and Water-Saving Frontier Agriculture on the WEFE Nexus in Arid Mediterranean Regions
- 10+ frontier agriculture demonstration cases in five Mediterranean countries (Israel, Italy, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Jordan), each with 84+ stakeholders, innovation actors
- >2 Water, Energy, Food, and Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus policy roadmaps
- Water use efficiency up to 90% in hydroponics and aquaponics compared to conventional farming
- 33% increased availability of fish protein through RAS/aquaponics compared to conventional aquaculture
- 3+ supply and value chain models for hydroponics, aquaponics, insect farming, and/or vermiculture/vermicomposting
- 6 countries x 160+ survey respondents to determine intention to engage in frontier agriculture
reframe.food being the Leader of 6 Communication, dissemination, and strategic stakeholder engagement, is responsible for the development of the Dissemination, Exploitation and Communication Plan as well as the distinctive FrontAg Nexus brand across various channels. Moreover, reframe.food will map out exploitation possibilities, monitor intellectual property rights, and scan relevant EU and Mediterranean events to advance partnerships. Furthermore, reframe.food will establish and maintain the FrontAg Nexus Repository as a vital dissemination portal. reframe.food also will utilise their expertise to effectively leverage existing networks and resources and deploy a set of multipliers to build and expand the FrontAg Nexus ecosystem.