Climate services for managing climate-change threats in the agricultural sector

The EU-funded MED-GOLD project demonstrated proof of concept for climate services in the agriculture sector through case studies for olive, grape and durum wheat crop systems, the basis for olive oil, wine and pasta production, respectively.

Climate Change and Environment

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The set of crops and related food products that were the focus of this project, is of utmost climatic, ecological, economic and cultural relevance to the Mediterranean region. Reviewing operational decision-making of users involved in the project and identifying key decision steps in their management practices, project researchers designed prototype pilot service applications demonstrating the added value of data-/information-driven responses to climate changes. The MED-GOLD services share a common interface platform and offer support for better management of risks associated with the spread of pests, yield and quality losses, and other climate change-related threats. Moreover, once fully operational, services will allow users to benefit from climate-related information at different timescales from months to decades.

Keywords

climate services, agriculture, crop systems, Mediterranean, climate change