CLIMED-FRUIT : Adaptation to climate change and mitigation for perennial crops in Mediterranean Area

Project Information

CLIMED-FRUIT

Grant agreement ID: 101060474

DOI

10.3030/101060474

Project closed

EC signature date 23 May 2022

Start date 1 October 2022

End date 30 September 2025

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 1 996 220,00

EU contribution

€ 1 995 969,75

Coordinated by

INSTITUT FRANCAIS DE LA VIGNE ET DU VIN
France

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CLIMED-FRUIT (CLIMED-FRUIT : Adaptation to climate change and mitigation for perennial crops in Mediterranean Area)

Reporting period: 2024-04-01 to 2025-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Grapevine, olive, avocado, cherries and lemons are among perennial crops in the Mediterranean area currently facing climate change. Farmers are changing or adapting their practices accordingly, but some of these practices do not achieve border crossing or are stuck in a specific agricultural sector. CLIMED-FRUIT multi-actor consortium (advisors, farmer organisations, research and education institutes, standardisation organisation) enabled to collect, share and disseminate inspiring experiences and knowledge from different Operational Groups for a better adaptation to climate change and mitigation. These experiences were valorized in various outcomes : digital stories, fact sheets with cost benefit analysis, didactical sheets, review and technical articles, podcasts and were widely broadcasted in the mediteranean area by partners.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The CLIMED-FRUIT project successfully established and operated a network of Operational Groups (OGs) focused on improving the resilience of Mediterranean perennial crops to climate change. Key achievements include:
• Creation of a core network of 9 OGs from 4 EU Member States.
•Definition of methods to guide project's activities. In total, 4 methods were developed: (i) method for selecting material to be disseminated, (ii) method for selecting materials from operational groups (OG) outside the consortium through an open contest, (iii) method for organizing and holding a crowd-writing contest, and (iv) method for conducting digital cross visits. In addition, 1 common format for extended practice abstract to report OGs objectives, stage of implementation, main expectation and achieved results,  1 guideline for conducting a simplified cost/benefit assessment of practical solutions, and 1 data management plan have also been developed.
• Creation and dissemination of 21 digital stories, 54 practice abstracts, 21 Extended practice abstracts, 1 subtopic review, 13 technical articles, and 10 didactical sheets.
• Implementation of an Open contest and crowd-writing initiative, resulting in additional best practices and solutions ready for application. The consortium organised an open contest targeting other OGs, projects and initiatives that have worked on innovative solutions for adaptation of perennial crops in the Mediterranean Area to climate change. 36 participants responded to the contest. Following the open contest, a web conference was held in March 2024 to pitch their practice in a two-day event, gathering about 1000 people. After the web conference, 12 participants were selected to produce an Extended Practice Abstract and a digital story. Furthermore, a crowd-writing contest targeted solution providers (e.g. products, equipment, processes, services) to select and share additional practices. 12 participants were registered and 9 were selected. They provided an Extended Practice Abstract as well as a short video. A workshop was held (end of RP1) to facilitate partner discussions on challenges and key considerations for finalizing simplified Cost/Benefit Analyses (CBAs).
• Organization of a pan-Mediterranean final conference and over 30 local dissemination events, reaching over 2,500 stakeholders in the Mediterranean region.
• Full translation of outputs into 7 Mediterranean languages and inclusion of results in EU-FarmBook and partners websites for long-term accessibility.
• Establishment of 6 new OGs during the project timeline and new proposals.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The project’s outputs go beyond traditional dissemination by integrating diverse, real-world practices into multi-format materials (videos, podcasts, technical articles), culturally and linguistically adapted to practitioners across the Mediterranean. Key impacts include:
Practical innovation: New cost/benefit analyses and field-validated practices empower farmers to adapt to water scarcity, soil degradation, and climate hazards.
Cross-sectoral impact: Solutions applicable across major perennial crops—grapevine, olive, citrus, and nuts.
Digital transformation: Advanced storytelling and multi-language subtitling broaden accessibility. Formats produced and the efforts to validate, vulgarize and summarize practical information will facilitate end-users' access to information around OGs’ benefits. Tested in real-life conditions, they offer credible, actionable insights. Subtopics reviews, practice abstracts with CBAs, technical articles, and didactical sheets support knowledge sharing and early training for farmers, students, and vocational audiences.
Capacity building: Training materials empower future farm advisors, students, and agronomists.
Sharing information: Project materials were widely disseminated to a broad range of the public. The LinkedIn account has reached 424 followers, 106 on Facebook, and 290 on YouTube. Climed-fruit social media reached in total 58 928 views, the partners' account (all social media) reach 149 546 views for a total of 208 474 views of climed-fruit outcomes There were over 10095 visits on the website since the launch of the Google analytics account in July 2023, 172 persons are subscribing to the newsletter.

Key needs for further uptake:
Institutional support for expanding OGs, especially in underrepresented regions.
Sustained funding for multi-language dissemination.
Policy alignment to implement results at regional and national levels, guided by project's policy recommendations.