NOVATERRA

IMPACT

Matching market challenges

DESCRIPTION

Since the Green Revolution in the 1950s and 1960s, agricultural production in Europe and the rest of the world has largely depended on plant protection products. With population growth, one of the greatest challenges is to ensure agricultural production whilst maintaining a sustainable environment, namely without increasing the area designated for agricultural purposes.

As the CEEV (Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins) itself highlights, "The wine sector permeates many levels of European life, contributing significantly to society in socio-economic, environmental and social terms: where vines beautify the landscape, the wine sector provides employment for millions, helping to sustain the fabric of rural societies and maintaining a way of life that is central to the very notion of European identity". As such, the European Union is the world's leading producer, consumer, exporter and importer of wines, representing: 45% of wine-growing areas (mainly in Spain, Italy and France), 63% of production (145 million hectolitres in 2023), 57% of global consumption and 70% of exports worldwide.

During its execution (2020-2024), NOVATERRA proposed to create a more holistic approach to the future of agricultural activity. The project aimed to reduce environmental pollution, protect biodiversity and improve the economic viability of Mediterranean farmers through the use of precision agriculture, robotics, new natural substances and sustainable soil management strategies.

NOVATERRA studied "new integrated strategies to reduce the use and impact of pesticides for the sustainability of Mediterranean vineyards and olive groves". The overall objective of the project was to test a more holistic approach to ensure food security and access to healthy food for a growing population, without neglecting EU directives and priorities regarding the sustainable use of pesticides.

SOGRAPE was the only Portuguese wine company in the project consortium, and during these four years of the project developed studies on:

I. new strategies in the use of substances that promote the natural resistance of vines in defense against downy mildew and powdery mildew;

II. the use of an innovative biodegradable formulation for the diffusion of grape moth (Lobesia botrana) pheromones in a protection strategy known as mating disruption;

III. the use of a smart farming platform for vineyard pest and disease management and forecasting;

IV. the implementation of new technologies for the optimised application of plant protection products - Variable Rate Technology (VRT);

V. the implementation of a robot for (mechanical) weed control in the vineyard. This innovative technology was developed in Portugal by INESC-TEC, an institution with which it signed a protocol for the use of Quinta do Seixo as a test bed for robotised solutions for viticulture.

Through a series of case studies in Mediterranean vineyards and olive groves, the project aimed to achieve greater economic viability for Mediterranean farmers by creating a network of stakeholders, who participated in the initial diagnosis, meetings and working sessions with discussion groups, among other exploration activities.

With the NOVATERRA project, SOGRAPE promoted the training of farmers involved in two of the main agricultural productions in the Mediterranean region (wine and olive oil), thus contributing to the transfer of knowledge and innovations to European farmers. Throughout the project's implementation, SOGRAPE participated in various conferences and symposia and organised two workshops, one in the Douro and another in Alentejo.

The project received a total of 4,884,346.35 million Euros in funding, under an innovation action grant from the Horizon 2020 programme launched by the European Commission. The NOVATERRA consortium, led by the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA, Catalonia, Spain), was made up of a total of 19 entities, including experts from 6 countries (Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Greece and Belgium) with distinct backgrounds, which allowed for the creation, development, testing and exploitation of solutions.

The NOVATERRA project received funding from the European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme, under contract 101000554.