ProSmallAgriMed Overview

Promoting soil fertility, yield and income in smallholder agriculture of semiarid and arid Mediterranean regions by management of beneficial soil microbiota, conservation agriculture and intercropping is a project funded by Prima-Med2020 intended to improve small farmer agronomic practices through the promotion of the rational use of beneficial soil microbiota and their positive effects on productivity of intercropped perennial (cactus pear) with short-term species (field crops and winter-grown vegetables) and to promote synergistic cooperation between farmers and the food-value chain. 

The optimization of such practices under water-limited environments will contribute to food security by: 

1. ensuring soil fertility with enhanced carbon sequestration 

2. expanding land cover in space and time, with beneficial effects on soil conservation and water use efficiency

3. improving yields for consumption as food or feed, or industrial transformation

4. increasing the nutritional quality of crop products

5. guaranteeing water and soil quality through reduction in chemical inputs