ARIMNet2 ISRA index

Foreword The Mediterranean area The need for research and innovation The role of EU Policy in the Med Area and vice-versa

1. ARIMNet21.1. What is ARIMNet2?1.2. Scope of ARIMNet21.3. The Other Initiatives in the Med Area Research Coordination and

Networking1.4. Scope of the ISRA

2. Challenges 2.1. Population, societies and natural resources2.2. Plant Production Systems 2.3. Animal Production Systems2.4. Value Chain Management 2.5. Preliminary conclusion (cf. “Nexus”)

3. The ARIMNet2 Strategy for Med Area3.1. Priority thematic areas to face the challenges for the Mediterranean Area

3.1.1 Increasing the efficiency and sustainability of production systems 3.1.2 Enhancing value chains 3.1.3 Promoting a balanced territorial development

3.2. Instruments to implement strategy (to be done)

4. Implication for the European and International Collaboration (to be done)4.1. Contribution to ERA 4.2. International issues, cooperation and opportunities

5. The ISRA Evaluation and Monitoring (Uygun + Bernard)

Annexes (to be revised later)- ARIMNet2 detailed scope- Process to define the ISRA- ARIMNet2 Governance- ARIMNet2 Membership- SSAB - Summary/list of national research’s programs- List of initiatives related to ARIMNet2 (i.e. Eranet, JPI, TP ecc)

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FOREWORD(JPI FACCE, JPI water or JPI med diet to be mentioned) (Coordinator + WP leader) still needed

The Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in the area of research and innovation has a major role to play in delivering economic, environmental and social benefits at a wider scale. Research and innovation contribute to reinforce the economic stability and democracy, to ensure peace, welfare and prosperity in the Region and to respond to the democratic and economic aspirations that are so closed to European values. Science will not alone build democracy but it can contribute to it. Investing in and cooperating on research and innovation promotes growth and jobs, and improves people's lives across both regions.

All through these years, the cooperation between the EU and the south Mediterranean countries was mostly governed by EU instruments and initiatives, which, despite involving the institutions on both shores of the Mediterranean in substantial cooperation, was not able to establish the desired true partnership towards a common knowledge and innovation space. The Mediterranean Region cannot be considered just the southern border of the European Union. Its economic, social, demographic situation now and with its possible developments in the future have a significant impact on Europe. Population is the main factor to be considered, as a matter of fact, it is estimated that the Mediterranean Region will have a total of 600 million inhabitants by 2025, and 625 million people by 2050; this means that, compared to the 323 million inhabitants recorded in the Region in 1975, the population will have almost doubled in fifty years. The population of the five North African countries facing the Mediterranean Sea (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt) combined is nearly as high as 2/5 of that of EU-28. Contrary to Europe, its demographic structure is larger in the younger age-classes, which means that it will still grow at a positive rate contrary to Europe that is nearly stable.

Within the south and east Mediterranean regions, the expected total and urban population increases will generate serious problems of access to resources and land use planning. In the Southern Mediterranean, agriculture is one of the major socio-economic driving forces contributing more than 50% of the gross income of the region, and is the basic means for ensuring adequate food both in terms of quality and quantity. Food security and safety does not depend only on structural and socio-economic factors but also on natural elements such as the availability of natural resources (mainly biodiversity, soil and water) as well as climate. Climate change in the Mediterranean is one of the most threatening phenomena for food, in an area that is already marked by aridity and salinity, and facing the risk of reduced rainfall throughout the Region.

The current situation of social and political turmoil in the Mediterranean Basin invites us to reflect upon the challenges facing economies in EU’s bordering countries and the potential leverage for sustainable development in the Region. An improvement of livelihoods is among the main demands of Mediterranean citizens, facing a multidimensional insecurity that plunges them in a highly vulnerable situation on a daily basis. The access to food and water interconnected with multi challenges– political, social, or economic – that limit food and

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water availability is of paramount importance in the Region. This affects socio-economic conditions, wellbeing and health of people living in the Mediterranean Area, and the societal stability of the Region, therefore impacting European Union as a whole. Agriculture has a big part to play in the economic development, and the development of agriculture should not be considered as a threat to European competitiveness, as the internal markets would absorb most of the production, would create jobs and would probably reduce poverty-driven immigration flows to Europe. The Mediterranean area suffers of a high level of vulnerability of its natural environment. It is considered one of the areas of the world most threatened by climate change, which could worsen stresses that are already high: drought, the frequency of extreme climatic events, and endemic and emerging diseases in both crops and animals. Moreover Med Area is one of the hotspots of global biodiversity, with a remarkable richness in cultivated and wild species characterizing the area. This diversity is clearly an asset for the region which could be of value through specific agricultural and food products and which could be used to face new challenges such as adaptation to climate change. It also has to be preserved as a common heritage.

The magnitude of challenges faced due to demographic changes versus the over-use of limited natural resources are increased with the cost of energy coupled with water scarcity, misuse of irrigation water, deteriorated water quality and overexploitation of genetic resources resulting in deficit in food production. Consequently, it negatively affects economic conditions and produces various types of conflicts ranging from social domestic conflicts to sector conflicts (from agriculture and aquaculture to urban areas, industry, transportation and tourism) and trans-boundary conflicts. Due to its limited availability and to its close connections with societal and economic challenges, research and innovation addressing sustainable management systems is the key to sustainable development in the Region. Therefore, when dealing with management systems for food and non-food production multiple dimensions will be impacted and therefore, should be addressed as in the case of sustainable agriculture, land-use and forestry management, environmental management of production systems, water and energy-saving techniques, health, and coastal zone dynamics. The strong inter-linkages and interdependences that exist among climatic, environmental, social, economic and institutional drivers and variables of the Mediterranean Area make monothematic and exclusive approaches inadequate to correctly address these complex problems. An integrated approach and in some cases hybrid solutions are needed in order to face the multiple, emerging and interrelated problems/challenges of the Mediterranean area.

Ultimately, addressing these core challenges through research and innovation could result in an increase of growth and creation of jobs in the Region and the intercultural dialogue is easier if it is based on non-controversial matters such as research, development and innovation (“scientific diplomacy”). Science is to provide convincing evidence to support desirable transitions. Therefore, the FP7 and H2020 dual approach to fundamental research (ERC) and applied pre-competitive research, as well as innovation oriented development is to be maintained and possibly replicated.

Within this approach, several joint cooperation and programming actions (focus on research) involving European Member States and the EC are in place (ERA-Nets: Arimnet and

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Arimnet2, ERANETMED) and more are being developed in addition to several bilateral programmes and projects. They should be taken as a model and as testing ground for a broader geographic area (Sub-saharan Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, …) as they do not only contribute to the economic development but also to stronger political and cultural relationships with Europe. Many bi- or multi-lateral and networking initiatives have been implemented creating a cooperative environment and reaching promising results in some areas; however participating bodies believe that these efforts remain insufficient and fragmented given the dimension of the challenges ahead in the Region and the current oversubscription observed in ERA-Net transnational calls dealing with food and water resources in the Mediterranean Area.

In 2014, several EU Member states and Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Countries expressed their willingness to enhance and strengthen their cooperation. The PRIMA initiative “Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area” is a proposal supported by more than 20 countries to scale up the current actions and to move towards a stronger cooperation for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean in the field of food systems and water resources. It proposes the EC to launch an article 185 initiative to build after 2017 an integrated funding programme based on the principles of co-ownership, co-decision and co-funding.

ARIMNet, ARIMNet2 and other regional initiatives (MIRA, MEDSPRING and ERANETMED) have paved the road toward such a broader initiative. The regional initiatives are launching transnational calls for proposals that are co-funded and co-decided between all participating countries, no matter if they are EU Member States or Mediterranean Participating Countries (MPCs). They have promoted networking in R&I programmes in the Mediterranean region between different stakeholders. Therefore, they prepare the ground and practices in line with the principles that PRIMA has retained.

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1. What is ARIMNet2?

ARIMNet2 (Agricultural Research in the Mediterranean Area Network) is an initiative supported by the European Commission (ERA-NET) to enhance the coordination of Agricultural Research in the Mediterranean Area. It follows ARIMNet that was launched in 2008, as the first ERA-Net bringing together Mediterranean countries from the EU and from the Mediterranean Eastern and Southern shores. ARIMNet (2008-2012) involved 13 partners (funding agencies and research institutions) from 12 countries, of which 6 from the European Union (France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Cyprus and Greece), 2 from Associated Countries (Turkey and Israel) and 4 from Mediterranean countries (Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt). ARIMNet2 (2014-2017) involves new partners for a total of 24 national funding agencies and research institutions from 15 countries. The new participating countries are Croatia, Malta, and Slovenia. At the crossroad of thematic (as lead by FACCE) and regional (the Mediterranean!) issues, ARIMNet2 works as a network identifying scientific priorities, providing funding and reinforcing cooperation opportunities for the research to address the huge societal challenges related to the whole Mediterranean Area “implications” for the agricultural sector starting from food, rural development, water and natural resources use.

1.1 Scope of ARIMNet2ARIMNet 2 involves Algeria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Israel, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Slovenia, Tunisia, Turkey, and Spain. It aims at deepening and enlarging the experience of ARIMNet. Indeed, examining the achievements of the “first” ARIMNet, the accumulation of cooperation experiences among Mediterranean countries represents a crucial step with strong relationships developed between partners. Better knowledge of current research programmes and a willingness to implement other joint activities have been established. On this base, the idea to build a new ARIMNet2 project was built. In ARIMNet, a call for research proposals has been successfully launched in 2011 with the participation not only of five European countries (France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Cyprus) and two associated countries (Turkey, Israel) but also of four Mediterranean Partner Countries (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt). All the countries have participated on an equal basis in co-funding and in designing the priorities and procedures for the call. Ten research projects have been launched and are currently running with a total funding of 7 million euros. ARIMNet2, toward a deeper cooperation among research institutions, aims to:

- develop an integrated strategic research agenda (ISRA) describing key priorities for European Union and Mediterranean Countries in the field of Mediterranean Agriculture Research and Innovation;- consolidate the cooperation mechanism started in ARIMNet through the set up of two joint calls for transnational research projects and the elaboration of guidelines for monitoring the research projects funded inside joint calls;

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- demonstrate the feasibility of other joint activities in some areas relevant to the project and implement those that are jointly strategic; set up pilot actions to develop scientific exchanges among researchers in the Mediterranean area;

- enhance transnational cooperation and knowledge generation and innovation within the Mediterranean region in sharing objectives and priorities, with a view to establishing a common vision on agricultural research and innovation;- strengthen the coordination and coherence in the research programming between regional and national institutions and develop capacity building in scientific methods, concepts and infrastructure;

- increase the excellence and relevance of agricultural research in order to contribute to addressing the huge societal challenges related to food, rural development, water and natural resources which Mediterranean countries are facing today;- foster agricultural knowledge and innovation systems to reinforce the research impact on the rural development and economy of the Mediterranean basin. The purpose is to extend the reflection on Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) that has been developed inside the EU to the Mediterranean area; and- establish a consolidated framework for cooperation that could lead to a stable and long-lasting cooperation between EU member states, Associated Countries and Southern Mediterranean countries.-

1.2 The other Research coordination and networking initiatives in the Mediterranean Area Last decades links between research performers (universities, research and technological institutes) from the European Union and Mediterranean Countries have steadily increased and became abundant. This is not only due to historical relationships and proximity of the all countries around the Mediterranean but also to the need to address common challenges in terms of adaptation of agriculture to global change, water and natural resources scarcity or changes in food systems. Partnerships among teams or research institutions have been increasing along time through researchers’ mobility, joint supervision of PhD, and joint research projects. Agriculture, food and water is the most intensive domain of R&I cooperation between Euro-Mediterranean countries, in terms of number of research projects, bilateral cooperation in the region and scientific publications. Such scientific links between researchers have largely benefited from a rather large number of multilateral cooperation projects supported by the successive EU framework programmes, and/or from national and bilateral cooperation programmes. The CIHEAM (International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies) plays also a major role in the Mediterranean Region by developing specialized training, networked research, and contributing to the political dialogue in the fields of agriculture, food, fishery and rural territories. Besides direct links between research performers, joint initiatives bringing together national research organizations and national funding agencies have received a high priority in European Research Policies. Whenever common challenges and problems exist, joining forces between national Research Systems have been encouraged in the EU 7 th Framework

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Program of R&I (2007-2013). This has led to the development of over hundred of ERA-Nets (European Research Area Network) and several JPIs (Joint Programming Initiatives) supported by the European Commission to enhance the cooperation among EU Member States. Simultaneously in its International Cooperation activities the European Commission has launched initiatives to strengthen the scientific links between EU member states and its partner countries, namely through INCO-Nets (International Cooperation Networks). In the Mediterranean Region, ARIMNet and MIRA (Mediterranean Innovation and Research Coordination Action), an INCO-Net devoted to enhance the regional Science and Technology dialogue in the Mediterranean Region, were the main instruments of this cooperation in the years 2008-2012. They have been followed, after 2012, by several initiatives, namely FORESTERRA, MEDSPRING and ERANETMED:FORESTERRA (2012-2015) is an ERA-Net aiming to reinforce the scientific coordination and integration of Mediterranean forest research programmes through scientific cooperation with Mediterranean-area countries- including EU member states (Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece) and non-EU Mediterranean countries (Algeria, Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco) – and with countries from other Mediterranean Climate Areas (Australia, South Africa, Chile and California).MEDSPRING (2012-2016) is a cooperation initiative (INCO-Net) financed by the European Commission to develop a dialogue among governmental institutions, research organisations, associations and civil society. The project aims at reinforcing the Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation on Research and Innovation in relation to the Euro-Mediterranean EU policy as defined in the Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Barcelona (2-3 April 2012)1. It addresses the prioritized areas of water, food, energy, health, transport and marine environment and, in particular, the field of the three relevant societal challenges of the Mediterranean region: Resource efficiency (particularly Water), High Quality Affordable Food and Energy (particularly renewable energies).ERANETMED (October 2013 – September 2017) in an ongoing ERA-Net supported by FP7-INCO. It addresses the main Euro-Mediterranean societal challenges (energy, water and food, health, marine environment). ERANETMED involves Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Jordan, Greece, Germany, Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Tunisia, Turkey, Spain. ERANETMED has launched in 2015 a call for proposals on renewable energies and water resources and their connections for the Mediterranean region, for an amount of around 13 million€ co-funded by Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, and Turkey.

1.3 Scope of the ISRAThe Integrated Strategic Research Agenda (ISRA) will constitute a basis to set up a common vision on challenges and priorities for agricultural research in the context of the Mediterranean Area.The overall and main objective of ISRA is to build the roadmap for joint actions in the framework of ARIMNET2. The document describes the key priorities for the EU and Mediterranean Countries in the field of Mediterranean agriculture, defines the scientific

1 HYPERLINK "http://www.ec.europa.eu/research/conferences/2012/euro-mediterranean/index_en.cfm" \t "_blank"

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strategic priorities shared among partners and establishes the ways the research agenda is to be implemented and reviewed. It addresses the ways to reinforce Mediterranean Area research activities, to share research infrastructures and platforms, and to develop training and knowledge exchange. The ISRA will be done taking into account complementarities with other initiatives, in particular the JPI FACCE and Water JPI and the INCO-Nets related projects (MEDSPRING and ERANETMED).From the regional perspective, the Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Research and Innovation organized in Barcelona in 2012 concluded with a recommendation to revisit the partnership with focusing on co-ownership, mutual interest and shared benefits. These are the principles behind ARIMNet and ARIMNet2. Under the current economic conditions, there is a greater need to enhance multilateral cooperation for research to strengthen the economies of the Mediterranean countries and to help finding solutions to global/regional challenges. Today, as stated by the PRIMA initiative, the mutual interest in the region centers on sustainability of the agro-food systems from production to consumption and the increased pressure on natural resources accompanied by uncertainties due to climate change and on protection of the rich natural and cultural heritage. The ARIMNet2 Integrated Strategic Research Agenda will thus contribute not only to the current ARIMNet2 activities but will also provide a contribution to help the emergence of an enlarged multilateral cooperation initiative in the future.

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2. Challenges

2.1 Population, societies and natural resources The Mediterranean today composing of 21 countries is a highly fragmented region showing one of the sharpest differences in GDP per capita in the world. How the Region as a whole manages the use of scarce resources will have significant impacts on economic growth and social stability. The high unemployment rate and domestic and international migration are all influenced by the socio-economic instability and will be largely determined by how human capital will develop and flow across the Region.

The undernourished population percentage is below 5% in most of the countries except for Algeria, Morocco and some ex-Yugoslavian countries (FAO, 2004). Moreover, analphabetic level can be high in Southern countries, for example in Morocco where it reaches 75% in rural areas. The dietary energy consumption is quite good for the Mediterranean countries (all above 2800 calories per capita and per day), especially if we consider the contrast with the majority of the more Sub-Saharan countries (FAO, 2004). However, the World Development Indicators showed that, in 2000, the economic added value of an EU agricultural worker was still 13 times higher than the average one in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Syria and Turkey. This shows that the economic gap between North and South is still very deep, having significant consequences on the market.

The political problems and especially polarization continue to affect alliances. Among all rivalries and controversies, the main and common challenge seems to be natural resource management for security and sustainability of agro-food system in the Euro-Mediterranean Region since it affects all partners in the Region. Some Southern Mediterranean countries are almost dependent on the EU market for exports while others have negligible figures for the exports to the EU. In 2007, the average share of Southern Mediterranean exports directed to the EU was 47% however in the case of Morocco and Tunisia, exports to the EU account for over 70% of their total trade volume; in Algeria and Syria it accounts for approximately 45%; in Egypt about 30%; and in Jordan only 3% of total exports (World Economic Forum, 2011).

On the other hand, most of the SEMC (except Turkey) are net importer of agricultural products (mainly cereals) and this is tremendously increasing during the last decade (Fig 1)

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.0

.20

.40

.60

.80

exports

imports

Fig 1: Total agricultural exports and imports of SEMC in Billion US$ (source WTO Database, from Jacquet, 2015).

Globally it has almost doubled since the last two decades (x4 in Egypt, x5 in Algeria), the Mediterranean basin population represents 7% of the global population for 22% of the importation of cereals for all the world, the SEMCs 4% and 12% respectively. Moreover, North African and Near East countries are net importers for the main animal products. Egypt and Algeria are dramatically depending on food importations as they had a negative balance of respectively 2.7 and 2.2 billion Euros in 2001. On the other hand, Turkey and Morocco are the only Southern countries with a positive balance of 2.0 and 0.2 billion Euros in 2001. Morocco has a positive advantage in fish products and is considered to have one of the best fishing potentials in the world. Consequently, apart from France and, to a lower extent, Turkey, all the other Mediterranean countries are highly net importers in food with a percentage of (exports. imports)/consumed calories below minus 25% (FAO, 2004), and this situation may not change significantly in the short term.

Southern Mediterranean countries have the lowest levels of trade integration between neighboring countries, averaging to only 5.7% of their total trade. Better management of the research and innovation addressing these challenges will result in shared benefits no matter if they are supplying or demanding goods to and from the European market and increase south to south integration. Many agro-food products are perishable in nature and may require even variety specific conditions for storage, transportation, safety and quality standards. In case of significant differences, failures may occur and create a trade barrier. To facilitate trade there is a need for alignment of legislation supported by research, institutional building and investment for infrastructure and human capacity. The population increase rate is still high in the non-EU partners leading to higher young, urban and total populations, on the other hand, ageing is a problem of the EU.

While in the Mediterranean EU countries rural population remains stable (40 million), it is still tremendously increasing in the SEMCs from 60 to more than 100 million during the last 50 years, in both situation we observe an increase in urban population (to 170 million in the SEMCs and 120 in the North). Those recent trend in demographic development and

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concentration of the population on the shoreline, adopting an urban lifestyle with consumption patterns more than ever before based on exogenous models and imported products, leading to a growing divide between the shoreline and the upcountry. These changes result from local competition between different land uses both within the agricultural sector with changes in the dominant practices (traditional vs. market-oriented crops and practices) and between agricultural and other land use types with a sprawl of urbanized areas in particular on coastal zones. These main changes are not independent and act in a feedback chain: disturbance of traditional agriculture surrounding urban areas due to cities expansion leads to the development of a market-oriented agriculture further away to feed cities, while these developments disturb ecosystems in rural areas. We are thus witnessing the emergence of new forms of poverty (both urban and rural) accompanied with a new web of landscapes and problems related to the management of residual land at risk (soil degradation, weak management of stocks and hydric flux, etc.). Thus there is a need to rebuild solidarities between urbanized shoreline and the upcountry by developing production systems well adapted to the site-specific conditions. This issue is particularly relevant and important for the Mediterranean region and needs to be studied in detail. This divide raises several issues such as land rights, integrated territorial and renewable natural resource management, the place given to urban and peri-urban agriculture, modes of organizations of producers and marketing circuits (/import?) inside a given sector. Ecologically and economically sustainable practices as the bio-intensive management systems can be developed for small plot sizes and family farms.

Changing consumption habits results in diversions from the Mediterranean diet putting forward the question of healthy diets in terms or forestall public health risks resulting from a “standardized” nutrition. Does the Mediterranean region paradoxically not run the risk of being the one of the areas on the planet the least familiar with the Mediterranean diet? If, due to rural poverty and high prices, the main local products are destined only for exports or important occasions, how would the consumers react to a context of rising prices for agricultural raw materials at the world level especially if these products are increasingly imported?

Despite efforts in education, a gender gap in economic activity still exists in non-EU countries. Recent reports of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO’s) State of Food and Agriculture 2010–2011 and the World Bank’s World Development Report 2012 highlight the importance of gender equality in agriculture. In this respect, research related to women domain as the post-harvest handling and processing and simple and women-friendly technologies that can be utilized on-farm conditions for value adding will help to save labor, generate income, improve nutrition and prevent losses. Moreover, special emphasis is given to the long-term impact assessment to recognize the different needs of men and women2.

The Euro-Mediterranean Region is diverse in economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects. The Mediterranean ecosystem is rather a complex and fragile ecosystem threatened by climate change, land and water loss and pollution, and loss of biodiversity . The 2 Ruth Meinzen-Dick and Agnes Quisumbing, Closing the Gender Gap, Women in Agriculture, Chapter 4, p.40-47 (http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/gfpr2012_ch04.pdf)

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Region in general faces similar problems however the situation is aggravated by the high population growth rates in Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries. There are significant regional differences in regards to natural resources.

Soil erosion is a major obstacle to the sustainability of all forms of agriculture in hilly and mountain areas, exceeding 30 times the rate of sustainability (tolerable erosion). It is also proven that climate change may accentuate or accelerate the soil degradation processes, especially erosion.

Taking into consideration both the environmental and economic after effects, the efficient use and cycling of nutrients namely nitrogen still remain as a priority in the Region. Phosphorus receives attention since it is a limited resource at global scale. On the other hand, phosphate is seen as the best tool for the North African countries’ economic growth.

Water is a scarce and coveted resource in the Mediterranean, and will be even more so in the future. The Mediterranean climate is characterized by infrequent rainfall (less than 100 days a year) that is unevenly distributed over time (long periods of summer drought) and sometimes quite sparse (about 300 to 500 mm per year in some semi-arid regions). Most countries in the region face problems of overuse of water resources: mobilization of surface water by waterworks and groundwater pumping have lowered water tables, brought changes in hydrologic regimes and disturbed aquatic ecosystems downstream from river systems. In addition, poor management of agricultural inputs has led to a deterioration of water quality in watersheds and aquifers. Additionally, the Region is considered one of the most vulnerable regions of the world in terms of climate change which will consequently worsen the existing problems of drought, extremely high temperatures, unexpected climatic events, and crop and animal endemic and emerging diseases. There is a need to develop strategies to mitigate effects of climate change. Even if its link with climate change phenomena is not yet fully clarified, the sea level is rising significantly in the Eastern Mediterranean. Since 1992, the average rise is calculated as 12 cm in the Eastern coast yielding to higher sea water intrusion and salinity problems threatening land resources. Indeed, most climate change scenarios for the region call for decreased rainfall and higher temperatures, while the population will continue to increase until 2030. It is essential, therefore, to begin today to design new ways of water management, to ensure greater equity and efficiency of resource use and to monitor its impact on ecosystems, soils and societies at different levels of organization. In most of the Mediterranean countries, except France, almost 70% of the available water resources are used for agriculture, which will be in hard competition in the following uses (domestic in the cities, tourism on the coast ...) taking into account that those resources are limited (and almost no more is suitable for irrigation) and threatened by climate change. For an effective management of water flow and quality, what is needed is, on the one hand, observations of surface water and groundwater at different scales and, on the other hand, appropriate models for understanding the process, stakeholders’ behavior and the impact of management practices on resources.

2.2 Plant production systems

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The Mediterranean Area is characterized by rich plant diversity that is actively consumed by the local population which has led to the world-wide known healthy ‘Mediterranean Diet’. The Mediterranean diet is based on daily consumption of fruit and vegetables, grain (mostly whole), olive oil, nuts, beans, legumes, seeds, herbs and spices, all easily found in the Area. They have significant importance in supplying carbohydrates, vegetal proteins, phytochemicals, some vitamins and minerals. In addition to nutrition and contribution to local diets, they have uses in medicine, industry or agriculture, agroforestry and soil conservation, and they value marginal lands in semi-arid environments and contribute to rural development. Mediterranean crops cover a wide group ranging from those of major international importance as in the case of olive oil, dates or grapes mainly destined to the export markets (namely to EU) to locally important species grown only in home-gardens.3 The farm sizes range from few large scale commercial farms to high number of small family farms. Survival of family farming is crucial for the rural livelihoods. Land and water ownership is still a problem in some areas.

Minor species in the Mediterranean countries as wild herbs used as vegetables or others found in rich plant germplasm bear the potential to develop new crops or to regenerate old crops. The interest in the Mediterranean diet and typical products and tourism activities help to disseminate these minor/local species and raise awareness.

In the Mediterranean Area, the genetic bases for grains, legumes, seeds, fruit, nuts, dried fruit, vegetables, medicinal and aromatic plants, culinary herbs and cash crops are rather wide however genetic erosion is still quite high. This appears as a consequence of various factors. The land in the Mediterranean Area is cultivated for millennia since the very early stages of agriculture/domestication. Today, vast monocultures of few species targeted to world-wide trade may result in complex challenges as the loss of soil fertility, intensive input use leading to pollution of soil and water, fragmentation of habitats or loss of biodiversity. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has identified three priority areas to reduce the impact of farming practices on natural resources as: “(1) Biodiversity and the preservation and development of 'natural' farming and forestry systems, and traditional agricultural landscapes; (2) water management and use; and (3) dealing with climate change. Thus, there is a similar threat for the whole Mediterranean Area.

The major Mediterranean crops that are grown on large areas are mostly perennials as olives, grapes, dates, citrus, stone and pome fruits as peaches, apricots, cherries, apples, pears, tree nuts as hazelnut, pistachios, almonds and pine nuts and ‘minor’ Mediterranean species as pomegranate, figs, prickly pear and carob. 16% of the total cultivable land of the Mediterranean area is occupied by fruit crops. The importance of species varies from one country to the other e.g. Turkey is the leader country in cherries, hazelnuts and dried figs, grapes and apricots whereas Tunisia is the leading Med country in exportation of dates. Among southern Med countries Egypt has an outstanding place in exportation of oranges and potatoes. Italy and France are the leaders in exportation of wine.

3 Tous, J. and L. Ferguson. 1996. Mediterranean fruits. p. 416-430. In: J. Janick (ed.), Progress in new crops. ASHS Press, Arlington, VA.

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The perennial fruit species are either grown extensively as rain-fed e.g. olives, almonds, hazelnut, pistachio, prickly pear, figs, carob or grown intensively under irrigated conditions e.g. citrus, peaches, grapes, cherries. Site-specific ecological factors and cultural practices affect the yield and quality therefore selection of the appropriate species, variety or rootstock and management systems play a vital role. In the case of fruit production, the juvenile period that may vary between 2 to 8 years and current research pushes for shortening of the juvenile period either through new cultivars or through innovative orchard management systems. Any wrong decision while establishing the orchard will cause delays as well as economic losses.

Olive groves or vineyards may cover vast areas in the Mediterranean countries as monocultures however they are important source of employment for many rural communities so economically indispensable. In the world olive oil production, Mediterranean countries are far most the world leaders (Table 1). The EU-Med countries have a share of 73.7 % followed by other Mediterranean countries as Turkey, Syria and Tunisia as the average of the last 6 years. The current state of olive production that has a historical background of many millennia demands research for further improvement of the rain-fed olive ecosystems. In this respect, research targeting breeding of new cultivars or rootstocks and developing management systems for specific pedo-climatic zones will decrease the impact on environment but increase their economic performance. Special research focus is required for improving or maintaining the yield and quality of various fruit species without increasing the impact on the fragile natural resources of the Mediterranean. Plant-soil-water relationships play a key role in determining orchard productivity and fruit quality. Sustainable and innovative management systems, with a particular emphasis on soil fertility and water management will reduce the input-use and increase efficiency. Moreover, there is a great variability among fruit trees in respect to drought, salinity or alkalinity tolerance, and research work targeting to reveal and understand the adaptation, avoidance, resistance or tolerance mechanisms are still needed. The challenges faced by the climate change phenomena urge breeding programs that utilize rapid and safe techniques for variety (main commercial or pollinator) and rootstock development in order to provide higher adaptability to changing conditions.

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Table 1. Olive oil production (mt) in the Mediterranean Area as the average between 2008/9 and 2013/4 (Source: Olive Oil Council November 2014).

Countries Production (1 000 mt) Share (%)

European Union 2117,6 73,7Albania 8,1 0,3Algeria 50,8 1,8Cyprus 7,0* 0,2Egypt 7,4 0.3Israel 11,8 0,4Jordan 22,3 0,8Lebanon 16,9 0,6Libya 15,0 0,5Morocco 115,8 4,0Montenegro 0,5 0,0Palestine 16,2 0,6Syria 166,3 5,8Tunisia 150,3 5,2Turkey 168,8 5,9TOTAL 100

*Average of 2002/3 to 2007/8

Since water is a scarce resource in the Mediterranean, not only the plant material but management systems must be developed to reduce water consumption or improve water-use efficiency. However in case of rain-fed cultures, supplementary irrigation programs may also help to enhance yields and quality. The choice of an appropriate and rational irrigation management is of key importance.

The Mediterranean countries are also leaders in various annual crops as cereals, root and tuber crops and vegetables. However in respect to wheat as staple food, the southern Mediterranean countries are net importers in respect to wheat (Table 2). The production trends show discrepancy among these countries. There is an increase both in area and value of production of wheat in Egypt even if known as the major wheat importer whereas the production is stable in Tunisia. France on the other hand is occupies the second position in wheat exportation.

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Table 2. Wheat production (2013) and import of southern Mediterranean countries (Source: http://faostat3.fao.org/)

Countries Production in 2013 (Quantity as mt)

Import in 2012(Quantity as mt)Algeria 3 299 049 6 347 232

Egypt 9 460 200 11 428 301Libya 200 000 1 623 390Morocco 265 000 4 093 618Tunisia 975 300 1 632 489

Legumes are an essential part of the local diet in almost all Mediterranean countries, even if not subject to exportation. Developing rotation programs integrating legumes will lower the use of nitrogenous fertilizers, enhance soil nitrogen levels, lower the production costs elevating competitiveness and improve protein intake. Mediterranean countries rely on fertilizer and pesticide importation for plant production. Except Morocco, an exporter of natural phosphates worth 1 479 797 000 US dollars, all Mediterranean countries import mainly nitrogenous fertilizers. Turkey pays almost 25 % of the total export value of agricultural products for importation of fertilizers. Developing varieties with high nutrient efficiency or management/rotation systems that reduce additional fertilizer requirements are of vital importance. Pesticide use, as displayed with FAO figures is decreasing in some (e.g. the northern Mediterranean countries and in Turkey) whereas, stable (e.g. Tunisia) or increasing (e.g. Egypt) in others. The concerns for safe agri-food products and trade regulations force Mediterranean countries to adopt similar/equivalent regulations or tools. Research will surely find alternative safer systems/techniques to maintain soil fertility, control weeds, pests and diseases and obtain adequate yields and quality.

Soil is becoming a more limited resource therefore the systems developed must also help to control erosion that is often favoured by inadequate plantation models and inappropriate land management techniques. Management practices that minimize or eliminate soil tillage (conservation tillage), including crop rotation and use of catch crops (cover cropping), consider the burying of crop residues or mulching with plant material (organic mulching), adopt organic fertilization and, more generally, reduce crop intensification and respect the suitability of soils must be developed. The principles of Conservation Agriculture, especially in the Mediterranean Region become more vital. Precision farming techniques well adopted to Mediterranean ecosystems should be promoted. User-friendly irrigation systems and programs that are well adapted to the site-specific conditions must be developed to complement plant material and management system to provide higher water use efficiency. The research policies should target developing systems that are equally efficient in water, plant nutrients and energy and can be competitive in the market. The performances of traditional Mediterranean crops that have higher adaptability need to be optimized under rain-fed and irrigated (deficit and optimum) systems. To alleviate the expected impact of ecological challenges, the rich Mediterranean agrobiodiversity can be utilized through collaboration as the major pool to develop new species/types. Some locally consumed wild or cultivated minor species can be evaluated in respect to their health properties and commercialized to widen the Mediterranean crop range. The demand for fresh or dried

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culinary herbs is increasing in the European market. The rich Mediterranean flora can be excavated in this respect. Similarly, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry demands need to be considered.

Mediterranean crops that are internationally recognized are subject to world-wide trade and support the industry. The value chain is well managed in selected crops and developed according to the changing consumer preferences and demanded quality assurance systems. However there are still high rates of crop losses due to pre and post-harvest problems. The Mediterranean is a hotspot not just for biodiversity but also for the emergence of plant pests and diseases. This region represents a reservoir particularly virulent in new and emerging invasive diseases and pests. This could propagate towards the North due to climate change and due to increased exchanges between the different regions. The recent outbreak of Xylella fastidiosa in olive groves in southern Italy is a recent example of such a significant threat. Plant diseases and pests also cause significant losses in cereal crops and vegetables. The issue of regional food security also requires a more effective fight against plant pests through the identification of plants’ resistance genes and better management of cropping systems to limit the spread of diseases, the development of resistance by pathogens, and loss of effectiveness of pesticide treatments. In particular, biological diversity plays an important role in controlling animal and plant pests, as regards both the temporal (crop succession) and the spatial dimension at various organizational levels (from plot to whole landscape).Traditional and low-cost production and processing techniques are already embedded in the Mediterranean agriculture. Parallel to the increasing demand for typical and organic products, Mediterranean countries led the way in production and trade of products certified as organic or certified for the origin creating an added value. There is a need to deliver scientific evidence for better quality/safety of the certified products. These practices, techniques or quality schemes should be assessed in respect to the current ecological and socio-economic challenges and scientific knowledge and the out-coming results/best practices must be disseminated. In this respect, on-farm storage, processing and hygiene should receive priority to minimize losses and add value at farm level and to empower women, and certification schemes highlighting Mediterranean specialty should be worked out thoroughly. Women play a major role in the Mediterranean agriculture especially in family farming therefore gender sensitive/specific techniques/technologies should receive special attention in research and innovation.

2.3 Animal production systems2.3.1 Livestock

Even though fish, poultry or pork (in the EU countries) are significant animal productions, we will focus more ruminants which are deeply linked to land use. The common warm and dry climate allows hardly any types of agriculture productions, similar in every Mediterranean country. But at the same time, the low water availability in most of the non European countries (except Turkey and North Syria) is an important limit for yields/hectare and economic efficiency in those Southern countries. There are strong differences between the Mediterranean countries in terms of ruminant production: northern countries, which benefit

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from a more favorable climate and from the EU Common Agricultural Policy, have greater cattle herds than southern countries where dry climate and poor grasslands are more adapted to small ruminants, sheep and goat (Fig. 1). The area represents 5% of the global cattle herd and 13 % of the small ruminants.

Fig 2 : Cattle herds, sheep and goat breeding flocks (million of heads) in Mediterranean countries in 2010 (GIRA Meat Club, USDA & FAO)

We will concentrate on cattle and sheep considering that Goat meat is less important as its production represents between 5 and 30 thousand tons per Southern country, consequently about ten times less than sheep meat. Camels are widespread in the Southern countries, but there are very few economic data about this production which is specific to the pastoral and arid regions. Buffalos is also very important in Egypt as well as in Italy for milk production, nevertheless it doesn't represent a major issue at the level of the full area.

Bovine sectorBeef and veal production is concentrated in France, Italy and Spain. Turkey and Egypt also have a significant production. In the Mediterranean area, beef and veal production has increased by 7% during the years 90. This is mainly due to the increase in the Spanish production (+40%). In this country, the number of suckler cows doubled during the last two decades, mainly because of the conversion of dairy farms after the implementation of the milk quotas and the joining of Spain in the European Union in 1986. Whereas pig meat consumption is the highest in the EU, the consumption of beef meat in Spain is 17 kg/person/year, which is quite low compared to other European countries (France 27 kg, Italy 24 kg) in contrast with SEMC (Turkey 9 kg, Egypt 7.5 kg). On the contrary, in France and Italy, the production has been decreasing for the last 20 years, a consequence of the environmental measures of the 1992 CAP reform. Since 2005, the

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suckler herd in France has been increasing again, encouraged by the very good market conditions. France has had a negative balance of production/consumption since 1999 and imports more than 20% of its consumption from the Netherlands, followed by Germany, Spain, Ireland and Italy. France exports around 17% of its production, mainly to Italy, Greece and Germany. Italy is self-sufficient for beef and veal with 65% of its consumption. Its main suppliers are Germany, France and the Netherlands. Brazil comes in fourth position and its sales have almost doubled in the last five years, reaching more than 50,000 tons. A great part of the beef and veal trade is organized within the Mediterranean area: live animals are exported from France to Italy and Spain to be fattened. France also exports meat to Greece and Italy. European countries export beef and veal meat to Middle-East and North-African countries but Brazil is now the main supplier of these countries, representing 400,000 tons/year, four times the European exports.

Ovine sectorTurkey is the first producer of sheep meat among Mediterranean countries. The production in this country could even be higher due to the fact that the data are based on records from registered slaughters, which means that domestic slaughtering is not taken into account. This is quite common in southern Mediterranean countries where most of animal trade concerns living heads. If not taking into account Northern France production, Spain remains the second producer in the area and has shown a particular dynamism during the last decade compared to other European countries. In France, the production is decreasing and the breeding flock is falling by around 1.5% per year. This trend mainly affects northern France, whereas the Mediterranean area of France has maintained its productions, supported by specific grants of the CAP second pillar. This is also due to the dynamism of the dairy sheep sector compared to the meat one in this country. France imports a large amount of sheep meat from the UK and Ireland (90,000 tons in total), but also from New-Zealand (40,000 tons), which has a leadership situation on the world market. Greece has the highest consumption of the area and consequently imports a great part of it from Spain and New Zealand.

Fig 3: Sheep meat production and consumption in Mediterranean countries (GIRA Meat Club). The circled number is the per capita consumption (kg/year)

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Importance of the pastoral systemsThe Northern Mediterranean countries, including Turkey, have an average rainfall above 500 mm per year. Southern Mediterranean countries, such as Lebanon and Syria, are below this average of 500 mm and countries like Egypt, Libya and Algeria have an average below 300 mm of rainfall, mainly because of their wide arid areas (FAO, 2004). This lack of rainfall is also associated with very high temperatures. Because of the dry climate and consequently the lack of grass, the pastoral system is widespread in the Mediterranean regions as the animals are forced to move to feed, in semi-arid regions, like eastern Algeria, the grass availability period lasts around three months. This low availability limits the milk yield of dairy cows which ranges from 2100 to 3400 liters, depending on the calving season (Mouffok and Madani, 2005). For other sources, the average milk yields can even go down to 1000 liters per cow and year (Ghersi, 2002). But pastoral systems can be compatible with fairly good productivity for small ruminants ... especially when the ewes receive a high quantity of concentrates, mainly cereals purchased at a low price thanks to the government subsidies to guarantee a low price of bread made from imported wheat.

A diversity of meat products, with a specific attention to light carcasses Mediterranean consumers are used to consuming 90% of their bovine meat as young, which is a Mediterranean specificity (Guesdon, 2004). On the other hand, the frequent milking of small ruminants also leads to light young carcasses. For instance, the "lechal" in Spain or the "agnelli" in Italy have an average carcass weight of 10 and 7 kg respectively. In Middle-East countries, such as Turkey and, to a lower extent, Syria, a great part of lambs come from a specific breed, the Awassi, which is aimed at both meat and milk productions, with a specific fat tail. Carcass weights are therefore also high in these countries (average of 15.8 kg in Turkey). On the other hand, in most of the SEMC sheep are slaughter at a higher weight because it is mainly consumed for religious or familial events considering the symbol of adult males.

The Mediterranean livestock farming systems need to adapt with multiple and complex changes in the past and present history of the zone. One of the major point is that, even livestock has be separated (at least in several countries) from the cropping systems, new insights have to be enhanced on crop-livestock systems for a more appropriate land use of diversified ecosystems, the valorization of manure, labor organization, diversification of the products at the farm or the neighborhood level in link with demographic and land pressure, increasing demand and strong high international competition. Thus main perspectives are: 1) identifying efficient crop-livestock systems to better utilize water, soil, crop residues, rangeland forages… (Resource utilization efficiency) and increase the production to meet the rising local demand of safe animal products (socio-economic efficiency); 2) assessing their adaptive capacities, vulnerability and flexibility faced to current stresses/changes; 3) assessing their socio-ecological co-viability and resilience with regard to demographic growth and in a historical perspective; and 4) developing future scenarios and priorities for livestock development in the Mediterranean context to increase their capabilities.

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The fragility of the Mediterranean ecosystem, the flows and concentrations of human and animal populations, the proximity of humans and animals, the uncontrolled use of antibiotics and antiparasitic products, difficulties in implementing effective health inspections, and the effects of climate change are all factors that favor the persistence of pandemic animal diseases, the resurgence of epidemics and the emergence of new pathogens. Not only does this pose a threat to human health, it also constitutes a major constraint on efficient agricultural, zootechnical and economic practices in agricultural and animal husbandry systems in the region. The issue of animal health must be addressed both in terms of factors for the emergence of new pathogens and vectors and in terms of integrated management of zoonoses. 

2.3.2 Aquaculture

Aquaculture has become a major industry in the Mediterranean with the pioneering development of shellfish farming during the first half of the 20th century, followed by marine fish farming in the 1970’s. Today, aquaculture production in neighboring countries in the Mediterranean (1.7 million tons in 2008) has exceeded that of caught fish and its growth should continue at a steady pace for decades to come. This rapid (and sometimes illegal) growth in the Mediterranean is preoccupying. It can be the source of conflicts of use and pollution phenomena, salinization of low-lying land, biodiversity loss, etc. Developing sustainable aquaculture is based on adopting an ecosystem approach that seeks to optimize the supply of commercial services (production of foods or substances of economic interest and cultural heritage for tourism, etc.) while ensuring the long-term future of services engaged for aquaculture production (water quality, producing seed/juveniles, etc.).Thus there is a need for a better knowledge of farmed organisms (genetic architecture of traits of interest, physiology of sexual development and biological bases of domestication) and their production systems (integration in the environment, design of “mixed-farming” systems to minimize impacts or even improve the ecological footprint). Microbiological engineering could be useful to try to alter the digestive capacities of farmed marine animals to plant-based foods and developing innovative aquaculture foodstuffs. The socio-economic development and governance of the industry (foresight analysis, new tools and management methods) have to be enhanced.

2.3.3 Fisheries

Although industrial fishing, like that for red tuna, is often the focus of attention, most fishing in the Mediterranean is, in fact, artisanal. It consists of, on one hand, specialized flotillas supplying an inter-regional market and, on the other hand, opportunistic flotillas using various techniques to meet a localized, scaled-down and changeable demand. The former operate out to sea on broad continental shelves. They require significant technical and financial resources whereas the latter fish in narrow coastal zones and steep-sloped untrawlable areas, sometimes only using rudimentary means. This small-scale artisanal fishing on the coast often constitutes a ‘sea fisherman incubator’ for offshore specialized fisheries, but the scarcity of deep water resources combined with the limited continental shelf area and the low productivity of Mediterranean waters have restricted, more than elsewhere, this offshore expansion.

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Consequently, fishing in the Mediterranean essentially remains an activity of fresh fish landed daily, where ‘small professions’ predominate in numerical and structural terms for the entire industry and its economy.Today however, professions in the fishing industry are in crisis. They must overcome multiple challenges to resources such as competition for the use of maritime space (especially from recreational uses), competition for putting products on the market, reduced stocks of certain species, the deterioration of coastal ecosystems as a result of anthropic pressure and the impacts of climate change (rising water temperatures and acidification, proliferation of invasive species). The need to define standards for the sustainable development of fishing activities in the Mediterranean therefore requires greater consideration of biological, historic and human data which influences the maintenance, adaptation and diversification of small-scale artisanal fishing occupations.There is a need to assess the impact small-scale fishing occupations have on the resource and the ecosystems and study with a historical perspective the adjustment of fishing communities to fluctuations in the resource, to market demand and to changes in society and to explore the opportunities offered by unexploited native, non-native and invasive species to help sustain the development of coastal fishing (food or biotechnological potential, creating value from products, resource management methods and professional training for fishermen, etc.). Heritage-related practices and know-how linked to artisanal fishing has to be studied in order to enable ancient practices to adapt to the current context and promote the rich cultural heritage of Mediterranean fishing, especially in terms of eco-tourism and to develop methods geared to measuring the impact of recreational uses, especially the growth of leisure fishing which is starting to compete with small-scale artisanal fishing. On the governance point of view regulations adapted to artisanal fishing have to be designed, enabling it to maintain its versatility while respecting sustainable fishing principles, especially by linking it with the development of marine protected areas.

2.4 Value Chain Management Socio-economic contribution of agriculture and food sectors to economic growth, rural development and employment is important all around the Mediterranean. It is particularly strategic in Southern Mediterranean countries where agriculture is already providing employment from 20 to 30% of the population in Morocco, Egypt, Turkey or Tunisia. Thus, the role of agriculture and food industries to support employment in rural areas is crucial. Besides, the Mediterranean countries are the first destination for all the EU countries in terms of touristic activities and retirement stays, which is expected to trigger new demands for quality food.Consumption of Mediterranean foods, usually prepared at home or in a cottage industry setting, is giving ground to fast food, subject to modern distribution models and often made from imported and subsidized raw materials. This not only contributes to poor nutrition, a source of significant health problems, but it also causes a decrease in agricultural activities and accelerates rural exodus and urbanization and increases the market share of imported

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products. It also hinders the development of local food industries, which generate employment and add value.

2.4.1 Population, food, lifestyles and healthMoreover, in all Mediterranean countries, food security seems assured for now in quantitative terms, as less than 5% of the population is a chronic malnourished state (in terms of energy). However, when it comes to food quality, not only are there still certain micronutrient deficiencies with relatively high prevalence on the southern and eastern shores, particularly affecting women, but especially there is a massive emergence of diet- and lifestyle-related chronic diseases (heart disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes). These diseases have become the leading cause of death both in the North and the South. While the traditional Mediterranean diet is considered particularly healthy, the Mediterranean is paradoxically one of the areas of the world where overweight and obesity are most prevalent—a clear sign of dietary shifts in progress: excess consumption of carbohydrates, sugars, saturated fat and salt, lower consumption of fruits, vegetables and fiber. These changes are largely correlated with the growth of retail and industrial products, the price of which for urban consumers being less than the price of traditional products. The Mediterranean Diet is being increasingly eroded, and this loss is more pronounced through the younger generations’. The lack of interest is leading to an unavoidable erosion of the Mediterranean dietary cultural heritage.The human, social and economic costs of the epidemic of metabolic diseases are enormous, but policymakers have not always taken their measure. The challenges of research in this area are considerable: first, the complex relationship between diet and health in the Mediterranean context needs to be understood, taking heed of genetic, epigenetic and behavioural determinants of chronic disease. On the other hand, we must better understand eating habits, their heterogeneity and their determinants in order to feed into discussions on care and prevention strategies and policies suited to the various contexts and populations around the Mediterranean.

2.4.2 Developing food industries suited to local conditionsThe intense urban population growth asks for the organization of supply chains which in many cases prove to be inefficient: the distribution of margins between producers, intermediaries and distributors and agents is rather unclear and poor quality signals do not allow adjusting the requirements of consumers and characteristics of the products. The current business models of the small and medium enterprises are not currently able to adapt to changes in demand and economic context. Small entities produce a high proportion of staple foods (milk, meat, fruits and vegetables and processed products), often with unique qualities derived from local tradition. Yet, most of these small companies operate in an informal setting, with recurrent food safety problems.Faced with a saturated Western market, the multinationals of the agro-industrial and agro-service sector (retail, foodservice), in search of new growth opportunities, are targeting developing countries. Suppliers of these downstream firms must meet longer payment deadlines and rigorous standards of quality, traceability and product homogeneity, on the one hand, and supply regularity, on the other hand. In the southern and eastern Mediterranean,

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however, upstream suppliers are usually widely dispersed, creating logistical difficulties in gathering raw materials (with significant post-harvest losses) and assessing their quality.In this context, supporting competitive and innovative businesses, able to promote local products while proposing consumption models adapted to changing lifestyles, is a major issue for sustainable development in the Mediterranean region. Hence, food industry research faces a threefold challenge: technological innovation in the industrial development of traditional products, nutritional and health quality of processed foods, and competitiveness of local products vis-à-vis imports. Progress in these areas will only be possible with the support of proactive policies linking regional development, use of local production and promotion of a healthy diet and increase relevant research on (i) technological analysis of traditional food systems, (ii) characterization of functional and nutritional properties of Mediterranean food commodities, (iii) development of technological processes that are more efficient as regards energy, environment, nutrition and health, based on reverse engineering approaches, (iv) improved flexibility of production lines to accommodate the variability of raw materials and economic viability of processing methods through the enhancement of co-products, waste reduction, and market differentiation.

2.4.3 Integrating smallholdings into formal supply chainsTo meet retail or food industry requirements, local operators must reorganize, leading to a concentration of production and processing, as smallholdings and small businesses have very great difficulty in gaining access to commercial channels. As presented above these small, low-cost entities nevertheless produce a high proportion of staple foods, often with unique qualities derived from local knowledge (local products). In addition, they create rural employment and provide environmental services. However, most of these small companies operate in an informal setting, with very unclear distribution of margins between producers, intermediaries and distributors and agents, and with recurrent food safety problems. The integration of small producers into formal supply channels is a major challenge for research on agrifood supply chains: the role of public and private standards, logistical infrastructure and public policies in promoting such integration will have to be looked at. Particular attention should be paid to maintaining the diversity of regional products and their economic use as a lever of territorial development, and to preserving peri-urban agriculture, which plays an important role in supplying cities with fresh food.Post-harvest losses remain very high in many Mediterranean countries, representing up to 30% of the production in some of them. Globally the food losses and wastes are estimated to be around 280 kg per person per year in Europe and about 215kg per person per year in Northern Africa (FAO, 2011b). Reducing these losses can contribute significantly to improve food security. Transportation inefficiencies have strong effects on this issue. Improved logistics can lead to a better marketing of products and contribute to opening up remote rural areas. In terms of food and water safety, the optimisation of the conveying of agricultural and agro-food products can significantly improve the quality of products. Finally, transportation and logistics is of primary importance for the reduction in losses and wastes, and thus can contribute to increase availability of food and water for consumers (CIHEAM, 2014)4.

4 CIHEAM, 2014: Mediterra 2014. Logistique et commerce agroalimentaire : un défi pour la Méditerranée. Presses de Sciences Po, 556 p.

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This leads to develop research on (i) standards, logistical infrastructures, organizational forms, public policies and innovations in the banking and credit system to promote the integration of smallholdings and SMEs into modern distribution channels (ii) reduction of post-harvest losses, (iii) enhancement of regional products as a lever of territorial development, (iv) function of peri-urban agriculture in supplying cities and (v) health quality of food from smallholdings and informal channels.The integration of small producers into formal supply channels is one of the major challenges: the role of public and private standards, logistical infrastructure and public policies in promoting such integration are crucial.

2.5 Preliminary conclusion

Briefly, we can summarize the main stakes facing these challenges as a tremendous nexus relying food security, poverty alleviation and renewable natural resources preservation. The Mediterranean basin concentrates in a quite small area, at the global scale, a demographic increase, a scarcity in land and water resources, a rise into social inequalities and the climate changes threat in one of the most politically unstable area of this planet. All European countries - not only the southern ones - have to do with this crossroad which represents an important part of its historical cradle as well as geographical neighborhood. Agricultural research could contribute to face these challenges as being at the core of the interactions between technology, people and their environment.

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3. The Arimnet2 strategy for Med Area

3.1 Priority thematic areas to face the challenges for the Mediterranean AreaTwo main challenges have to be faced in writing the ISRA: how to focus on the Mediterranean regional commonalities and specificities? And how to avoid, in a section of only a few pages, formulations of issues and themes in terms which would be too general to be useful? Thus, in order to set research priorities to face the above challenges, we entered into a brain storming combining three elements as basis:

- the challenges considering "Populations, societies and natural resources", "Plant production systems", "Animal production systems" and "Value chain management", summarized into the nexus relying food security, poverty alleviation and renewable natural resources preservation (e.g. increase agricultural production, manage natural resources, create jobs,..);

- the conclusions derived by Michel Petit's work entitled ‘Review of prospective studies for Mediterranean agriculture: implications for agricultural research’5, which included excerpts from such studies as Mediterra 20086, SCAR Foresight from the EC, FACCE, PARME, JPI WATER, etc. The first lesson he draws from these reviews is the need to integrate the diverse aspects within a systemic framework. And indeed the Mediterranean specificity alluded to above may be the nexus of interrelated issues (rural poverty, import dependency, deterioration of natural resources in a situation where rural population will continue to increase). None can be tackled without taking the others into account;

- the 11 subtopics defined for the first ARIMNet 2 call by the Call Board (see Table below).

In order to formulate a strategic research agenda relying on crossing the choice of economic and social challenges to be faced on the one hand (e.g. food security, natural resources preservation and poverty alleviation/employment) and the choice of research themes or research domains, on the other (e.g. the 11 subtopics defined by the Call Board), we have built the table below to formalize what such an articulation could be:

5 Prepared with Fatima El Hadad-Gauthier and presented at the first SSAB meeting in Montpellier in June 2014.6 “The future of agriculture and food in the Mediterranean”, published by CIHEAM

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Table 3. Subtopics contribution to the social and economic challenges

NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION

FOOD SECURITY

POVERTY ALLEVIATION/ EMPLOYEMENT

1. Increase in resilience, rusticity and productivity of Mediterranean agricultural production systems

X X

2. Improving input use management, at the level of the production systems X x

3. Common Mediterranean challenges in animal and plant health X

4. Sustainable Mediterranean aquaculture and fisheries X x X

5. Innovation in agroindustry X

6. Logistics, supply chain organization, and transportation X X

7. Food safety and food sanitary issues x X

8. Food consumption patterns: consumers’ behavior, quality of products, diet and nutrition x X

9. Agricultural and food policies X x X

10. Sustainable management of water and other resources used by agriculture X x

11. Landscape and spatial management, competition with other land uses, peri-urban and urban agriculture

X X

X: Very strong contribution to the challengeX: Strong contribution to the challengex : Medium contribution to the challenge

It allows us to identify three clusters defining three main priority areas, which are developed below:

- Increasing the efficiency and sustainability of production systems - Enhancing value chains - Promoting a balanced territorial development

3.1.1 Increasing the efficiency and sustainability of production systems

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Agriculture delivers food and non-food commodities and moreover, agriculture creates employment, sustains rural livelihoods and preserves landscapes. Today, there is a severe competition for agri-food products in the globalized market, whether be crop or livestock that force to produce more at cheaper prices. The agricultural systems are diverse and range from rain-fed low-input systems to highly-intensive systems that rely on heavy input-use and mechanization. Aquaculture-as coastal or as integrated with farming- also plays an important role in generating income however debated for its polluting effect. This diversity leads to endless cases of best or mal practices. Production and distribution systems exert significant impact on the environment not only at farm level but at regional level as in the case of water sheds and even at global level through greenhouse gas emissions. However, the level of impact is closely linked to the target species, management system or technology chosen. Research is needed both to develop new products and production systems for different farm types (family or commercial) and to assess the environmental, social and economic impact of these newly developed products or technologies. The impacts on natural resources, soil, water and biodiversity, necessitate carrying out assessments at various levels, farm, regional, national, global or ecosystem levels. In this respect, the extent at which animal and plant production will be integrated and how this integration will influence the efficiency and sustainability of the agro-eco system is important. The methodology to be developed must be easy to apply and produce reproducible, precise and quantitative/qualitative results.

The role of agriculture on employment and poverty alleviation directs research towards social aspects. Adoption of research results and innovative approaches is rather slow, therefore new and territory or target group specific extension methods are required to fasten implementation.

Examples of research questions- assess environmental social and economic sustainability at different scales - develop new products by taking into account simultaneously the farm level and the agroindustry perspective- design complementarities between crop and livestock at different levels : from farming systems to the territories

3.1.2 Enhancing value chains Enhancing value chains is necessary because so much of what happens in agriculture and in rural areas depends on the collection, storage, transformation, processing of raw agricultural products and distribution of final products to consumers. Developing new technologies and improving supply chain organisation is needed to boost rural economy, to contribute to the emergence of the bioeconomy and to create new jobs. Furthermore urbanisation and changes in consumption habits led to new challenges in terms of access and availability of food for all, nutritional quality of food and food safety issues.

Research has an important role to play in this diverse domain. It is indeed critical to understand well the rapid evolution of consumers’ food habit and the reasons of these

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changes. It is also necessary to understand the processes leading to the erosion of the Mediterranean diet in order to design public policies aiming at improving nutrition. In addition two specific domains need to be emphasized: 1) the design of innovative food systems and food business models which can be quality-oriented and which generate employment, notably in rural areas; 2) the analysis of the whole logistics, supply chain organization and transportation system in order to help the public and private actors involved improve its performance.

Examples of research questions - How to improve food safety for traditional retailing systems? - How to enhance competitiveness of specific value chains based on local products?- How to characterize the relevant geographical areas for identifying local products? - How to develop simple and locally adapted technologies for on-farm processing?-What is the impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on employment, income, international trade?

3.1.3 Promoting a balanced territorial development Promoting a balanced territorial development is a priority research area because the economic, social and environmental stakes are very high. The growth of rural employment is critical to fight rural poverty. Thus, Research should support the potential synergies among activities of the various economic sectors in rural areas, as well as rural/urban synergies, notably to exploit the potential contributions and to minimize the risks linked to the close rural/urban relationships existing in many places. Research should also investigate the development of labor-intensive agricultural activities, and of small scale agriculture, and the ways to enhance the development of food industries suited to local conditions, able to valorize the local productions and traditional know-how. In addition, research must provide the intellectual tools and approaches necessary to take into account the diversity of local development situations in particular the specific dimensions of the potential synergies just alluded to. And this can only be done at the territorial level. The diversity of production systems can help to valorize the diversity of soils, slopes, wet areas but can also play a non- negligible role in water circulation, fauna and flora dissemination or soil distribution. This leads to understand the role of the spatial organization of land and field patterns, the eventual role-played by network of hedges, woods... on the natural resources and the environment. At a higher level, the spatial organization of agriculture, forest and pastoral areas, have a strong influence in terms of soil quality, water resources and biodiversity. The current dynamics in land uses produce new spatial patterns and new relationships between urbanized areas, agricultural areas, hybrid spaces between city and countryside, intensive and extensive agricultural zones, pastoral areas and uncultivated zone (forest, wetland). This has to be analyzed in a perspective of landscape and land uses regulation.

Admittedly, it will be necessary to formulate more specific research questions. The following are examples of such questions:

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Examples of research questions - How to design labor intensive and profitable farming systems for small scale agriculture in marginal areas?-What are the technical, economic and environmental factors affecting the compatibility of diverse agricultural models (industrial/small scale, irrigated/rainfed, food/nonfood) in the same areas? - How to enhance the development of small scale food industries that can participate to the development of rural areas?-How to design safe and intensive systems in urban and peri-urban areas?- How to improve ecological regulations inside the farm and by through spatial organization of farming systems?-How to improve the integration between agriculture, forests and urban areas in coastal zones, and to find ways to manage this development and the relationship between coastal areas and hinterlands?

3.2 Instruments to implement strategy (joint actions, calls, new partnerships, mobility, etc.) (to be done)

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4. Implication for the European and International Collaboration

4.1 Contribution to ERA As already mentioned, the weakness in coordination, as well as scattered cooperation policies, are minimizing the impact of research programmes and the capacity to properly deliver efficient solutions. Given this context, the challenge for all Mediterranean countries, beyond the enhancement of their own capacity in agricultural research, is to bring together their national capacities through a mechanism which allows for the alignment of programmes and renewed cooperation in order to achieve the necessary critical mass and therefore ensure research has a stronger impact on the development of the whole area. In this scenario, the role of EU in the Mediterranean area is crucial, since there is a need to develop new instruments and policy supporting the Med Area also in the research sector related to the agriculture. The role of the different actions focused on Med Area, such as ARIMNet, is much more crucial and the success of these coordinated actions can be the way to put the Med Area in the first places of the EU policy maker agenda. ARIMNet and all the others initiatives can be the benchmarking to orientate the EU policy in the research and agricultural sector to support the development of the entire Med Area. Indeed a better management of natural resources can be addressed also thanks to properly set up EU policies in order to develop agricultural production, ensure food security, improve the resilience and productivity of agricultural systems while preserving natural resources for the future.

(to be carried on)

4.2 International issues, cooperation and opportunities

(to be done)

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5. The ISRA Evaluation and Monitoring (partially done Uygun + Bernard)

In order to evaluate and monitor the ISRA, following measures will be taken for the short term:*Inform all stakeholders in the Mediterranean Region, the EU member states and international funding/donor organisations about ISRA, * Closely monitor calls for proposals of ARIMNET and other regional initiatives,*Promote universities or other institutions offering post-graduate studies e.g. CIHEAM institutes to carry out thesis work on the issues pointed out in ISRA,*Evaluate national research and innovation programs in the Mediterranean countries,*Carry out surveys of published articles on topics prioritized for the Med countries in ISRA during the implementation of ARIMNET project ………………..

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