CROSS BORDER LIVING LABORATORIES FOR AGROFORESTRY - LIVINGAGRO

The project aims at experimenting two cross-border Living Laboratories based on Open Innovation approaches, to sustain education, R&D and TT in agroforestry reinforcing the co-operation between research, Institution, SME's, farmers and their Organizations, industries and in general users. A specific focus will be on Agroforestry, considering olive multifunctional system (Living Laboratory 1) and grazed woodlands (Living Laboratory 2). Olive cultivation is representative of many Mediterranean rural areas, and traditionally olive orchards were managed as agroforestry systems, in combination with cereals, fodder legumes and/or pasture. Grazed woodlands are major agroforestry systems in the Mediterranean that highly contribute to sustaining Mediterranean local economies supplying both vegetal and animal products. The technology fields potentially interested in the project are many. Innovations, such as IT, agricultural machinery, new food products, new varieties, new omics techniques, new/optimized uses of agricultural, Forestry and breeding by-products and residues will be interested, extending the influence of the project in many sectors of the economy and related policies. The production and marketing sectors and, finally, the policy areas for the definition of regulatory instruments will be progressively involved with deeper analysis and a more numerous audience. These issues will be pursued using an Open Innovation approach implying the setting-up of two Living Laboratories making possible the co-creation of the economic and social values and the interactions between supply and demand for innovation and between stakeholders, eliminating geographical and cultural barriers. The project addresses the joint challenges of the Mediterranean area referring to farms, livestock, research centers, university, researchers, public or private companies for environmental protection, SMEs, Policymaker, Artisans and, in general, users.