€3 million project targets soil erosion in Spain
The joint project led by EIT Food, Foodvalley and Food Innovation Hub Europe will invest €3 million over three years to support 80 farmers to implement regenerative agriculture in their crop rotation systems.
Called Navarra 360º, it will combine financial support with training in technical aspects of regenerative practices, with a focus on oat, wheat and barley crops.
The project says it will take a holistic approach, studying more than 60 key indicators including soil quality, biodiversity, water use, carbon footprint, as well as social and economic indicators.
The expected results include a 20% reduction in the use of phytosanitary products and a 40% reduction in mineral fertilisation. The project will conclude in 2026 and will inform the design and delivery of further landscapes in other parts of Europe.
No rain in Spain
Farmers in Navarre face several key challenges. A lack of rainfall has affected the Iberian Peninsula for the last three years. Soil erosion is considered a serious environmental problem affecting agriculture in the region thanks to the combination of intensive agriculture, steep terrain, and water erosion. Meanwhile, there is insufficient public support for innovation and advisory services, leaving farmers without adequate technical and business expertise.
Initiatives therefore aim to improve the overall competitiveness and efficiency of the agricultural sector in Navarra, while the Navarre government has also established a network of experimental watersheds to study and monitor the erosion processes.
Hoping to make green ag profitable
Navarra 360º is the first landscape project of the EIT Food’s Regenerative Innovation Portfolio and will involve a range of actors across the food system, including Danone Ecosystem, Cargill, Danone and Intermalta, which are providing financial support and liaising with the entire value chain.
José María Aierdi, regional minister for rural development and the environment of the government of Navarre, described the latest project as “pioneering in Europe” and emphasised “its contribution to making green agriculture profitable”. The minister pointed out “the interest from industry and cooperatives, as well as the direct involvement of the producers themselves”.
A unique example of public-private collaboration
EIT Food will act as general coordinator for the project, having trained more than 2,000 farmers in nine European countries since 2020, and delivered more than 30 workshops a year for professionals in the sector.
“When this project came about over a year ago, it was essential to convince the most pioneering companies in this field to work together, because together we can make more progress than individually,” said Begoña Pérez Villarreal, director for EIT Food South.
“We know of no other similar initiative in Europe with public-private collaboration. We are grateful to Danone, Cargill and Intermalta, as well as the government of Navarre, for their involvement in bringing this to life.”
Melissa Comellas, agricultural programme manager at EIT Food, said that farmers are the basis of the project. “Their involvement is the key to everything. Each activity has been designed with them, with a participative process, to help them in their transition, and is aligned with the values we want to transmit.”
Marieke Harteveld, programme manager at Food Innovation Hub Europe, added: “It is exciting to see this cross-value chain collaboration on regenerative agriculture becoming a reality. Creating sustainable future food systems requires multiple innovations, from new ways of farming to new ways of financing or processing. At the basis of these innovations are pioneers with the vision and courage to venture into the unknown and create new sustainable solutions.”
