LIFE21-CCA-CY-LIFE AgrOassis

Regenerative approaches for building climate change resilience into EU agricultural regions prone to desertification

The primary objective of AgrOassis is to assist climatic change adaptation in the agricultural sector of the EU’s two most south-easterly countries, Cyprus and Greece and beyond. For reaching the objectives of the EU legislation and policy on climate action AgrOassis will develop, demonstrate and promote innovative techniques, methods and approaches, best practices as well as close to market solutions on areas which are currently exposed to desertification because of climate, inappropriate land use and wildfire and which are expected to become even more vulnerable under climatic change. It will also markedly contribute towards climate change mitigation, promoting carbon farming and biodiversity restoration. The latter by promoting effective afforestation in degraded field margins and by aiding pollination processes, in regions of poor soil quality and very low natural vegetation cover. 

AgrOassis will regenerate ecosystem services within degraded agroecosystems, but also seeks to identify and remove obstacles related to inappropriate governance and policies, that obstruct the implementation of the EU’s Green Deal Agenda and the aim to reach climate neutrality by 2050. Preparatory work for AgrOassis has identified Cyprus as a hotspot of unsustainable soil management practices connected to widely applied tillage. This appears as an indirect side-effect of governmental policies aiming to enforce CAP EU legislation as well as a direct result of inappropriate counselling towards farmers and inadequate training on how to combat desertification. 

AgrOassis also attempts to mobiliсe the private sector by utiliсing available unexploited resources to promote the circular economy in the agro-sector of Cyprus. At the same time, it will mobiliсe private investment towards close-to-market solutions on green waste sustainability and sustainable soil management in line with the EUs Farm to Fork Strategy.

Project ID

101074744

Funding period

1 October 2022 - 31 December 2026

Total budget

€2,326,710.16

EU contribution

€1,394,354.99

Funding programme

LIFE2027

Call for proposals

LIFE-2021-SAP-CLIMA

Type of action

LIFE-PJG

Type of stakeholder

Farmers, policy-makers, private sector

Project contribution to Mission Soil’s:

Specific objectives

  • 1. Reduce land degradation relating to desertification
    Targeted
  • 2. Conserve and increase soil organic carbon stocks
    Partially targeted
  • 3. No net soil sealing and increase the reuse of urban soils
    Not targeted
  • 4. Reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration
    Partially targeted
  • 5. Prevent erosion
    Targeted
  • 6. Improve soil structure to enhance habitat quality for soil biota and crops
    Partially targeted
  • 7. Reduce the EU global footprint on soils
    Not targeted
  • 8. Increase soil literacy in society across Member States
    Not targeted

Operational objectives

  • 1. Build capacities and the knowledge base for soil stewardship
    Partially targeted
  • 2. Co-create and upscale place-based innovations to improve soil health in all places
    Partially targeted
  • 3. Develop an integrated EU soil monitoring system and track progress towards soil health
    Partially targeted
  • 4. Engage with the soil user community and society at large
    Partially targeted

Innovation hotspots

  • 1. Carbon farming
    Not targeted
  • 2. Soil pollution and restoration
    Targeted
  • 3. Soil biodiversity including the microbiome
    Targeted
  • 4. Circular economy solutions
    Targeted

Cross-cutting dimensions

  • 1. Business
    Partially targeted
  • 2. Digital
    Targeted
  • 3. Territorial
    Not targeted
  • 4. International
    Not targeted

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