FertiMed - Sustainable and innovative soil improvers for Mediterranean crops
About this good practice
The adoption of intensive agricultural models with massive use of inputs (plant protection products, irrigation water, chemical fertilizers) is causing a drastic reduction of organic matter in agricultural soils, damaging the productive substrate and setting the stage for declining yields.
The regeneration of organic matter through new eco-friendly products to improve the structure of agricultural soils appears to be an unavoidable necessity for a new sustainable agricultural model.
In this context, the FERTIMED project aims to spread the knowledge and use of micro-filtered digestate in citrus and fodder prickly pear farms, which represent strategic sectors for employment and income in Sicilian agriculture. The distribution of digestate was done in fertigation with drip lines, thus ensuring maximum efficiency of use of the nutrients and water it contains.
So, the project was strategic to improve organic matter content of Sicilian soils, which are subject to a relentless process of desertification.
There were 8 partners actively involved in the OG activities.
1 research center proposed innovation to the lead company, who has installed microfilter plant of its digestate. 4 farms have provided experimental fields. 1 organization of producers evaluated the quality of the citrus obtained. 1 Italian university took the role of scientific coordinator of the project and attended to aspects related to the operational and economic analyses.
Resources needed
Total budget expended: 477.970,81 € VAT included
- Personnel costs: 159.784,49 €
- Travel costs: 11.075,84 €
- Subcontracting and experts: 247.324,45 €
- Intangible investment: 4.000,00 €
- Goods: 16.227,37 €
- Indirect costs: 39.558,66 €
Evidence of success
The microfiltration plant rented by the lead company was redeemed by another company that produces biogas (and therefore digestate) in Sicily to implement the production of microfiltered digestate as a routine practice. Today, about 30 farmers use microfiltered digestate instead of chemical fertilizers for an agricultural area of about 100 hectares. Moreover, the innovative system has been implemented also for others Mediterranean crops (i.e., olive orchards).
Potential for learning or transfer
The results of FERTIMED can be adopted in other contexts, i.e. in farms that are not partners of the OG (already verified) and in other territorial contexts. The basic assumption is simple to realize: digestate must exist! And this product exists wherever there are anaerobic digestion plants.
A specific type of digestate to be microfiltered is not required. After microfiltration, fertigation is used using common disc filters. Moreover, the results of the Fertimed project were tested on a real scale and not in a laboratory. The plants used for the tests are plants that work on a real scale. So, the proposed innovations can be immediately implemented within agricultural companies in ordinary conditions, without specific adaptations of the proposed initiative. In fact, after the end of the project there are already companies that have adopted the innovation: those who produce microfiltered digestate and those who use it in fertigation.
Further information
Good practice owner
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