LIFE Resilience, a project co-funded by the European Union (EU) LIFE programme, whose main objective is the prevention of Xylella Fastidiosa in high-density olive and almond farms, closed 2021 having carried out extensive work by developing productive and pathogen-resistant plant genotypes and applying practices and innovations in natural vector control methods to prevent the negative effects of this bacterium.
This is explained by the project’s director, Teresa Carrillo, who states that «today, we have managed to make progress by reaching such important milestones as knowing that there are many different types of Xylella, so the way forward is prevention, good agronomic practices and, above all, constant monitoring to limit the spread of this bacterium and other diseases».
In addition, over the past year, the nine partners of the LIFE Resilience project, Galpagro, University of Cordoba, Agrifood Comunicación, Greenfield by Agrodrone, ASAJA Nacional, Nutriprado, SAHC-Sociedad Agrícola de Herdade do Charqueirao, S.A., Gruppo Salov and the University of Cordoba, have been involved in the project. Gruppo Salov and the Istituto per la Valorizzazione del Legno e delle Specie Arboree (IVALSA), belonging to the Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche of Italy, have worked intensively on the dissemination of both the good practices that farmers have to follow to protect their crops, and the varietal improvements that have been produced through the application of the technical recommendations discovered through the development part of the project.
Specifically, some of the most outstanding advances are the development of an insect monitoring system to find out who is carrying the bacterium, located in the experimental farm in Italy; the benefits obtained from the tests with plant covers and their contribution to the prevention of Xylella Fastidiosa and in the fight against climate change; and the improvement of the conditions and resilience of the trees in their fight against the bacterium in Portugal.
Similarly, last year the Life Resilience project held different online conferences in which tools and technologies for crop sustainability were shared. Under the title ‘Biodiversity and pest control with nest boxes and insect hotels’, this meeting was a commitment to the installation of these sustainable tools in cultivation areas to promote biological balance in the ecosystem and natural pest control. Likewise, a webinar entitled ‘Sustainable Agriculture: efficient use of water in olive groves’ was held, in which several experts analysed the benefits of the application of good sustainable irrigation practices in crops to reduce the consumption of water, energy and CO2 emissions without reducing production and obtaining a benefit in terms of the quality of the olive oil.
Committed to meeting the SDGs
During 2021, Life Resilience has worked intensively to ensure that farmers can adapt to the new demands of modern agriculture, such as meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.
This European project contributes to meeting a good number of the goals set by the United Nations for each of its SDGs, such as sustainable production and consumption, the adoption of urgent measures to combat climate change and its effects, sustainable forest management, combating desertification, halting and reversing land degradation and halting the loss of biodiversity, among others.