Both climate change and global trade are important drivers of changes in the abundance and distribution of insect pests. Whiteflies (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) are important plant pests and virus vectors in many agricultural systems worldwide. Among them, the sweet potato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) is considered the most devastating pest of vegetables, ornamentals, and agronomic crops throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, because it can transmit over 200 species of plant viruses. Previous distributions of the species were limited to regions between the 30th latitudes but in the past two decades, it has invaded every continent in the world except Antarctica. Based on climate models, B. tabaci populations are expected to expand to regions where increasing temperatures will eliminate frosts, allowing year round breeding. Due to the extreme polyphagy of the species, the effects of such changes will probably be profound and may lead to substantial ecosystem-wide changes. Many arthropods host one or more inherited bacterial symbionts, the phenotypes of which have important implications for ecologically based pest management strategies. The overall goal of this proposal is to develop novel strategies for reducing the direct and indirect damage inflicted by B. tabaci. It aims to predict the evolution of B. tabaci populations around the Mediterranean, from which diagnostic and preventive measures can be derived. To achieve these goals the following objectives have been set: 1) Determine the geographic distribution of B. tabaci biotypes, their population genetic structure and symbiotic complement around the Mediterranean basin in light of climatic changes; 2) Determine B. tabaci invasion routes within the Mediterranean basin; 3) Determine the respective influence of nuclear and symbiotic variations on stress resistance in B. tabaci; 4) Model the influence of climate change on B. tabaci biotype/population outbreaks; 5) Establish a network of researchers. The research conducted will involve the use of diverse methods including field studies, molecular biology, bioinformatics, analyses of international data bases and advanced computer programs. In order to begin preparing now for the upcoming challenges of our changing environment, we will combine established research expertise in climate change assessment and environmental system modelling with insects and symbionts ecology, behaviour and population genetics for allowing the necessary incorporation of pest risk assessment and simulation models into comprehensive management planning systems of both natural and agricultural ecosystems.

The aim of EveryFish is to develop, test and promote an ambitious suite of innovative technological solutions for fully automated catch recording and reporting – a next generation Electronic Reporting System (ERS) – for use on board EU European fishing vessels, as well as to develop innovative governance strategies that make use of the automatically-reported catch data. The EveryFish project will be a close collaboration with between research, academic, industry and governance actors, as well as technology providers across the EU and other European countries. These technological innovations will enable the sector to optimise automatic data collection to ensure correct reporting of the catch in terms of the size, weight and species. The provision of verifiable catch information and improved evidence of compliance with fisheries regulations, will streamline compliance activity for both fisheries and regulators, as well as generating knowledge and data for future conservation, research and governance activities.

The objective of SMARTFISH is to develop, test and promote a suite of high-tech systems for the EU fishing sector, to optimize resource efficiency, to improve automatic data collection for fish stock assessment, to provide evidence of compliance with fishery regulations and to reduce ecological impact. SMARTFISH exploits technological developments in machine vision, camera technology, data processing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, big data analysis, smartphones/tablets, LED technology, acoustics and ROV technology to build systems for monitoring, analyzing and improving processes for all facets of the fishing sector, from extraction, to assessment, to monitoring and control. The SMARTFISH systems will: - assist fishermen in making informed decisions during pre-catch, catching, and post-catch phases of the extraction process. This improves catch efficiencies and compositions in fisheries across the EU, leading to improved economic efficiency while reducing unintended fish mortality, unnecessary fishing pressure and ecosystem damage. - provide new data for stock assessment from commercial fishing and improve the quality and quantity of data that comes from traditional assessment surveys. This provides more accurate assessment of currently assessed stocks and allow the assessment of data-poor stocks. - permit the automatic collection of catch data to ensure compliance with fisheries management regulations. The SMARTFISH systems are tested and demonstrated in several EU fisheries. This contributes to promoting the uptake of the systems by extraction sector and fisheries agencies. An interdisciplinary consortium with technology developers and instrument suppliers, fishing companies, research and fisheries management institutes and universities will realize SMARTFISH. They are active at national and international levels and well placed to ensure the uptake of SMARTFISH systems by fishing industry and fisheries managers and stock assessment scientists.

Path4Med is a multi-participatory and multidisciplinary project that will pave clear pathways towards zero water and soil pollution in the agro-hydro-system of the Mediterranean sea basin and other European seas through an innovative triple bottom line approach achieving economic, social, and environmental sustainability to ensure human well-being and ecosystems functioning. Path4Med will advance and consolidate agricultural management technologies and solutions within an inclusive and open participatory environment, it will evolve and mainstream novel monitoring technologies and integrated solutions, it will assess the technical feasibility and socioeconomic viability of cascades of solutions through an integrated modelling framework, it will quantify the effectiveness and the net impact of these solutions, and ultimately it will empower Citizens to take action against pollution of soils, waters and the ocean, through clear measurable evidences, increased awareness, and water literacy. Path4Med pathways will be applied and demonstrated in large scale, integrated, Demonstration Sites established in representative Mediterranean areas, in areas representing other European seas and in associated regions. A digital platform and other relevant digital tools will be established to facilitate Path4Med actions, information and knowhow communication, and to support data exchange and data feeding to international Observatories and Knowledge Systems.

"According to FAO and WHO ,,Codex Alimentarius'': organic farming (OF) is comprehensive system of production management that supports sustainability in agro-eco-systems incl. biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity."" The focus is on domestic resource mobilization in the farm with minimizing external investments. The biological system takes into account the fact that the regional (local) conditions require agricultural system, adapted to the specific region. One of the way to achieve that is continuous adult education of the farmers (in other words lifelong learning - LLL) in agricultural, biological and technical approaches of organic farming as opposed to synthetic inputs. BioFarm project aims to improve the adult educational level in the field of organic farming. Organic Farming (OF) contributes to sustainable rural development, environmental protection and ensures better conditions for quality livestock production. OF is a specific production method that maintains the ecological balance and manufactures products covering the principles of ecological cycles of plants - animals – soil. The idea of organic farming existed a long ago, but a state policy for its development was applied from the last decade. Much of farmers oriented to organic production are facing problems and lack of knowledge in this area. OF as a concept and practice is constantly evolving and for its sustainable development it is necessary, the current and future farmers and their teachers to have the opportunity to enrich and improve their level of knowledge through the LLL programs. The objective of the project had been envisaged to be accomplished through a set of training in OF which was specifically prepared and implemented for the project. The topics of the training were according to the newest trends but also necessities for OF and refer on:OF and interdisciplinary approaches, the educational, legal framework and knowledge system of organic production in the project countries, participatory action research with farmers, introduction to OF, legislation and the certification process of organic production, market of organic products, networking of agricultural producers and associations - horizontal and vertical linking in the range of values. The training for the participants who were interested in and professionally in organic farming had been designed as their content had been tailored to the specific agro-ecological conditions of the countries of the consortium and the needs of the farmers. Beside, BioFarm website was created for easy access to educational materials.Some of the farming practices for organic production of plant and animal products and marketing of organic products in partner countries had been explored. Building strategic partnership enabled the development and implementation of innovations in the field of adult education, exchange of best practices to enhance the skills of workers in the field of organic production and shortening the distance between farmers and educational platforms in this sphere.Expectations were that the project implementation would be enabled also employees in the education sector of agricultural to benefit directly from the website-platform for learning and sharing of best practices in organic farming, which would improve their level of knowledge and would join them to a larger professional community."