Questions & Answers – Partnership on Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA)
What is PRIMA and why is it needed?
PRIMA, the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area between 19 countries (both EU and non-EU), supports the sustainable management of water and agro-food systems in the Mediterranean Area. It is the first R&I partnership of its kind in the Mediterranean Area to develop muchneeded novel solutions for sustainable water management and food production.
Climate change and unsustainable resource management have brought severe water stress to the Mediterranean area. The agricultural sector is suffering from serious water shortages, which in turn result in decreasing crop yields and failure to provide clean water and affordable food. Today, 180 million people in the Mediterranean basin are considered “water poor”, facing negative effects on their nutrition, health, living standards and well-being. This social and economic stress is a major cause of instability. To date, few innovative solutions easily transferable across the region have been identified.
By pooling know-how and financial resources in a strategic research partnership between the EU and Participating States, PRIMA strives to develop a wide range of innovative solutions, by supporting all types of research and innovation activities, including research, development and innovation projects, innovative demonstrators and pilot plants, capacity building, training, awareness-raising and dissemination actions, as well as researcher mobility. It will address various Technology Readiness Levels and ensure an appropriate balance between small and large projects. This approach should help make the water and food supply in the region more efficient, cost-effective and sustainable, and solve related problems in the fields of health, well-being, unemployment, environment and migration.
Visit the page at the following link to read all the questions and answers regarding PRIMA: http://ec.europa.eu/research/press/2017/pdf/prima_questions_and_answers.pdf#view=fit&pagemode=none