A moment from the presentation, held at IFEJA.
The Andalusian Living Lab was presented this morning in the Sala de Caja Rural in Jaén, before nearly 250 attendees, as an entity aimed at promoting and implementing innovative and sustainable technological solutions aimed at improving soil health. Framed within the European LIVINGSOILL project, the Living Lab Andaluz is led by the University of Jaén and has a budget of 2 million euros.
The main objective of this initiative is to face the great challenges related to soil health in the olive grove, such as mitigating the effects of drought, preventing erosion, reducing pollution and improving the structure and biodiversity of the soil. In addition, this entity will provide economic, technological and logistical support for the implementation of sustainable solutions aimed at improving the state of conservation of the soil of the Andalusian olive grove.
The rector of the University of Jaén, Nicolás Ruiz, participated in the inauguration of the presentation event of the Living Lab Andaluz; the rector of the University of Córdoba, Manuel Torralbo; the delegate of the Andalusian Government in Jaén, Jesús Estrella; the deputy for the Environment and Fight against Climate Change of the Provincial Council, Isabel Uceda; the president of the Caja Rural de Jaén Foundation, Patricio Lupiáñez, and the professor and project coordinator, Juan Manuel Jurado.
The rector of the University of Jaén, Nicolás Ruiz, assured in his speech that “For the University of Jaén it is a privilege coordinate this project and is a clear example of the magnificent research work carried out by the UJA, particularly in the field of olive groves and olive oils.” Regarding the objective of the project, he indicated which aims to promote knowledge about a topic “that has become a global priority, such as the health of agricultural soils, with a very clear objective: to improve the profitability of farms, while preserving environmental sustainability.” Likewise, in his speech, Nicolás Ruiz, who highlighted the link between the UJA and the olive sector as a strategic sector “out of coherence with the backbone and transforming role of the UJA”, reiterated the impetus for this Living Lab Andaluz, a dynamic and thriving project that has been allocated a budget of almost 2 million euros, and the support of the UJA in a decisive manner. “The main reason is that we are going to work hand in hand with the agricultural sector, with professionals in the agri-food industry, to whom we are going to transfer the knowledge we generate in our classrooms and laboratories.”
Manuel Torralbo, for his part, congratulated both the main researcher and the entire team for having obtained a European project, “something difficult to achieve, since the competition is very great.” Likewise, he highlighted that in Andalusia “we are world leaders in olive groves, not only in production but also in training, research and innovation and in the use of collaborative methodologies such as this Andalusian Living Lab,” he explained.
Juan Manuel Jurado, coordinator of the Andalusian Living Lab and professor of Computer Languages and Systems at the University of Jaén, has detailed that the Andalusian Living Lab is part of the European Living Soill project in which other living labs located in Portugal, France, and Italy participate. and Poland. “In Andalusia the focus is going to be on the olive grove, and they are going to do so on other woody crops such as vineyards, almond trees or hazelnut trees,” he explained. Likewise, it has highlighted the four great challenges of the Living Lab Andaluz, soil contamination, drought, soil structure and biodiversity, and erosion prevention.
The delegate of the Board, Jesús Estrella, has stressed that the research project presented is very important since it delves into the health of the olive grove soil, something essential for the present and future of the Jaén countryside. “This is a public-private collaboration project that shows that involving farmers, businessmen, research centers and administrations in the same project will allow us to go much further,” he stated.
Representative Isabel Uceda has explained the contribution that the Provincial Council will make, on the one hand in supporting the most important actors in the project, such as the olive sector, and on the other hand, in the transfer of the results obtained. Along these lines, he stressed that they are sure that this project “will be a fundamental measure for the resilience of our olive grove in the face of climate change.”
The president of the Caja Rural de Jaén Foundation, Patricio Lupiáñez, has also indicated the role that Caja Rural de Jaén will have in the project. “Our contribution will focus on the physical-chemical characterization of the soil and the monitoring of its evolution in line with European directives. Likewise, we are committed to disseminating the results of this research so that they can benefit the entire olive growing community,” he highlighted.
After the official inauguration, a video presentation of the 15 Andalusian entities of recognized prestige in R&D&I activity related to olive growing that are part of the multidisciplinary and integrative consortium that constitutes the Andalusian Living Lab was shown. Specifically, it is made up of the University of Jaén, the Regional Government of Andalusia, the Provincial Council of Jaén, the Agricultural and Fisheries Research and Training Institute (IFAPA), the Olive and Oil Technology Center (Citoliva), the Caja Rural Foundation, the JaénCoop group, Nutesca SL, Agro-food Cooperatives of Andalusia, the Spanish Federation of Olive Oil Manufacturing Industries (Infaoliva), Finca la Torre, Almazaras de la Subbética, Puerta de las Villas, Cortijo Espíritu Santo and Grupo Consule.
Next, the first panel was developed, which focused on soil health, challenges and ecosystem services. The professors from the University of Jaén, Julio A. Calero, participated in it, who dealt with the diagnosis of the current state of the olive grove soil; Antonio Manzaneda, who has addressed the objectives and initiatives of the Living Lab Andaluz to solve soil challenges; Manuel Parras, who spoke about the balance between environmental and economic sustainability and José Domingo Sánchez, who acted as moderator.
The second panel focused on innovation projects and the use of olive grove co-products within the framework of the circular economy. In it, Agustín Andrey from Jav & Consule has discussed the implementation of modular bioreactors to accelerate composting; Gabriel Beltrán from IFAPA, the use of biochar and its main benefits for the soil and Roberto García, from the UJA, the vegetal covers in the olive grove and the role in soil quality and its contribution to carbon credits. José Alfonso Gómez de Citoliva has been the moderator.
Immediately afterwards, professors from the University of Jaén Francisco R. Feito and Antonio Garrido gave a presentation on digitalization in the olive sector. The exhibition part of the event has closed with the pilot experiences of olive oil companies aimed at improving soil health in which representatives of Agro-food Cooperatives of Jaén, Infaoliva, Nutesca, Puerta de las Villas, Almazaras de la Subbética, Finca la Torre, Finca Espíritu Santo and Carboliva. The moderator was Antonia Fernández from JaénCoop.
The Living Lab Andaluz will be the Spanish representative of five “living laboratories” that have been created at European level within the LivingSoiLL project, the other four are located in Portugal, France, Italy and Poland. Precisely, the objective of LivingSoiLL, which was presented at the University of Tras-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD) in Vila Real (Portugal) in June, is to establish a network of five Living Labs that will act as platforms for multidisciplinary collaboration to co-design, co-develop and apply solutions that promote the conservation and restoration of soil health in woody crop plantations.