The Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean (PRIMA) is a EU Horizon2020 initiative funding projects that contribute to sustainable use of natural resources, economic growth and stability in the Mediterranean region.
In total, 19 countries participate in PRIMA, aiming to jointly “achieve, support and promote integration, alignment and joint implementation of national R&I programmes under a common research and innovation strategy to address the diverse challenges in water scarcity, agriculture, food security”.
The main objectives of PRIMA are:
- ALIGNMENT OF NATIONAL PROGRAMMES:
Orientation of relevant national research and innovation programmes towards the implementation of the strategic agenda. - CRITICAL MASS OF ACTORS AND RESOURCES:
Involvement of all relevant public and private sector actors in implementing the strategic agenda by pooling knowledge and financial resources to achieve the necessary critical mass. - STRENGTHENING R&I CAPACITIES:
Strengthening of the research and innovation funding capacities and of the implementation capabilities of all actors involved including SMEs, academia, non-governmental organisations and local research centres.
By 2022, PRIMA has funded 168 projects involving around 1600 research units, 38% of them being located in non-EU countries, with an allocated budget of almost 230 million Euro, with around 28% of it going to non-European countries.
AGREEMAR is one of the 28 projects funded under Section 2 of the 2021 call, out of the 140 proposals submitted. The 28 projects cover three main thematic areas: Water Management (3 projects, among which also AGREEMAR), Farming Systems (20 projects) and Agro-food Value Chain (5 projects). Funding of consortium partners is provided by National Funding Agencies from participating countries: Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung – BMBF through the Projektträger Karlsruhe – PTKA (Germany); Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia – FCT (Portugal); Research and Innovation Foundation – RIF (Cyprus); Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (Spain); Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research through the Directorate General of Scientific Research (Tunisia).
Read more about PRIMA on their main website: https://prima-med.org and download the brochure with detailed information about the projects funded in 2021: download booklet.