WP5 (Micro Level demonstration) will explore and demonstrate the potential of innovative technological solutions for increasing agricultural productions, while reducing water and energy consumption, as well as negative impacts on ecosystem services, applied at the micro-scale pilots of the project. These solutions include soilless agriculture (hydroponics), aquaculture, and/or the integration of soilless agriculture and aquaculture (aquaponics), potentially supported by solar energy and desalination plants. The aim of the proposed solutions is to add a sustainable source of water resources and maximize the productivity of a unit of water in terms of valuable products such as crops and fish.
These technological solutions will be demonstrated by means of a micro-scale pilot at the farm level and then upscaled by the WEFE decision-analytic framework at the river basin scale, also accounting for international processes and policies at the Mediterranean scale, to assess their potential as a low cost solution with minimal impacts on ecosystem services.