CONCAT LL project starts development phase

Over the next 11 months, a series of experiments will be carried out to assess the effects of climate change on olive trees, apple trees, cereals, poultry and aquaculture production

The Living Lab CONCAT LL was launched last May and has already successfully completed its first design phase. The development phase will now begin, with the aim of strengthening the climate resilience of the Catalan agri-food sector and establishing a collaborative innovation platform to address the challenges of climate change.
This living lab consists of an open and user-centred innovation ecosystem, with a territorial character, which integrates innovation from concurrent research and innovation processes in the framework of public-private collaboration.
Results of the first phase: Design
During the first six months, CONCAT LL has managed to consolidate a community of key actors and define a pilot plan:
- Workshop on Resilience and Climate Change Mitigation:
With the participation of 31 representatives of the Catalan agri-food sector (farmers, cooperatives, technicians, researchers and policy makers), an activity has been carried out to identify the challenges of climate change in agri-food production, such as:- Drought and rising temperatures affecting cereal and fruit production, threatening crop sustainability.
- Heat waves impacting poultry production.
- The need to develop new crop varieties that are resilient to the effects of climate change and to optimise the water efficiency of irrigation systems..
- The full results of the workshop can be found in this report.
- Scientific contributions and outreach:
- Publication of a study on crop water demand in the Ebro basin based on different climate scenarios.
- Participation in fairs and congresses such as the San Miguel Fair (Lleida), the IRTA Fruit Day in Mollerussa or the conference on Perspectives and future of aquaculture in Catalonia.

- International outreach:
- Participation in the International Forum on Aquaculture, Environment and Society to promote sustainable aquaculture, presenting aquaponics systems as a resilient alternative to climate change.
- Participation in the IEEE MetroAgriFor 2024 congress (Padova) presenting an innovative work on crop mapping using artificial intelligence and satellite imagery. This work was recognised as the best paper presented by a young researcher.
- Description of the pilot plan and activities: see it here
Development phase: experimental trials in agri-food systems
Over the next 11 months, CONCAT LL will carry out a series of experiments focused on assessing the effects of climate change on the production of these 5 products:
- Olive trees: The resilience of 71 indigenous varieties to drought and extreme temperatures will be evaluated, with special attention to the water efficiency of the Arbequina variety in different irrigation scenarios.
- Apple trees: More than 10 varieties will be evaluated to identify those most adapted to high temperatures, with special focus on Golden and Royal Gala varieties.
- Cereals: Evaluation of new wheat varieties in 5 experimental fields located in different climatic regions of Catalonia and identification of the most resilient varieties to climate change.
- Poultry: Experiments under simulated heat wave conditions to assess the impact of heat stress on broiler production.
- Aquaculture: Evaluation of aquaponic systems, combining fish and vegetable production, as an alternative for sustainable agri-food production.

In addition, CONCAT LL will continue to promote joint work with key actors through:
- A day of co-design of adaptation strategies: Participatory session with farmers and cooperatives to design specific measures to adapt to climate change.
- A day of validation and refinement of strategies: A workshop to test and validate solutions developed with the support of scientific and industry experts.
- International conferences: Europe-wide events to exchange knowledge with other Living Labs and ECO-READY projects, connecting data and solutions to strengthen resilient agriculture in Europe.
This project has received indirect funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the ECO-READY project (grant agreement no. 101084201).