LILAS4SOILS
Fostering Carbon Farming Practices through Living Labs in the Mediterranean and Southern EU for the healthy future of European Soils
Project budget
11.619.420,75€
Climate Farmers Academy Share
358.759€
Funding source
Horizon Europe
Project start date
01.09.2025 – 31.08.2030
More information on our project website
Project Description
LILAS4SOILS addresses the challenging climate situation that affects southern European agricultural soils, particularly in the rapidly warming Mediterranean region. The project focuses on implementing Carbon Farming Practices (CFPs) to promote climate adaptation and mitigation.
Over five years, LILAS4SOILS will develop five Living Labs (LLs) across six countries, involving 24 expert partners, more than 80 farmers and 125 stakeholders. The project will test CFPs on 85-100 demo-sites in diverse farming systems and pedoclimatic zones, focusing on:
1) peatland management
2) agroforestry
3) maintaining and enhancing soil organic carbon (SOC)
4) livestock and manure management
5) nutrient, pesticides and fertilizers management.
Through collaboration with farmers, researchers, industry and local authorities, LILAS4SOILS aims to accelerate the transition to healthy soils and contribute to standardized Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) frameworks for future carbon markets.
By the way, Mission Soil Living Labs are user-centred, place-based and transdisciplinary research and innovation ecosystems that involve multiple partners (e.g., land managers, scientists, citizens, businesses, and local authorities) to co-design, test, monitor and evaluate solutions in real-life settings for improving soil health.
Our Living Lab countries
Portugal/Spain
France
Italy
Greece
Israel
Our project activities
Ensuring the long-term sustainability of living labs
We are supporting all 5 living labs in their development of governance structures and business models to ensure their long-term sustainability. This includes the testing of exploitation strategies like the provision of education, solution testing, soil sampling and other services, access to public funding, or community building. We coordinate the monitoring of the maturity development of living labs and produce a guideline.
Commercial case study with Danone
Together with Danone we carry out a study on how to implement carbon and regenerative farming practices in its supply chain. The study will reach from the production down to the consumer with an emphasis on off taker-farmer relationship in the transition. We will also look at customer needs and perceptions and market conditions for low-carbon footprint food products.
Comprehensive market analysis around carbon farming
We carry out a comprehensive market analysis for carbon farming practices and develop and test sustainable business models for the application of carbon farming. This exploration of exploitation pathways will be based on a holistic study of social, environmental and economic implications of a farm to demonstrate the developed solutions in real world scenarios can be grasped by economic actors across the food value chain.
Analysing carbon farming data and impact verification
We will guide the reporting and verification of carbon sequestration and GHG emission reduction effects including any significant flows (inputs and outputs) of carbon(C) to/from the soil as well as N2O emissions derived from fertiliser use and CO2 emissions from fossil fuel burning. The model uses information regarding local monthly weather, soil property information and information that reflects
the total carbon input into the system as inputs for the prediction of carbon stocks.
Project Partners
Our partners
Our partners
