LIFE08ENV/IT/000428 SOILPRO PROJECT STEERING COMMITEE MEETING

1. LIFE08ENV/IT/000428SOILPRO PROJECT STEERING COMMITEE MEETING ATHENS 26 SEPTEMBER 2013 Regione Siciliana Assessorato delle Risorse Agricole e Alimentari Dipartimento Interventi Infrastrutturali per l’agricoltura Servizio VI - Assistenza Tecnica in Agricoltura, Programmazione e Sistemi informativi

2. State of the Art MainActivities: Sample survey In collaboration with Leader Partner two questionnaires have been elaborated on the perception of the measures for environmental protection in agriculture: one is addressed to agricultural farm included in the Pilot area of the project. The questionnaire regards the management and protection of the soil 120 firm managers have been interviewed; the other is more general and addressed to the citizen. This general survey has been administered to about 300 people living in the regional territory. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari

3. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari State of the Art Main themes of the interviews: • Information about the farm (location, soil use, management, etc.,) • Conservative measures undertaken (traditional or extraordinary farming tecniques, advantages, disadvantages.) • Degree of knowledge of the measures planned (CAP, RDP) for soil protection • Services to the farms considered necessary by the farmers.

4. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari State of the Art • In collaboration with Leader Partner two databases have been created, in order to elaborate the data resulting from the surveys. • Following the questionnaires, a report will be created with the analysis of the perception by the farmers and the general public of the environmental measures of protection in agriculture

5. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari State of the Art • Organization of a Workshop and a Round Table about “Soil, Agriculture and Territory: a possible equilibrium”,held at the University of Palermo on17 dicembre 2012.The Region of Sicily, the CRA-ABP, the University of Palermo, the University "La Sapienza" of Rome, The University of Messina, and 8 representatives of Sicilian agricultural organizations discussed together with the Sicilian land owners about soil protection and the Soilpro project methodology to find the best soil protection practices: more efficient and sustainable. 

6. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari State of the Art In collaboration with the University of Palermo and CRA - ABP the following activities have been carried out: • Identifying representative sample areas with presence of farms applying agri-environmental measures • Populationof database with target data on soildegradationprocessesforRegionSicily • Fieldtripsforsoilsampling • ValidationofsnapshotsofcurrentsoilconditionsforRegionSicily • Monitoringofsoilcondition • Compiling Survey Form concerning soil and crop management in the farms • Field surveys in the sample areas: comparison between areas with or without agri-environmental measures • Collection of soil samples – Physical and chemical analysis

7. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari Pilot area of Sicily

8. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari State of the Art The activities have been carried out in the pilot area of the SOILPRO Project , within 46 representative survey areas. For each survey area the soil macro-use has been specified: arable soil, vineyards, olive groves, fruit orchards, pastures, heterogeneous agricultural areas. On the basis of the historical information, 211 land parcels have been selected to study the agricultural management during the latest 30 years, in order to estimate the effectiveness of soil protection measures. In the pilot area 118 pilot farms have been selected to monitoring the soil

9. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari State of art. The monitoring activity in the pilot farms has been carried out in two phases: The first phase regarded all the 118 pilot farms: it included field analyses and interviews to the owners (Survey Form concerning soil and crop management in the farms) The second phase regards 15 farms that are considered representative. In the pilot farms selected a field survey is being carried out with a view to monitoring the soil. The first field survey was carried out in March 2013. It implied a comparison between five pilot farms applying agro-environmental strategies, and five traditional farms. In October 2013 the second field survey will take place.

10. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari Towards a Coordinate regional Plan for the protection of the soil with special reference to the measures applied in agriculture Within the RDP Sicily has recently taken two measures aimed at the protection of the environment, the recovery and the conservation of the traditional landscape. • Measure 214 – Action 214/1G– Contrasting hydrogeological instability and recovery of traditional agricultural landscape • Measure 216 – Action A2 –Non-productive investments in farms (associated with Measure 214- Action 214/IG)

11. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari Towards a Coordinate regional Plan for the protection of the soil …. The combined measures have aroused keen interest on the part of the farms. 30 million € have been budgeted to help associated/single farmers. Out of 1531 requests for support, 1401 have been accepted with a financing of about 25 million €At the reopening of the terms, 358 other requests have been presented (they are still been evaluated) . The surface involved is about 8.000 Ha (out of 9.800 Ha of terraced areas in the Messina province).

12. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari Area of interest The actions 214/1G e 216 /A2, are applied only in Nebrodi and Peloritani mountains for the terraced areas cultivated with hazelnuts, citrus, olive, vine and orchards.

13. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari Towards a Coordinate regional Plan for the protection of the soil …. Generalaims of the Measure • Maintaining and recovery of terraces and ditches to enhance water infiltration and reduce runoff and soil erosion • Plantation and pruning of local tree species and Mediterranean maquis, not only of agricultural interest, to reduce fires risk • Maintaining cover crop in orchards, without the use of herbicide • Interdiction of burning crop residues chopping and crop residues burying Abandoned terraces with landslides in Messina province (Sicily)

14. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari • The area between the Tyrrhenian and Ionian sides of the Peloritani and Nebrodi mountains is characterized by a typical agriculture performing its primary role in production, although less than other agricultural contexts of Sicily, but it also plays environmental and landscape functions, which currently are gaining growing priority. • In this area there are terraced agricultural systems which play a productive role by creating flat soil surfaces and the formation of fertile soil with a good storage capacity. • These terraced areas play a valuable and irreplaceable function against soil erosion and landslides by increasing the time of surface water runoff

15. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari Delimitation of the eligible areas for the application of the measure Map overlay - Area of interest: Municipalities characterized by • High soil erosion risk • High proportion of orchards • Many terraced area Vigilance Committee of RDP approved the use ofSoil Erosion Map of Sicilyproduced bySoilPro Projectas a part of a Soil Protection Measure Plan for Sicilian Region. Nowadays it is used for the environmental monitoring of RDP in Sicily Soil erosion risk

16. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari Desertification risk Area of interest and terraced areas

17. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari Main roles of the terraces • To provide the ecosystem services • they have a conservative role creating flat soil surfaces and the formation of fertile soil with a good storage capacity. • These terraced areas play a valuable and irreplaceable function against soil erosion and landslides by increasing the time of surface water runoff • Biodiversity conservation - The visual identity of the territories is a further positive value of these farming systems. The identity is not only landscape but also the presence of traditional crops such as Hazelnut, Citrus fruits, Olive, Vines and Fruit trees. These crops are local ecotypes often endangered of extinction

18. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari Towards a Coordinate regional Plan for the protection of the soil …. Actions 214/1G and 216/A2 Compliances for the farmers (5 years ) 0.5 hectares is the minimum farm area necessary to participate to the measure • Maintaining weeds controlled exclusively mechanically or manually (at least 4 events per year; at least one of these has to be carried out in late spring/early summer, depending on altimetry, to contain vegetation to avoid fires risks) • Containing mass tree, cutting and distributing residues on site, removing and transferring them in case of pest problems • Interdiction of chemical herbicides

19. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari Actions 214/1G and 216/A2 Subsidies per year and per hectare

20. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari Actions 214/1G and 216/A2 Eligible investments within Measure 216 – Action A2 • Extraordinary maintenance: reconstruction of damaged terraces and recovery of the surface water drainage • Hazelnut groves: a project to rehabilitate non-productive stumps has been planned in order to prevent fire risk, to reduce soil erosion and desertification (weeding, elimination of brambles, dead plants and dry branches)

21. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari Actions 214/1G and 216/A2 Eligible costs within Measure 216 – Action A2 • Planting non-productive crops on the empty areas of the terraces,(due to fires or eradication of dead plants) using mixed native plants, especially the ones endangered, in order to prevent soil erosion and desertification and improve biodiversity and landscape protection

22. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari Actions 214/1G and 216/A2 Measure 216 – Action A2 Concentration of aids and expenditure ceilings The aids are delivered as capital contributions and amounted to 100% of the eligible cost of the investments The maximum contribution is 5.000,00 €/ha However, the maximum expense per project cannot go beyond150.000,00 €

23. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari European and National Laws on Cross-compliance in Agriculture of the Common Agricultural Policy The Sicilian Region is obliged annually to define a list of commitments to be applied locally and can decide with its owns legislative measures the application of the rules and the subdivision of its territory in homogeneous areas for pedoclimatic characteristics, with the aim to adapt the national measures and objectives to local conditions Rules for the maintenance of areas in good agronomic and environmental conditions Rule 1 – Measures for soil protection A Proposal of a regional action To use the “Soil map erosion risk of Sicily” planned within the Project SoilPro to determine the distance between the drainage channels

24. Regione Sicilia, Assessorato Regionale delle Risorse Agricole ed Alimentari Tasks: • Realization of furrows (drainage channels) every 100 meters in the areas classified from 2 to 10 t\ha yearly erosion. • Realization of furrows (drainage channels ) every 80 meters in the areas with erosion above 10 t\ha yearly.

25. CAP 2014 -2020 Between 2014 and 2020, over EUR 100 billion will be addressed to help farmers to cope with the soil and water quality, biodiversity and climate change • At least 30% of the rural development programmes'budget will have to be allocated to agri-environmental measures, support for organic farming or projects associated with environmentally friendly investment or innovation measures

26. CAP 2014 -2020 RDP Sicily 2014 -2020 The Regional staff of Soilpro is going to propose a new AEM based on the informations coming from the Project : “Sod-seeding and minimum tillage for wheat (Triticum durum) in areas with clay soils” with the aim of increasing the organic matter and carbon sequestration in the soil and reduce CO2 emissions and soil erosion.

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