NUSTALGIC

Neglected Underutilized Species for Water Harvesting and Building Climate Resilience

NUSTALGIC is a PRIMA-funded project that aims to revitalize traditional crops and practices to strengthen the sustainability of Mediterranean dry-farming systems. By merging scientific innovation with local knowledge, the project supports farmers in adapting to water scarcity, climate change, and soil degradation, ensuring both food security and ecosystem health.

NUSTALGIC focuses on four main objectives:

Increasing water harvesting and efficiency.
Diversify agricultural systems, improve soil health and enhance resilience to climate change.
Create job opportunities and develop new products and value chains using NUS.
Implement a robust multi-stakeholder engagement strategy across diverse sectors and levels.
Approach

NUSTALGIC is a PRIMA-funded project that aims to revitalize traditional crops and practices to strengthen the sustainability of Mediterranean dry-farming systems. By merging scientific innovation with local knowledge, the project supports farmers in adapting to water scarcity, climate change, and soil degradation, ensuring both food security and ecosystem health.

Expected Impact

NUSTALGIC will generate tangible environmental, scientific, and social benefits, including:

Enhanced water retention and soil fertility in dry-farming regions.
Reduced agricultural vulnerability to climate change.
New market opportunities for NUS-based products.
Job creation and improved livelihoods, especially for women farmers.
Evidence-based policy recommendations supporting sustainable Mediterranean agriculture.
Work Packages

Our Experience Spans Every Industry and Challenge

WP1: Project management and scientific coordination

Leader CBQF-UCP, co-leader ICARDA. And with the contributions of all partners.

Main objectives:

  1. Organization, coordination and financial management of the project
  2. Development of quality management plan, risk management and data management plan
  3. Coordination and development of a Soil Task Force
  4. Development of a Gender Task Force

Tasks:

  1. General and Financial Management
  2. Quality Management and Risk Management
  3. Data Management
  4. Coordination measures and joint activities with the “Soil Deal for EUROPE”
  5. Gender Task Force

Leader GWP-Med, co-leader MIRRA. And with the contributions of all partners.

Main objectives:

  1. Identify and involve all key stakeholders for achieving the overall objectives.
  2. Select water harvesting technologies and co-design packages with the stakeholders (especially farmers).
  3. Deploy the designed water harvesting technologies on demonstration sites.
  4. Promote stakeholder ownership for the sustainability of selected techniques beyond the project timeline.
  5. Evaluate the performance of the deployed water harvesting technologies and finalize their design.

Tasks:

  1. Multi-actor assessment of water harvesting technologies
  2. Design and Deployment of Water Harvesting Technologies
  3. Monitoring and Evaluation of Water Harvesting Technologies

Leader ICARDA, co-leader CSIC. And with the contributions of all partners.

Main objectives:

  1. Test and scale elite promising lines of barley, chickpea, grasspea, faba bean and lentils.
  2. Integrate agronomic practices for barley, chickpea, grasspea, faba bean and lentil and vetches during crop rotations or intercropping, as validated and demonstrated in farmers’ fields.
  3. Characterize and identify biotic resistance and abiotic stress tolerance available in barley, faba bean, chickpea, lentils, and cactus.
  4. Introduce small-scale machinery for NUS crops in farming communities to reduce labor cost and improve agronomic practices.
  5. Improve soil health parameters (including soil organic matter, carbon sequestration, water retention) by adopting legumes-cereal crop rotation and intercropping with minimum tillage.

Tasks:

  1. Testing and scaling elite promising lines of legume and cereals
  2. Testing the performant agronomic packages on selected legumes lines
  3. Characterization of stress resistant NUS crops
  4. Popularizing the use of small-scale machinery for better crop management and reduced labor
  5. Monitoring soil health in each of the demonstration sites where legumes are grown

Leader UCP, co-leader LARI. And with the contributions of all partners.

Main objectives:

  1. Conduct a comprehensive nutritional screening of raw material obtained from WP3
  2. Develop and Formulate product prototypes using NUS-based food products
  3. Develop and Formulate feed product prototypes
  4. Characterize the nutritional value and sensory quality evaluation of NUS-based food products
  5. Evaluate the viability of waste from selected NUS within the circular economy approach as innovative biocontrol and biopesticide compounds and products

Tasks:

  1. Nutritional assessment of raw materials
  2. Development of NUS-based food products
  3. Development of NUS-based feed products
  4. Nutritional value and sensory attributes of NUS-derived products
  5. Valorization of NUS Waste for Biocontrol and Biopesticide Development

Leader AUB, co-leader OXFAM. And with the contributions of all partners.

Main objectives:

  1. Determine and pilot the market opportunities for cactus, dry lentil, and faba bean products and by-products through comprehensive market analysis and direct support to enterprises with a high social impact and inclusive business models
  2. Compare the environmental impact of products developed from NUS with those from traditional crops
  3. Assess the feasibility and profitability of new products and by-products for small food producers by conducting detailed life cycle cost analysis
  4. Evaluate consumer willingness to pay for tangible and intangible attributes of new products and by-products through intercept surveys and choice experiments
  5. Establish direct links between producers, urban consumers and enterprises by developing targeted marketing strategies and creating digital platforms

Tasks:

  1. Social and circular business models and new products and by-products
  2. New products and by-products environmental impact and full cost estimation
  3. Intermediate and final consumers’ willingness to pay for tangible and intangible attributes of new products and by-products
  4. Creating links with urban consumers for the new products and by-products

Leader OXFAM, co-leader ICARDA. And with the contributions of all partners.

Main objectives:

  1. Engage multiple stakeholders using DRIPS to generate income and gender-transformative solutions for NUS crop cultivation (integrating agricultural practices for water, agronomy, and soil management) and consumption
  2. Empower women in agriculture by recognizing their contributions, addressing gender disparities, and promoting leadership opportunities
  3. Create and disseminate communication materials in multiple languages showcasing the social, economic, and technical innovation bundles of NUSTALGIC for key stakeholders in the participating countries and other interested parties

Tasks:

  1. Engagement of farmers in the co-creation and dissemination of technological packages
  2. Engagement of consumers
  3. Engaging decision-makers
  4. Communication and dissemination of findings
Consortium

Project Coordinator (CBQF–UCP), Deputy Coordinator (ICARDA), and Communication Manager (GWP-MED)

Participating Countries
Drips

What are DRIPS?

DRy-farming system multi-actor Innovation PlatformS (DRIPS) are collaborative hubs established across target regions to test, demonstrate, and scale climate-smart solutions for neglected and underutilized species (NUS). Each DRIPS brings together farmers, researchers, policymakers, and industry actors to co-develop practices such as water-harvesting technologies, conservation agriculture, and NUS-based value chains.

Why DRIPS Matter in NUSTALGIC?

DRIPS ensure that innovations are technically sound, economically viable, socially inclusive, and particularly beneficial for women and smallholder farmers. They play a central role in NUSTALGIC’s mission by enabling real-world implementation, accelerating adoption in surrounding communities, and supporting the dissemination of successful approaches at national and international levels.

DRy farming system multi-actor Innovation PlatformS (DRIPS)

Morocco - Lebanon - Tunisia - Jordan

Sister Projects