GO AGRI-ROVENAT: Sustainable crops in areas with difficult topography and severely affected by depopulation
- Type Grupo operativo
- Status In progress
- Execution 2024 -2027
- Scope Supraautonómico
- Autonomous community Asturias, Principado de; Galicia; Madrid, Comunidad de
- Main source of financing PEPAC 2023-2027
The project will be carried out on two traditional agricultural crops (vines and olive trees) and another crop that has recently been introduced in Spain (an old rose used in the perfume industry). The aim is to enhance the beauty of the landscape through agriculture, using sustainable farming, and to enable this activity to give rise to new complementary proposals, framed within the concept of a circular economy.
Both the cultivation of grapes and olives are subject to very strict European legislation on the process of description, registration and recognition of each of the varieties cultivated.
The project is being developed in unpopulated areas with difficult topography in the north of Spain, where they are currently the only profitable alternative capable of attracting population, and will also be used with another crop that has recently been introduced in Spain.
The project considers the use of approved robots and the method of creating induced aversion in sheep, which has all the guarantees regarding animal welfare and health.
- Selection, marking and preparation of plots in production. Marking of 3 sectors or subzones in a vineyard, in an olive grove and a rose farm.
- Selection, marking and preparation of new plots (Rosa Narcea).
- Induction of sheep aversion. Duration of induced aversion. Checking the duration of the effect of aversion to vine, olive and rose. Reinforcement of aversion if necessary and maintenance of sheep.
- Controlling the natural vegetation cover in the plots of the three agricultural resources, using sheep with induced aversion to vines, olive trees and roses.
- Monitoring the natural vegetation cover in the plots of the three agricultural resources, using remote-controlled robots. Cumulative effect on the natural vegetation cover.
- Effect of the use of robots and sheep and their excrement on the ripening, quality of the grape (sugars, acidity, polyphenols, aromas) and on the incidence of fungal diseases (mildew, oidium and botrytis) in the vine.
- Insemination and gestation of sheep. Ensuring that the sheep used in each of the trials become pregnant at least twice and can produce milk. Obtaining differentiated sheep milk, associated with each crop: the vineyard, the olive grove and Rosa Narcea. .
Both the cultivation of grapes and olive trees are subject to very strict European legislation on the process of description, registration and recognition of each of the varieties cultivated.
Some of the varieties included in this project have been described and recorded by scientists from the VIOR group. The discoverers/selectors of Rosa Narcea are scientists from the same group. This Rosa is protected by the OCVV and licensed for exclusive worldwide exploitation to Aromas del Narcea SL.
The vineyard plot included in the study, provided by Ouro de Quiroga, is attached to the DO Ribeira Sacra and subject to its regulations. In the case of Galician olive groves, only Brava Gallega and Mansa Gallega are recognised and are the ones planted by Ouro de Quiroga. The CCAA Galicia is studying the possibility of requesting a DO for Galician oils. The area of action of this project would be one of the key points of said DO. The rose plots already installed and those that will be established are located in the valley of the Cibea river, on "cultivated land" that is now abandoned.
The work will be carried out with approved robots that are being marketed and have all the necessary permits. The ISO TC-299 Robotics standardisation committee has recently published the UNE-EN ISO 13482:2014 standard, which defines the safety requirements for non-industrial personal assistance robots, and the ISO 18646-1 standard for performance criteria and testing methodology for service robots. However, these standards are clearly aimed at indoor robots. The agricultural robots included in this study are remote-controlled and therefore controlled by humans.
The method of creating induced aversion in sheep has all the guarantees regarding animal welfare and health. This method, the handling and care of the sheep participating in the project, will be in accordance with the recent Animal Welfare Law, in force since 09/29/2023 (BOE» No. 75, of March 29, 2023). In the milks included, Royal Decree 1086/2020, of December 9, 2020 on the conditions of application of the provisions of the European Union regarding hygiene in the production and marketing of food products and any other regulations in force, referring to this product of animal origin, will be taken into account.
The effectiveness of new methods for maintaining natural vegetation cover (remote-controlled robots and sheep with an induced aversion to olive and rose vines) will be tested for the development of profitable and environmentally friendly crops, carried out in areas with difficult topography (difficulty for mechanization), high level of depopulation (lack of labor) and high landscape value. The differentiated milks produced by the sheep associated with each crop will also be evaluated.
- The positive result of maintaining the natural vegetation cover by using sheep with an induced aversion to vines, olive trees and roses would make the work much less arduous in these crops and affordable for people with little physical strength (it would avoid manual clearing and the application of herbicides). It would considerably reduce the costs of weed control. It would avoid the use of herbicides that damage the environment.
- The results obtained from the study of the milk produced by sheep with an induced aversion to grapevines, olive trees and roses will allow for the availability of differentiated milk based on the vegetation cover of each of the three crops studied in each of the areas. This would create a new source of income in the area and the use of the sheep that are also carrying out a task of maintaining the natural vegetation cover.
- The positive results obtained from the study with the remote-controlled agricultural robot will allow the maintenance of the vegetation cover in areas with difficult terrain and in those areas where sheep may have any kind of difficulty in accessing. Both systems would complement each other, considerably reducing the costs of maintaining the plots as well as the difficulty of the work that farmers usually have to carry out in these areas.
- The results obtained on the type of maintenance of the vegetation cover on the quality of grapes, olives and roses, as well as the products obtained from them (wine/must, olive oil, rose extracts, etc.), will contribute to increasing their value in the market and differentiating them from the rest.
- Coordinator name: CSIC General Foundation
- Postal address: Street/Square and number: Calle Joaquín Costa 12, CP 28002, Madrid (Spain)
- Coordinator email: direccion@fgcsic.es
- Phone: 609269703
- Fundación General CSIC (FGCSIC)
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (2 centros: MBG e IPLA)
- MILLASUR S.L.U.
- FUNDACIÓN LABORAL DE PERSONAS CON DISCAPACIDAD SANTA BÁRBARA FSP
- Ovejas y Corderos S.L
- Fundación General CSIC (FGCSIC)
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