EU SOIL MISSION · LIVING LABS
NEMESIS: Soil health living lab network for combating desertification in the Mediterranean
A four-year Horizon Europe initiative uniting partners across the Mediterranean to co-create, test, and scale practical solutions that restore soil health and resilience.
Why it matters
Across Europe, soils are under severe pressure from unsustainable land use, pollution, and erosion. In the Mediterranean, where over 25% of soils are at high risk of desertification, this degradation threatens food security, biodiversity, and rural livelihoods. The European Union’s Soil Mission – A Soil Deal for Europe – aims to achieve healthy soils by 2030 through the creation of 100 Living Labs and Lighthouses that drive innovation, knowledge exchange, and community-led action to restore soil health.
What NEMESIS does
NEMESIS (Soil Health Living Lab Network for Combating Desertification in the Mediterranean) is a four-year Horizon Europe project that brings together 37 partners from 13 countries to co-create and implement practical solutions for soil restoration. Coordinated by the Eratosthenes Centre of Excellence (Cyprus), NEMESIS establishes five Mediterranean Living Labs — in Cyprus, France, Italy, Spain, and North Africa — each addressing different aspects of soil health such as soil-water management, biodiversity, crop systems, and pasture. Through co-creation, monitoring, and policy innovation, the project aims to reverse soil degradation, strengthen local resilience, and contribute to the EU Soil Mission’s goal of healthy soils for all.
Our role: entrepreneurship Hub (Spain)
At La Juquera Farm, El Junquero–Regeneration Academy lead the Entrepreneurship Hub within the Spanish Living Lab, promoting regenerative agriculture as both an environmental and socio-economic solution. Our demonstration farm serves as a real-world case study on holistic grazing and cereal–legume systems, contributing to European soil-health policy and biodiversity indicators. Through training, co-creation, and collaboration with farmers, cooperatives, and innovators, we foster co-eco-entrepreneurship and strengthen local capacity for sustainable soil management across the Mediterranean.
