I-WALAMAR

Project Objectives

The goal of the joint project I-WALAMAR is to develop and prepare innovative solutions in the partnering country Morocco for utilization of agricultural residues, the preservation of ecosystem services and the restauration of hardly cultivable or too strongly degraded soils. Apart from that the aim is to capture their potential benefit for agricultural and agro-industrial businesses and to advise political decision makers as well as private businesses regarding the realization in the sense of a conflict-sensitive and sustainable rural development.

In this regard, various methods for material and energetic application of defined residues and improved land use should be demonstrated such as co-composting of sewage sludges and organic residues, the capability of adsorption of different polymeric materials and naturally adsorbing clay minerals (e.g. bentonithe, zeolithe) through comparative adsorption and filtration experiments, the utilization of the potential to build humus of treated organic residues, the development of soil supplements to improve land use suitable for local conditions, an improved land use potential of mixed perennial (olive trees) and annual (cereals, wheat, lentils, beans) cultures and the potential of sewage sludes as biogas through comparative fouling experiments in eudiometers (energy production).

Moreover, the safeguarding of sustainable supply of water and fertilizer and a water management of agricultural areas suitable for the location, as well as harnessing of new cultivation areas is intended. Therefore, elements of a circular resource management will be introduced and contributions for a modern, sustainably integrated farm management will be developed.