Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development (MED)

The Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development (MED) is a highly multidisciplinary R&I unit focused on the sustainability of ecosystems and agrifood systems in the Mediterranean context. MED is therefore positioned at the core of research needs to comply with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations as well as with the Green Deal of the European Union. We are a key and dynamic partner in Western Mediterranean, triggering new approaches to research while matching societal expectations.

Our Mission is to promote ecosystem sustainability and food security as contribution towards territorial cohesion and wellbeing.

MED main goals are:

1. Improving resource use efficiency and competitive agriculture;
2. Improving sustainability of food system while preserving the mediterranean diet;
3. Assuring biodiversity conservation and landscape multi-functionality;
4. Promoting organizational capability and governance mechanisms;
5. Identifying pathways towards resilience and adaptation under known climate change scenarios.

At MED we seek to carry out research driven by problem-based questions that arise from practice and also, those related to the new reality in the face of climate change, in order to achieve excellence in research, producing solid scientific and technological knowledge, but also solutions for the sustainability of agroecosystems, environment and territories.

MED is located at the "Campus da Mitra", an experimental farm with 285 ha in Alentejo (Southern Portugal), 12 km from the city of Évora. It has 2 poles - one in Beja (CEBAL) and another at the University of Algarve in Faro.