# Innovations in Sustainable Agriculture: Case Study of Lis Valley Irrigation District, Portugal
## 4 Results and Discussion
### Rural Development Policy and Agricultural Innovation  
To promote R&D and foster innovation, the EU has implemented the EPI-AGRI [6]. The EPI-AGRI is supported by the Rural Development Program 2014-2020 (RDP 2014-2020) and by Horizon 2020. The RDP 2014-2020 can be seen as a Focus Area (FA), and its policy comprises six priorities, associated to the Focus Area (Table 3). Priority 1 is included in Focus Area 1A, the FA for innovation, cooperation, and development of the knowledge base in rural areas. Within this FA there are three measures: M1, for knowledge transfer; M2, for advisory services; and M16, for cooperation. According to EPI-AGRI [28], OGs \"are intended to bring together multiple actors, such as farmers, researchers, advisers, businesses, environmental groups, consumer interest groups, or other NGOs, \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{p{113.8 pt} p{113.8 pt}} \hline \hline
**Priorities** & **Focus Area** \\ \hline
1: Knowledge Transfer and Innovation & FA 1A: Fostering innovation, cooperation, and development of the knowledge base in rural areas \\  & FA 1B: Strengthening the links between agriculture, food production, and forestry with research and innovation \\  & FA 1C: Fostering lifelong learning and vocational training in the agricultural and forestry sectors. \\ \hline
2: Farm Viability and Competitiveness & FA 2A: Improving the economic performance of all farms and facilitating farm restructuring and modernization \\  & FA 2B: Facilitating the entry of adequately skilled farmers into the agricultural sector and generational renewal. \\ \hline
3: Food Chain Organization and Risk Management & FA 3A: Improving competitiveness of primary producers by improving their integration into the agri-food chain \\  & FA 3B: Supporting farm risk prevention and management \\ \hline
4: Restoring, Preserving and Enhancing Ecosystems & FA 4A: Restoring, preserving, and enhancing biodiversity \\  & FA 4B: Improving water management \\  & FA 4C: Preventing soil erosion and improving soil management \\ \hline
5: Resource-efficient Climate-resilient Economy & FA 5C: Facilitating the supply and use of renewable sources of energy \\  & FA 5D: Reducing greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions from agriculture \\  & FA 5E: Fostering carbon conservation and sequestration in agriculture and forestry \\ \hline
6: Social Inclusion and Economic Development & FA 6A: Facilitating the diversification, creation, and development of small enterprises, as well as job creation \\  & FA 6B: Fostering local development in rural areas \\  & FA 6C: Enhancing the accessibility, use, and quality of information and communication technologies (ICT) in rural areas. \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: Priorities and focus area (FA) of the Rural Development Program (RDP), 2014–2020. to advance innovation in the agricultural and forestry sectors\", with the goal of promoting agricultural innovation to improve resource efficiency, productivity, climate-friendly solutions, and improve overall resilience. OGs are included under Measure 16 (M16) and its sub-measure 16.1 (M16.1). M16.1 provides financial support to create and manage OGs, to implement OG projects, and to disseminate knowledge produced by OGs. The majority of M16.1 projects deal with things like developing agricultural and forestry markets, the integration of supply chains, increasing product quality, and reinforcing the sectors witnessing expansion, such as organic farming. Some projects focus on improving the competitiveness and productivity of farms in reaction to environmental challenges. OGs also include a social innovation dimension. The main difference between M16.1 and other measures in FA1 are the experimental proposals and the obligation to disseminate and transfer knowledge. In some countries, M16.1 measures are linked with other M16 actions and cooperation measures [29].