Water is an indispensable factor for agricultural production, and irrigation allows for increasing the productivity of cultivated lands. Facing the global challenge of increasing food availability for the world population, a virtuous and efficient use of irrigation represents one of the most effective solutions. At the same time, the use of water in agriculture competes with other demands and uses. Therefore, the efficient use of this resource is crucial not only to ensure agricultural productivity but also to contribute to its integrated and sustainable management.
It is therefore necessary to balance two contrasting needs: sustaining yields and optimizing water use.

The living labs focused on the tematica acqua aim to create and disseminate innovation to make water use in agriculture more efficient, addressing the following topics:

• Irrigation technologies and decision support systems: at the Lighthouse farms, experiments are conducted regarding the performance of different irrigation systems (various sprinklers, micro-port flood systems), the development of apps to guide irrigation management, and the validation of decision support systems (e.g., platforms based on satellite data);
• Improvement of the water retention capacity of agricultural soils, with experiments focused on the use of cover crop and organic fertilization to increase organic matter;
• Species and genotypes suitable for drought and/or marginal waters. For example, drought-tolerant maize hybrids and quinoa as alternatives for soils affected by salinization in the Adriatic coastal areas;
• Improvement of weed control techniques aiming to reduce the use of herbicides, thereby decreasing both water usage and groundwater contamination.