At the end of 2024, the RAINS project officially kicked off with an energising two-day meeting in Valencia, Spain, hosted by S.A. Agricultores de la Vega de Valencia. Over lively discussions, partners explored how RAINS will help tackle two of Europe’s biggest agricultural challenges — water scarcity and extreme weather. 

So, what exactly is RAINS?
RAINS stands for “Resilient Agriculture through Innovative Solutions”. It is a four-year EU-funded project focused on developing and testing smart, circular solutions — from biofertilisers to digital tools — to optimise the use of sewage sludge, water streams, and nutrients in farming. 

Our ambitious goals include: 

• Improving water efficiency by 50% on 12,700 hectares 

• Supporting 500+ farmers 

• Saving €6.1 billion, 244 million litres of water, and 35 tonnes of CO₂ by 2050 

Fast-forward to June 2025, when the RAINS consortium reconvened in Madrid for our 2nd General Assembly, co-organised by S.A. Agricultores de la Vega de Valencia and the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). Hosted at UPM by Belén Miranda, with contributions from Jose María Guijarro Blanco, the event brought together all 17 partners to take stock of progress and plan the next phase. 

Highlights from the assembly included: 

• Technical updates from demo sites in Spain and Greece 

• Progress on our digital tools, WaterIQ and Optifangs-AI, for smarter water and nutrient management 

• Environmental and safety assessments of our innovations 

• Closer collaboration with the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and other EU institutions 

• Strategies for scaling impact and market deployment 

A big thank you to our hosts and partners for keeping the momentum strong and making agriculture more resilient, efficient, and sustainable.