The meeting of the PRIMA Partnership project was dedicated to the presentation of progress achieved in the development of digital tools and decision-support systems aimed at strengthening the resilience of cereal value chains in the Southern Mediterranean, through the analysis of economic, geopolitical, and climate shocks, as well as the improvement of food security in support of policymakers and sector stakeholders.
The second Plenary Meeting of the European STAPLES project took place on 5 and 6 May 2026 in Agadir, Morocco, hosted by Ibn Zohr University at the Faculty of Legal, Economic, and Social Sciences. The meeting brought together international partners to share the results of the first two years of activity and define the next phases of research, validation, and dissemination.
Funded under the PRIMA Programme and coordinated by Professor Federico Caniato of the Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano, STAPLES analyses the impact of economic, geopolitical and climate shocks on cereal supply chains in the MENA region. The project aims to develop digital tools and strategies to strengthen the resilience of these supply chains and support food security.
During the two-day meeting, the partners discussed the project's progress, focusing particularly on shock analysis, developing solutions for trade and domestic production, and preparing validation activities based on data collection and fieldwork.
A key part of the meeting was dedicated to the work-package on “Designing information and decision support tools”, led by Politecnico di Milano. Professors Marta Marson from the Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering and Luciano Baresi, from the Departments of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering respectively, the first prototypes of the STAPLES Dashboard and Decision Support System, recently completed. The STAPLES Dashboard is an interactive web-based platform that integrates various data sources, enabling users to explore key indicators on cereal supply, international trade, prices, resilience, and food security through tables, maps, and charts. The demonstration also presented the initial concept of the Early Warning Module, which is designed to identify production and trade shocks in a timely manner. The prototype of the Decision Support System was also presented. This translates data and analysis into actionable insights for policymakers, farmers, industry operators, and researchers. This system includes modules on virtual water, strategic wheat reserves, and suitability of traditional rainfed cereals, while further functions related to market attractiveness, storage and resilience are under development.
The discussion highlighted the importance of making the tools accessible to non-technical users through intuitive interfaces and clear indicators. Upcoming activities will focus on finalising the platforms, enhancing scalability and preparing for the piloting, testing and validation phases with stakeholders.
The project is therefore moving towards its final phase, which will include two international workshops dedicated to validating the results and defining operational and policy-oriented recommendations for food security in the southern Mediterranean. These workshops will take place in Rabat and Cairo in November 2026.
STAPLES: https://www.staples-project.eu/