The NWE area has a long history of intensive horti- and agriculture. Frequent plowing, monoculture and the use of chemical fertilizers have led to low soil organic matter levels (SOM) of 0-2%. Low SOM results in 2 challenges: 1) reduced soil sponge capacity, which limits the soil's ability to retain water, leading to drought stress for crops; and 2) poor water infiltration, increasing the risk of erosion and floods during heavy rainfall. With climate change intensifying droughts and rainfall extremes in the NWE area, these issues pose important threats to crop yields, food security and flood management.

The Interreg North-West Europe project HydroSoilWise - 'Enhancing Hydromanagement & Soil health in agriculture for a Climate-Wise environment' addresses these challenges through 3 goals: 1) increasing soil sponge capacity and water infiltration by increasing SOM content, 2) reducing erosion, and 3) more efficient water use (WUE) through smart irrigation and water management practices. Together with the 11 partners from Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Germany, Ghent University will bring together various techniques aimed at SOM build-up, erosion reduction and optimization of water use efficiency in an innovative, user-friendly online toolbox for growers and farmers, knowledge that will be extracted from both literature and practice. These techniques will be optimized for and demonstrated in 4 drought-sensitive focus crops under different soil and climate conditions in NWE (1-year vegetables in rotation, potato, fruit and ornamental trees). The knowledge gained will also be used to optimize the toolbox. Through a theoretical course and demo moments, the techniques and toolbox will be disseminated to growers and farmers to promote widespread adoption of best practices.