The National Awareness Raising Event for the project AGREEEN was held online by the Greek Partner ANATOLIKI SA on Tuesday, March 23, 2021 with the participation of 70 representatives of Greek stakeholders and broader public. The event was supported by the Municipality of Thermi and the Regional Development Fund of Central Macedonia.
Session 1 started with Mrs Anastasia Rizopoulou and Mrs Vasiliki Papadopoulou, representatives of ANATOLIKI SA, who presented the project AGREEN, its main targets and activities and its linkage to Climate Change and climate change impacts on agriculture. Dr. Georgios Ntinas, Researcher of ELGO DIMITRA agricultural institution, presented the concept of Climate Smart Agriculture and the added value of the products that are produced through processes that adopt CSA principles. Prof. Panagiota Sergaki, from the Agricultural Faculty of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, talked about the possibility of strengthening the position of farmers in the agri-food sector through local and certified products and the related role of cooperatives.
Session 1 was concluded with a discussion around the prices that CSA products may have, their competitiveness in the market as well as the consumers’ preferences.
Session 2 was dedicated to CSA good practices. Mr Georgios Ziankas, from the Development Agency of the Regional Unit of Thessaloniki presented the activities and results of the HORIZON 2020 project SuWaNu, which deals with the technologies and methodologies of using the recovered water and its nutrients in the irrigation of crops. Two good practices from two partner countries, Georgia and Armenia, followed. Mrs Mariam Jorjadze, CEO of the Biological Farming Association Elkana in Georgia, presented the actions that ELKANA implements for the protection and dissemination of indigenous varieties and the importance of rural biodiversity in Climate Smart Agriculture. The presentation of Mrs Anna Hovhannisyan, founder of the agricultural cooperative «Chir’s House» in Armenia, followed. Mrs Hovhannisyan analysed the Circular Business Model of «Chir’s House», the products produced by the Cooperative, the processing and packaging procedures that are followed as well as the philosophy of their commercial distribution.
Session 2 closed with the good practice of the Agricultural Cooperative of Vasilika which participates as associated partner to the project. Mr Dimosthenis Stathis, presented the initiatives of the cooperative around CSA and circular economy and the activities of the Group of Producers who grow legumes, coming from Greek varieties.
The meeting was attended by Local and Regional Authorities, Academic Institutions, Training Centers, Students of the Agricultural Faculty of AUTH, Agricultural Cooperatives, Development Agencies, Research Institutes and Chambers.
The Greek awareness raising event of the AGREEN project, completed its tasks by informing the participants about the continuation of the project and the perspective of Climate Smart Agriculture, which aims to keep farmers engaged in the agricultural profession, to produce qualitative and safe products and at the same time boost their entrepreneurship and income.
