On Wednesday 22 March 2017, 18:30, at the auditorium of Alekos Papadopoulos, in Kiparissia, a workshop took place within the project “Introduction of new oLIVE crop management practices focused on CLIMAte change mitigation and adaptation” (oLIVE-CLIMA).
The event was organized by the Soil and Water Resources Institute – Former Land Reclamation Institute (LRI) of the Hellenic Agricultural Organization – DEMETER, Directorate General of Agricultural Research, In collaboration with the Directorate of Agricultural Economy and Veterinary and with the Association of Agronomists of Trifylia
oLIVE-CLIMA is funded by 50% by the financial instrument Life + of the European Union and has a total budget of 3.649.373 € (EU contribution 1.822.436 €). It was launched in October 2012 and will be completed in September 2017. The partners participating in the project implementation are the following: Development Agency of Eastern Thessaloniki’s Local Authorities “ANATOLIKI S.A.”, Institute for Olive Tree, Subtropical Crops and Viticulture “IOSV”, Department of Soil Science of Athens “DSSA”, Soil and Water Resources Institute – Former Land Reclamation Institute (LRI), University of Basilicata, Italy – Department of European and Mediterranean Culture (DICEM), Rodax Agro E.P.E. (RODAX), AGROTYPOS S.A., A.S. NILAEUS – Agricultural Olive oil Cooperative, Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Peza of Iraklion Pref. Crete S.A., Agricultural Cooperative Partnership Mirabello Union S.A..
The main aim of the project is to introduce new cultivation practices for tree crops in order to find cost-effective means for mitigation and adaptation to climate change. The project will focus specifically on olive-producing areas in Greece, investigating the potential of these areas to increase carbon sequestration by soil, as well as to reduce greenhouse gases emissions. In other words, in this project, a mitigation approach (enhanced CO2 uptake and reduced CO2 emissions) and an adaptation measure (increased soil quality) are tackled at the same time.
The workshop included presentations from expert scientists, project partners and other invited speakers specializing in olive cultivation took part.
The first presentation was by Dr. Viktor Kavvadias, Agronomist, Researcher of the Department of Soil Science of Athens “DSSA” of the Soil and Water Resources Institute and partner of the oLIVE-CLIMA project. Dr. Kavvadias briefly presented the project and the objectives, emphasizing the description of good practices applied to the selected olive groves within the framework of the project. He also described the expected benefits in five years and over time.
The next presentation was by Dr. Evangelia Vavoulidou, Agronomist engineer, Senior Researcher of the Hellenic Agricultural Organization – DEMETER, which presented the practices of sustainable land management by analyzing the key systems of management practices, the benefits and the implications of this cultivation.
In addition, the workshop was attended by Dr. Sideris Theocharopoulos, Agronomist, Senior Researcher and Director of the Soil and Water Resources Institute of the Hellenic Agricultural Organization – DEMETER, who analyzed the issue of soil erosion in the olive groves, giving several examples and parameters leading to the degradation of soils. It also presented the bad practices and cultivation methods currently applied in olive groves to indicate how sustainable land management is to preserve and protect natural resources.
Dr. Victor Kavvadias continued, presenting the production of organic fertilizer – compost using residues and wastes from olive and olive oil processing.
Mr. Georgios Kokkinos from A.S. NILAEUS – Agricultural Olive oil Cooperative, which is partner of the oLIVE-CLIMA project presented the cultivation practices applied to the 40 selected parcels in the Nileas area from February 2013 till now.
After a short break, Mr. Antonis Paraskevopoulos, Agronomist and Director of Agricultural Economics and Veterinary, presented the olive tree pests and diseases, focusing on those that appear most, analyzing the parameters that affect the balance of the olive grove, the damage Which causes, methods of integrated coping and fighting, new data and modern trends.
Mr. George Michalopoulos, representative of Rodax Agro Company and project’s partner, talked about a more specific issue on the environmental certification of olive oil (PEFCR) based on oLIVE-CLIMA farming practices and their advantages.
Questions, placements and discussions between stakeholders were followed, as well as a visit to an olive grove to demonstrate the good practices implemented within the project.
The presentations of the conference (available only in greek):
4. Dr. Sideris Theocharopoulos
5. Mr. Antonis Paraskevopoulos
Educational Videos are available here