On January 18, 2023, LIVINGAGRO’s coordinator for Greece, Dr. Panagiotis Kalaitzis, joined Professor Anastasia Pantera for a LIVINGAGRO stakeholders’ workshop to share information about the project and about innovations for the olive sector. Students, farmers, researchers, and university professors attended the event at the Department of Forestry and Natural Environment Management of the Agricultural University of Athens in Karpenissi, Evrytania, Greece.

Sharing information about the potential benefits of agroforestry in Greece with 34 stakeholders, the event enabled two LIVINGAGRO innovators to summarize key information about some of the innovations highlighted at the project’s B2B events and in the events’ Catalogues of Innovation, which remain available to the general public via the project’s website and ICT platform. Drawing new stakeholders into the living labs for the project, the workshop provided an overview of LIVINGAGRO and enhanced its visibility in Greece.

Dr. Panagiotis Kalaitzis presented his DNA-based diagnostic test to authenticate the varietal origin of olive oil, as well as another innovation from his department at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania: oliveID, an image-based tool to identify olive cultivars based on a numeric analysis of size, shape, and structure. Participants were especially interested in the oliveID innovation.

Dr. Anastasia Pantera introduced two agroforestry practices: chickpea intercropping in olive groves and intercropping of olive trees and vetch. Some stakeholders raised concerns about how effective and productive it is to make olive groves multifunctional, in place of monocropping, and about challenges related to tending multifunctional olive systems. During an animated discussion, the innovators addressed these concerns.

Bringing together innovative researchers and stakeholders working with olive oil and livestock, this workshop showed how the LIVINGAGRO project is dedicated to solving real-life problems and helping Greek olive growers and livestock farmers overcome the pressures and challenges of their sectors. The workshop also enabled the forging of new connections for future cooperation, as well as continued participation in the living labs through the ICT platform.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Professor Anastasia Pantera
Department of Forestry and Natural Environment Management
Agricultural University of Athens, Karpenissi
Email: pantera@aua.gr