Stakeholders in the Greek olive and livestock sectors who are facing challenges are invited to a free B2B event where they can connect with innovators who offer solutions to common problems. Hybrid online and face-to-face presentations and one-on-one meetings will take place in Chania, Crete on December 16-17 as part of the LIVINGAGRO project funded under the ENI CBC Med Programme 2014-2020.

This hybrid conference will take place at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (MAICh) in Crete. There, nineteen 15-minute presentations in Greek will introduce innovations in the olive, olive oil, and livestock sectors to producers, cooperatives, agricultural enterprises, company representatives, millers, and other interested stakeholders.

Innovators, researchers, and representatives of private organizations will give presentations on a wide range of innovations related to the following topics:

•    Re-using traditional practices in agroforestry
•    Intercropping and preparing for climate change in olive groves
•    Precision agriculture
•    Olive mill machinery and health benefits
•    Olive tree and olive oil authentication

Free registration for both the online and face-to-face versions of the event is now open at the following link. Registration for the face-to-face event will remain open until December 8, with participation strictly limited as required by Greek law.*

On the days of the event, both online and face-to-face audience members will be invited to schedule one-on-one meetings to learn more from innovators during the afternoon sessions. This will allow participants to ask specific questions relevant to their own situations, and to learn more about the innovations of greatest interest to them.

Part of LIVINGAGRO’s Living Laboratories, such connections between audience members and presenters will enable the establishment of new contacts and the sharing of information on innovative ideas, machinery, techniques, and services. The aim is to bring together innovators and those who may use their innovations, encouraging mutually beneficial discussions that could inspire collaborations. A similar LIVINGAGRO B2B event that occurred online in July did lead to new collaborations between presenters and audience members.

For more information, the event’s program, and registration, consult the event’s web page (Greek). An overview of each innovation will be available in Greek and English Catalogues before and during the event. The Catalogues for the July edition of the event can be viewed here (in Greek) and here (in English). While many of the same innovations will be discussed, several new innovations will also be added in December.

This event is being organized in the framework of the “LIVINGAGRO - Cross Border Living laboratories for Agroforestry” project which is co-financed by the European Union (90%) through the ENI CBC Med Programme 2014 – 2020 and National Resources (10%). Rather than simply doing research in isolated labs, LIVINGAGRO partners in Italy, Lebanon, Jordan, and Greece have asked farmers, company representatives, policy makers and other stakeholders who work with olive oil and grazed woodlands for input about the types of problems they need to solve, as well as the most workable solutions.

Many survey respondents indicated a desire to increase their product’s quality, improve plant health and/or soil fertility, reduce their production costs, increase the quantity produced, and reduce their use of chemical products. Innovations have been identified that can meet those needs as well as others. The LIVINGAGRO team invites all who are interested to learn more, whether online or in person, at the B2B event in December which will take place in Greek (for more information in English, please consult the project’s website).

*While all are welcome to attend the event online, entrance to MAICh’s conference center will be permitted only to those presenting a certificate of vaccination or a certificate of recovery from the SARS-CoV-2 virus infection issued by a public authority or a certified laboratory 30 days after the day of the first positive COVID-19 test, but within 180 days of the B2B event.