On Thursday, August 21, 2025, NILEAS organised an informative event was held in Chora Messinia on the topic: “Olive oil contamination: Good practices in the field and the olive oil mill for olive oil”.  

The contamination of olive oil by undesirable substances, such as pesticides, hydrocarbons, plasticizers, etc., is a critical issue that affects the quality of the product, its marketability, as well as the income of producers. An effective solution requires thorough information sharing and close cooperation between producers and olive oil mills. 

George Kokkinos, President of NILEAS, presented AgriDataValue Project. He outlined NILEAS’ three pilot use cases: disease forecasting, anti-frost control, and pest management for olive fruit flies, highlighting how these tools help anticipate risks and support decision-making. He concluded by emphasizing that with pests and diseases causing significant economic damage and losses in olive production, smart farming tools that predict the risk of damage in advance provide reliable information for making relevant management decisions. 

The event was attended by more than 100 participants, including farmers, advisors, and olive-mill owners. 

On Tuesday, 1 July 2025, the AgriDataValue project hosted an in-depth online workshop dedicated to data privacy, legal, and ethical dimensions within the context of Task 5.1. Organized by Netcompany, the event brought together AgriDataValue partners, Advisory Board members, legal experts, and representatives from related EU-funded projects.

The objective of the workshop was to identify and validate key ethical, legal, social, and privacy-related topics linked to the AgriDataValue platform. It also served as an opportunity to review data flow mappings between the project’s technologies, user types, and integrated services — a vital exercise for ensuring compliance, transparency, and responsible data governance.

The session began with opening remarks by Ioannis Chrysakis (Netcompany), followed by presentations from three sister projects. Despina Brasinika (INLECOM) and George Christou (Technical University of Crete) introduced the Green.Dat.AI project and its secure data ecosystem. Anneleen De Visscher (ILVO) provided an overview of CEADs, while Irene Diamantopoulou (Netcompany) presented the GEORGIA project.

The legal session featured Eleftherios Cheiloudakis (HomoDigitalis), who explored smart agriculture through the lenses of GDPR and the AI Act, and Arzum Koca (Arthur’s Legal), who discussed data access and sharing in light of the new Data Act.

The final technical session turned to AgriDataValue’s own developments. Project coordinator Theodore Zahariadis (Synelixis) shared how AgriDataValue supports digital farm transformation. This was followed by Ioannis Oikonomidis (Netcompany), who detailed the project’s approach to privacy and how these principles are integrated into its design and implementation.

With vibrant Q&A sessions, expert insights, and cross-project knowledge exchange, the workshop reinforced AgriDataValue’s dedication to ethical, legal, and user-respectful innovation in agriculture.

A sincere thank-you goes out to all presenters and attendees for making this workshop a collaborative success.

Vicky Inglezou, Project Manager at the NILEAS Producers Group, participated in an important informational event focused on strengthening the resilience of agroforestry to the risks of climate change. The event was organised by the Institute of Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems (IMDO) of ELGO DIMITRA and took place on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at the facilities of the International Olympic Academy (IOA) in Ancient Olympia.

During her speech, she reflected on the 24-year journey of the NILEAS Producers Group, whose activities centre on olive cultivation and the production of extra virgin olive oil, with a strong emphasis on environmental responsibility, quality, and cultural heritage.

She also presented key insights from the AgriDataValue Project, which aims to revolutionize European farming. Funded by Horizon Europe, this 2023–2029 initiative is developing an intelligent, distributed “platform of platforms” to support smart, sustainable agriculture across 14 countries.

With 23 pilots in 7 use case clusters, involving more than 2,000 animals across five species, over 1,800 hectares, and more than 4,500 sensors generating real-time data, AgriDataValue aspires to become a game changer in the digital transformation of smart farming and agri-environmental monitoring.

She outlined ADV’s five-step approach:

1. Design and develop a flexible, fully distributed platform to collect, process, enrich, and integrate diverse and heterogeneous data.
2. Utilise historical data and collect new data via sensors, drones, and satellites from 23 pilot sites (crop and livestock).
3. Implement federated AI models to address key challenges in crop and livestock management.
4. Apply AI models in real-world conditions and gather feedback over a 1+3-year period.
5. Adapt and retrain AI models to enhance performance and outcomes.

By blending big data, AI, edge computing, and FAIR data spaces, AgriDataValue is driving competitiveness, environmental sustainability, and fair income for farmers across Europe.

AgriDataValue was presented at the European Space Agency’s Living Planet Symposium 2025, which took place in Vienna, Austria, from 23 to 27 June. As one of the world’s largest Earth observation conferences with participants from 119 countries, the symposium gathered experts, researchers, and stakeholders to discuss the vital role of Earth observation in addressing global environmental challenges.

The five-day event focused on the transition from observation to climate action and sustainability, structured around six core themes:

• Earth Science Frontiers – Enhancing our understanding of Earth’s complex systems through observation data.
• Climate Action & Sustainability – Supporting environmental monitoring and adaptation to reduce impacts.
• Earth Observation Missions – Presenting results from ESA, Copernicus, meteorological, and national missions.
• Digital Innovation & Green Solutions – Exploring how digital technologies enable sustainable market transformations.
• Industry Partnerships for New Applications – Boosting commercialization through New Space collaborations.
• Global Cooperation & Policy Support – Promoting the adoption of space-based data in international policy-making.

During the symposium, AgriDataValue coordinator Dr. Theodore Zahariadis delivered a dedicated presentation showcasing the project’s goals, current status, and key outcomes. He highlighted how AgriDataValue leverages and advances digital technologies to empower farmers and support the implementation of EU policies on sustainability, food security, and climate resilience. The project’s contribution to digital innovation in agriculture demonstrates its potential to deliver scalable, green solutions aligned with Europe’s environmental and societal objectives.

On June 11, 2025, the AgriDataValue project was showcased as a benchmark for technological excellence during the Horizon Europe Info Day held in Zaragoza, Spain. Organized by the Center for Research and Food Technology of Aragon (CITA) in collaboration with the CDTI, the event served as a strategic platform to present the 2025 funding calls for Cluster 6 (Agriculture and Environment) and Cluster 5 (Climate). Representing the project’s digital technology consortium, Rafael del Hoyo from the Technological Institute of Aragon (ITA) presented AgriDataValue to an audience of researchers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders. The session highlighted how ADV utilizes multi-source data—including Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery and ERA5 meteorological models—to empower farmers with predictive tools for disease risk and phenology management.

By being featured as a “Success Story” alongside other high-impact initiatives, ADV demonstrated its practical application in strengthening the competitiveness of the agri-food sector through Machine Learning and big data. The project’s participation facilitated direct networking with National Contact Points (NCPs) and regional actors, ensuring that the methodologies developed within ADV contribute to the design of future smart-farming proposals and the sustainability goals of the 2025–2027 Horizon Europe work programs.

The 2nd Advisory Board Meeting of the AgriDataValue project was held online on June 4th, 2025, with the participation of the project’s external advisory board experts and the consortium partners.

The meeting was opened by the project coordinator, who welcomed the participants and provided a general overview of AgriDataValue’s scope and progress. The consortium then delivered a series of presentations highlighting the current status of each Work Package, ongoing developments, and key milestones achieved.

Special focus was given to the pilot activities and the overall progress in implementing the AgriDataValue platform and services. Each Work Package Leader presented the current work and results, followed by an open discussion.

The external experts provided valuable comments, recommendations, and strategic input, offering both technical and policy-level perspectives. Their contributions are expected to support the successful implementation of the project and further enhance its scientific, technological, and societal impact.

AgriDataValue continues to promote collaboration and innovation across the agri-food value chain, aiming to unlock the full potential of big data and AI in sustainable agriculture and environmental monitoring.

In the green countryside of Vecauce, Latvia information technologies are empowering the decision making at the dairy farm. Vecauce dairy barn, is a modern, data-driven facility that’s integrating advanced digital tools to transform traditional livestock farming.

As part of the AgriDataValue project, the dairy barn serves as a real-world testbed for smart farming solutions. One of the solutions used are cow pedometers. Cow pedometers are small, wearable sensors that are redefining how farmers monitor and care for their animals.

From Steps to Insights: The Role of Cow Pedometers

Much like fitness trackers for humans, cow pedometers are attached to each animal to continuously measure movement, steps, and activity levels throughout the day. But this data goes far beyond simple step counts. These pedometers provide critical insights into:

• Heat detection: Increased activity often signals the optimal time for breeding, helping farmers improve reproductive success.
• Health monitoring: A sudden drop in movement can indicate illness or lameness, allowing for earlier intervention and improved animal welfare.
• Feeding behavior: Variations in activity patterns can reflect changes in feed intake, alerting farm staff to potential issues in diet or digestion.

By integrating pedometer data into digital dashboards and farm management software, the staff at Vecauce can make real-time, data-informed decisions – ensuring cows receive timely care, optimizing productivity, and reducing operational costs.

The application of cow pedometers is a clear step toward precision livestock farming, where each animal is monitored individually, and decisions are tailored accordingly. This not only boosts efficiency but also aligns with higher standards of animal welfare and sustainability – one of the goals of the AgriDataValue project.

Why It Matters for AgriDataValue

The data collected from cow pedometers doesn’t stay on the farm – it becomes a valuable part of the broader AgriDataValue ecosystem, feeding into models that enhance interoperability, data analytics, and evidence-based policy-making across the EU agri-food chain.

By showcasing success stories like Vecauce, AgriDataValue demonstrates the tangible benefits of digital transformation in agriculture—making farms more resilient, productive, and responsive to both market and societal demands.

On May 29, 2025, George Kokkinos, President of NILEAS, took part in the conference “Innovative Plant Protection and Environment”, organised by the Agricultural University of Athens. In his presentation, titled “Plant Protection Issues of Intense Interest,” he noted that the implementation of the European Green Deal is making plant protection more challenging for growers by narrowing their tools. Consequently, the emphasis should shift to prevention. He argued that Producer Groups can effectively manage pests and diseases by adopting Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Smart Agriculture, thereby maximizing yield with lower environmental impacts, reduced production costs, and high product quality. 

Additionally, he presented AgriDataValue Project, that aims to create a digital platform that integrates real-time data from ground sensors and agrometeorological stations with multispectral images from satellites and drones, supporting machine learning models and smart agriculture applications. 

He highlighted that smart agriculture aids crop protection in traditional Greek olive farming by using data-driven insights to enable early detection and targeted interventions against pests and diseases, thereby reducing reliance on traditional, broad-spectrum pesticides and enhancing overall sustainability.  

The event was attended by more than 350 participants, including advisors, members of the scientific community, and undergraduate and postgraduate students. 

On May 28, 2025, George Kokkinos, President of NILEAS participated in EPI GIS V Conference “Sustainable Agriculture, Innovation and Entrepreneurship” organised by Olympia Forum, where the focus was on current challenges and opportunities in sustainable agriculture. The conference covered multiple thematic areas including digitalisation, circular economy, and climate-resilient farming practices. 

In the session “Plant Breeding for Resilience to Climate Change Challenges: Modern Approaches,” he emphasized that bioeconomy harnesses renewable biological resources (such as olive trees and their by-products) to build more sustainable and circular systems. Key strategies he highlighted included managing waste through composting or converting olive-mill by-products into energy or fertilizers, adopting sustainable farming practices such as agroforestry and organic farming, and developing drought-resistant olive varieties to increase resilience. He also noted that a bioeconomic approach can reduce production costs, achieve economies of scale, and yield products of higher environmental quality. 

He also presented AgriDataValue project, stressing the importance of knowledge transfer between researchers, farmers and other actors in the sector to encourage the adoption of innovative and sustainable practices in olive growing. He emphasised that while traditional systems remain valued for their cultural heritage and contribution to agricultural diversity, new farming models that incorporate innovative technologies and advanced practices can coexist with these systems. This coexistence should involve the selective adoption of these practices to improve both the productivity and sustainability of the traditional olive production. 

The event was attended by more than 300 participants, including representatives from local authorities and industry, farmers, advisors, members of the scientific community, and students. 

AgriDataValue proudly participated in the 1st One-Health Agri-Tech Workshop, held on May 27th, 2025, at OTE Academy in Athens, Greece. Organized under the Horizon Europe project NESTLER and coordinated by Synelixis, the workshop brought together key actors in smart, cybersecure, and sustainable agriculture.

For AgriDataValue, the event served as a prime opportunity to showcase its contributions to the digital transformation of agriculture through a secure and interoperable data-sharing ecosystem. Our participation emphasized how integrated data-driven services can empower stakeholders across the agri-food value chain while aligning with the EU’s Farm to Fork strategy and One-Health principles.

Throughout the workshop, AgriDataValue engaged in dialogue with over 50 participants from Europe and Africa—both onsite and online—highlighting its collaborative role within the broader Horizon Europe landscape. Alongside projects like GEORGIA, our team shared insights on interoperability, AI-driven analytics, and the application of harmonized data models to foster sustainable food systems.

Running in parallel at the same venue, the Data Week 2025 event, created additional opportunities for cross-collaboration among EU-funded initiatives, particularly those operating in the agriculture and data ecosystems. These co-located events enhanced synergies and supported the integration of cutting-edge digital solutions into agricultural practices. Our involvement reaffirmed AgriDataValue’s commitment to shaping the future of agriculture through trust-based data sharing, environmental responsibility, and cross-sector collaboration.