George Kokkinos, President of NILEAS was a speaker at the 10th Panhellenic Congress for the Development of Greek Agriculture focused on “What CAP do we want for Greece and the EU? The big challenges facing agriculture now and, in the future”, organized by GAIA EPICHEIREIN. The Congress occurred on 25-26 April 2024 at the Kalamata Dance Megaron.

Mr. Kokkinos participated in the Thematic Workshop “Policies and best practices for a sustainable and resilient olive oil & table olives sector: innovation, cooperation, market performance”. During his speech under the title “Searching for the hidden treasure in the olive groves of western Messinia”, he talked about NILEAS’ history of 22 years in olive oil production with care for the environment, quality and culture. He presented the AgriDataValue project that focuses on smart farming.

With the growing pressure on agriculture and the food system, the need to ensure sustainability and resistance to climate change is more urgent than ever. AgriDataValue utilizes and extends technology to empower the Farmer, enabling and implementing the EU Policies on sustainability, food protection and climate change preservation,

During the 4-day conference, the coordinator of AgriDataValue Dr. Theodore Zahariadis, presented the project in detail. The event, ‘’EO for Agriculture Under Pressure 2024 Workshop (EO4AGRI 2024)’’, took place between 13-16 May 2024 at the ESA-ESRIN facilities in Frascati (Italy) and is co-organised by the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Commission (EC), the World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and GEOGLAM.

On May 31, 2024, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) hosted a successful Open Day and training session dedicated to precision agriculture. Thirty-three students from the Agricultural Development Department participated, gaining hands-on experience with one of the AgriDataValue pilot projects. The event offered students a unique opportunity to learn about cutting-edge agricultural technologies and data-driven practices that support sustainable and efficient farming. This interactive session was designed to provide valuable insights to students for the future of agriculture, fostering a deeper understanding of how data can enhance productivity and environmental stewardship.

AgriDataValue was presented by Synelixis in the 91st International Agricultural Fair, which was held on 18-22 of May, in Novi Sad, Serbia.  The Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad has been attracting individuals, business, business, and political delegations for more than nine decades and creates a creative environment for new ventures. AgriDataValue had an invited booth to present its technical achievements.

AgriDataValue was presented by BIORO in V European Horticulture Congress (EHC) 2024, which was held on 12-16 of May, in Bucharest, Romania.  The European Horticulture Congress (EHC), former Symposium on Horticulture in Europe (SHE) is one of the most important scientific event organised in Europe every four years since 2008, in the fields related to Horticulture under the auspices of ISHS (International Society for Horticultural Science). EHC2024 comprises 10 symposia where more than 700 participants presented more than 940 papers. The event gathered 1000 attendees (approximately) from most European countries, scientists, teachers, and engineers from both academic and industry sectors representing different disciplines, working on many horticultural crops.

The 41th edition of Macfrut, the International trade fair for the fruit and vegetable sector is scheduled to take place at the Rimini Expo Centre from 8 to 10 May 2024. MACFRUT is a leading trade fair for professionals in the national and international fruit and vegetable sectors. It’s a vertical exhibition that represents the entire supply chain, encompassing 9 sectors: Production & Trade, Machinery & Plants, Packaging, Agricultural Machinery, Greenhouses & Irrigation Systems, Spices and Herbs, Nursery & Seeds, Biostimulants, Logistics & Services. During the 3-day fair, Ri.Nova participated with their stand and presented AgriDataValue and informed the visitors.

The conference on the “Development of local communities” took place between 9^th and 10^th of May 2024 in Cluj, Romania. The purpose of this conference was to highlight the importance of acknowledging at a higher level the current state of the agriculture in Romanian village and countryside pointing out that many primary agro-food products do not find their place in what is meant by the marketing area or the production area. With this approach in mind, BIORO highlighted the opportunities presented by the AgriDataValue project and the significant improvements it can bring to Romanian agriculture.

Within the context of the AgriDataValue pilot activities, two SynField smart agriculture systems were installed in Italy: one in a vineyard and the other in an olive grove. Each installation comprises of a SynField X3 head node, a meteorological station, and a soil sensor (measuring soil moisture and soil temperature). The meteorological station records ambient temperature, relative humidity, wind intensity, wind direction, and rainfall. SynField can collect real-time environmental data prevailing in the area and provide valuable insights to the producers. The first SynField installation was conducted in a vineyard, located in Tebano (RA), within the Emilia-Romagna region (northeast Italy). Covering 7 hectares, the vineyard is situated on flat terrain with a clayey loam soil. Cultivation follows an integrated management approach, combining sustainable practices to ensure a balanced ecosystem. The varieties grown are Sangiovese and Trebbiano, both grafted onto KOBER 5BB rootstocks. Planting was carried out in 2021, using the Guyot training system. The spacing between rows is 2.6 meters, with 1 meter between vines within the same row.

The second SynField system was installed in an olive grove which comprises of around 2000 olive trees, cultivated on approximately 3.5 ha, which are part of the total 13.24 hectares of the company’s land. It falls within the territory of the DOP Colline di Romagna, particularly in the upper Rubicone area, 300 meters above sea level, in the municipality of Roncofreddo in the province of Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna region. The olive trees are cultivated using a traditional system, with a globe training shape. The main cultivar present in the field are Leccino, Correggiolo and Ascolana. For the processing phase, the company has its own oil mill, and also bottling and distribution activities are carried out in-house.

In this project we expected to collect a large and heterogeneous amount of data from various sources and environments. Analyzing and validating this data will increase the accuracy of the sensor in detecting meteorological data. Other than that, integrating the collected data with field surveys, conducted during the season to detect diseases, can provide valuable insights for developing specific prediction model that can be a big benefit for growers. Moreover, producers can already take advantage from the data collected to plan field management in a more precision and smart way increasing their sustainability and profitability.

The partners of the AgriDataValue project have gathered to address project related issues in a two-day meeting. The fourth plenary meeting hosted by Atos, in Madrid, Spain on the 16^th and 17^th of April 2024.

The 2-day plenary meeting featured a number of technical and co-creation sessions, in which a fruitful discussion took place among the partners of the consortium. The consortium reviewed the progress on all work packages and had the chance to address development issues. The partners presented the results achieved so far and the next steps towards the successful delivery of the AgriDataValue project.

Synelixis presented AgriDataValue at the 1st Automation & Robotics Exhibition in Greece! The exhibition A &R EXPO ’24 took place on 12-14 April 2024 at the Athens Metropolitan Expo. Synelixis had the opportunity to inform visitors about AgriDataValue project and the major contribution of precision agriculture to modern rural production. Visitors expressed high interest in the technologies incorporated by the AgriDataValue project such as Agri-environmental monitoring and precision farming solutions.