Our first five years of operation have been a period of hard work, commitment, development and substantial contribution to the establishment of a modern landscape in the Greek Agrifood sector. We launched our activities in 2018, supported by the critical initiative and founding grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), the strategic partnership with Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey (USA), and all those pursuing the advancement of the agrifood sector in Greece.

Today, we are co-shaping the future of the sector, making agriculture and food systems a career of choice for young people. Acknowledged as a European best practice with multiple awards and international, catalytic partnerships with major ecosystem actors, we transfer know-how, create synergies and stand up for the livelihood of rural communities.

Bearing a sense of responsibility and pride, today, we demonstrate significant impact, with more than 30,000 beneficiaries, 35.7 million euros overall footprint in the Greek economy and 3.9 leverage effect, contributing substantially to the transformation of the Greek Agrifood sector. I am profoundly touched by this advancement, which, at the same time, amplifies our responsibility for the future, as humanity urgently needs to respond to the greatest challenge of our time: to ensure the production of safe and adequate food to nourish the increasing global population, while combating climate crisis; and safeguarding the survival of local communities.

Initiatives like ours must be complementary to the work of the State. We pledge to continue implementing activities of the highest standards and increased impact that transform rural communities and agrifood subsectors, and to invest in the development of a business mindset that promotes food processing as a catalyst for increased added value. We will continue to support capacity building and lifelong learning along with the empowerment of sector leaders, a pressing national need. We will continue to substantially strengthen sectoral dialogue and the development of synergies, bridging research with production, and seeking the meaningful engagement of the private sector.

We are privileged to share our journey with esteemed partners: Greek and international academic institutions, research bodies, leading Greek and international companies and philanthropic institutions, prominent professionals, cooperatives, regional and local authorities, as well as public institutions with whom we share the same Vision for shaping a modern landscape in the Greek Agrifood sector.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the SNF, that is still the lead supporter of our cause, all those who believed in us from the beginning and all those who joined us later, as we are bound together by a common purpose. Above all, I would like to thank my colleagues in the organization whose passion, dedication, integrity, effectiveness and inexhaustible creativity, support our beneficiaries and their dreams, empowering them to create the future of the sector.

Effie Lazaridou

Chief Executive Officer

You can read the Report HERE.