Category: Strategic Initiatives

The program leveraging its significant know-how and networking with stakeholders, organizes cutting-edge conferences in the agri-food sector.

PAST CONFERENCES

31/1/2020: New Agriculture – New Cooperatives. Towards a new paradigm of collaboration for the new generation. 

The program “New Agriculture for a New Generation” in collaboration with HELEXPO and under the auspices of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, co-organized in the framework of the 28th Agrotica (January 31, 2020), the conference “New Agriculture – New Cooperatives. Towards a new paradigm of collaboration for the new generation”.

Greek and foreign experts, from Europe and the United States, partners and researchers, shared knowledge and experiences in order to form a new platform for designing competitive cooperative schemes, which through their operation will be tools of development for the industry and the country as a whole.

The use of plastics in agriculture is extensive since they are used in various instances. Pollution caused by agricultural plastics is one of the biggest challenges as currently only about 10 percent of farm plastics are recycled worldwide.

The situation in Greece is characterized by deficiencies in the recording of quantities produced and used, while disposal on the ground and open fire are the dominant management practice, with the remaining farm plastic waste ending up in landfills.

EU regulations are -and will continue to do so- imposing strict rules for the protection of the environment. The Green Deal is already tapping into these issues. Developments will have direct impact both on agricultural practices and the ability of agrifood businesses to receive subsidies. They are already affecting the competitiveness of producers ability to do business abroad.

New Agriculture for a New Generation has embarked upon a nation-wide effort around responsible waste management of farm plastics.

Our goals are:

• to support young farmers in ensuring their future business competitiveness and
• to showcase that the agricultural sector can be part of the solution for the environment.

To this end, in a joint initiative with the Athanassios Laskaridis Charitable Foundation (ALCF) and with the support of the Hellenic Crop Protection Association (HCPA) we have organized a working meeting titled “Plastics in Agriculture” on December 9, 2019 in Athens. At the meeting, all new developments and concerns in the field of farm plastics were presented and discussed by experts and institutional representatives from Greece and abroad, as well as representatives of the ministries and recycling companies. It was made clear that, although the problem has been documented, there is no proper planning to address farm plastic waste.

As a next step, the “New Agriculture for a New Generation” program has commissioned an exoert environmentalist, Mrs Christina Kontaxi to conduct research on the use of farm plastics in Greece and come up with a brief report on the situation in the country and the EU regulatory framework, as an initial mapping tool in order to find solutions for farm plastics waste.

Based on the above, the “New Agriculture for the New Generation” program undertook the initiative to implement a pilot program for responsible waste management of farm plastics.

This program will include:

• Information and awareness raising activities
• Pilot scheme for collection, transportation and recycling management of empty pesticide containers

This initiative will be implemented in collaboration with the Hellenic Crop Protection Association and with the support of Athanassios Laskaridis Charitable Foundation, Captain Vasillis and Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation and the Ministry of Rural Development and Food.

The program “New Agriculture for a New Generation” facilitates the discussion and collaboration among key players and connects the dots between the users, recyclers, policy makers and institutional actors.

Enhancing the Position of High Nutritional Value Products

The action “Enhancing the Position of High Nutritional Value Products” aims to highlight the value of Greek agricultural products by identifying and adding health claims, thereby promoting their exports. It represents a structured approach to documenting health claims for products and supporting local production to further enhance competitiveness.

Increasing the competitiveness of high nutritional value products creates excellent prospects for the overall development of rural areas, ensuring added value for the products themselves. Additionally, through this action, it is possible to support other sectors that will benefit from increased economic activity, such as logistics and tourism.

The action is designed and implemented by the organization New Agriculture New Generation and the University of Thessaly (UTH), with the support of the National Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (ETHAE). The project leader is Dr. Dimitrios Kouretas, Professor at UTH, Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology.

Action Objective

Highlighting health claims in local Greek products will increase their added value. However, in most cases, these properties have not been investigated. This specific action constitutes a structured approach to documenting health claims and supporting local production to enhance competitiveness.

The research action is addressed to:

• Municipalities
• Regions
• Cooperatives & other collaborative schemes
• Companies and producers

Action Structure

The project is executed in two distinct phases.

The first phase involves field research, laboratory analysis procedures, communication with the local agri-food system, and informing the interested public. The project will focus on 8 local products of high nutritional value:

• Pieria Kiwis (PGI)
• Naoussa Peaches (PDO)
• Zagora Pelion Apples (PDO)
• Maleme Chania Crete Oranges (PDO)
• Prespes Florina Beans (giant elephants) (PGI)
• Cretan Stamnagathi
• Sykouri Almonds from the Ossa area
• Edessa Cherries

In the second phase, the project focuses on business support and developing a comprehensive strategy for the commercial promotion of the health claims that will add value to the produced products.

It is clear that identifying and adding health claims to Greek products will give them significant added value, especially for exports.

Duration of Action

The duration of the research program is 12 months.

More Information

Dr. Dimitrios Kouretas, Professor, University of Thessaly

Tel: 2410565277, 6947892709

Email: [email protected]

Kalliopi Karaboiki, Capacity Building Associate, New Agriculture New Generation

Tel: 2106917986, 6972096122

Email: [email protected]