NEUROPUBLIC (NP) is an innovative IT company (with 100+ employees) specializing in integrated IT systems and high-end applications built on Cloud computing architecture, focusing on Smart Farming and Agriculture in general. NP has participated and is participating in many IT projects, including EU-funded (i.e., Horizon 2020, LIFE, FP7, FP6, such as PLOUTOS, QuantiFarm, LIFE GAIA Sense, IoF2020, SmartAgriHubs, etc.), and nationally-funded (i.e., SmartPeach, SmartOliveGrove, etc.) research projects, as well as projects funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) such as the Euro-VO Registry & RAWDAR. NP is a member of SEPE, as well as international networks such as AIOTI, BDVA, EARSC and Farm Europe, actively participating in working groups related to smart farming. NP has developed the information system of GAIA EPICHEIREIN, which is an important and efficient tool for meeting the information needs of every cooperative and private organization in the field of the agricultural economy. In 2013, NP launched the gaiasense Smart Farming project, aiming to provide a new generation of advice to farmers. NP has designed and developed the gaiatron telemetric stations, for monitoring environmental and terrestrial parameters. NP is the company that develops all the technological components of the gaiasense system, such as software, telemetric stations, and computing systems. In addition, it has operational responsibility for the development and operation of the system of stations throughout Greece. With more than 10 years of activity in IT for the agricultural sector, the company transforms its vast experience into a project that can practically reform Greek viticulture. Using parameters derived from the environmental sensor network, a decision support system based on NP’s cloud infrastructure supports the decision-making mechanism for producers’ daily farming practices, with an efficient and environmentally friendly approach through smart farming services.
GAIA EPICHEIREIN (GAIA) was founded in 2014 and is the result of a broad alliance between agricultural and cooperative organizations and partners from the IT sector (NEUROPUBLIC SA) and the banking sector (PIRAEUS BANK GROUP, through the Center for Sustainable Entrepreneurship EXELIXI SA), sharing the vision of a more sustainable and competitive national primary sector.
GAIA’s mission is to support Greek farmers and agricultural cooperatives to make a qualitative leap towards a more sustainable and competitive production model, investing in three strategic pillars: knowledge and innovation, entrepreneurship and cooperation.
In order to fulfill its mission, GAIA EPICHEIREIN provides the representatives of the national primary sector with information, technical support & high-quality services. The common denominator of all services is technological innovation, while they cover a wide range of needs of Greek farmers and agricultural cooperatives, from the optimization of their economic and environmental performance, through the adoption of innovative approaches, to their support for the successful and efficient utilization of national and EU financial instruments.
The Agricultural Cooperative of the Wider Area of Amyntaio (ASEPA) is a Cooperative Organization, a Legal Entity of Private Law, which was founded in 2012 by producers of agricultural products in the Florina regional unit, based in Amyntaio. ASEPA operates four producer groups – organizations: 1) Fruits and Vegetables, 2) Vine & Wine, 3) Cereal Maize and Coarse Animal Feed and 4) Potatoes and Legumes. The creation of producer groups – organizations aims to gather the products of member producers, to regulate prices to support their income and to ensure the appropriate means for the production, sorting, standardization, processing and marketing of the products, while ensuring their promotion at the market. ASEPA’s infrastructure includes: 1) The winery, the first cooperative winery in the northernmost wine-growing zone of Greece, which began its operation in 1959 and is today established as Amyntas Wines, continuing its successful winemaking course. A milestone in its wine journey was in 1971, when the experimental tests for the production of sparkling wine from Xinomavro first began, which led to excellent results. The following year, the Greek state officially recognized the viticultural zone of Amyntaio with the distinction P.D.O., while creating the first domestic P.D.O. rosé wine. Today, Amyntas Wines counts around 55 members-vinegrowers, who cultivate 100 hectares, with the aid of technology and the use of modern production methods. 2) The refrigerator-sorting center for the gathering, storage, standardization and packaging of fresh fruit, has approximately 65 members-peach growers, who cultivate 250 hectares. 3) Modern silos for drying, storing and preserving maize, grain and other cereals in Amyntaio and Filota. ASEPA’s activities cover the entire spectrum of production, processing and marketing of agricultural, consumer and livestock products. These also include the provision and marketing of agricultural supplies, means of agricultural production as well as the provision of services, such as for precision agricultural practices or tax and legal support. Through the individual Departments and Directorates of ASEPA, continuous development of the regional agricultural economy is achieved, along with implementation of support interventions for farmers in all conditions and close monitoring and information on the latest developments in the Common Agricultural Policy and the Rural Development Programme.
The Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Korinthia ACC SA (EASK) is the oldest cooperative organization in the regional unit of Corinthia. It was founded in 1919 with the aim of highlighting, through the cooperative concept, quality Corinthian products. In this context, it provides consulting services and guides its member producers with scientific staff in all stages of cultivation to produce high-quality products, while also supporting the subsequent promotion of the products on the market. Its headquarters are located at the 5th km of the Old Korinth-Argos National Road (Spano location). Its facilities cover an area of 1.7 hectares, which includes: offices, a state-of-the-art conference center, animal feed and fertilizer warehouses, an agricultural supply and fertilizer store and an olive oil refinery, where quality assurance (ISO) and food safety (HACCP) systems are implemented. It also has pesticide and fertilizer warehouses in Chiliomodi, Agios Vasilios and Ancient Korinth. In addition, EASK has been recognized as a Producers’ Organization, for the fruits and vegetables category. It trades exclusively in apricots, citrus fruits and raisins, the bulk of which is channeled into the processing industry. For this purpose, EASK has been organizing producer groups for years with the aim of certifying them both according to the national AGRO 2-1 & 2-2 standards and according to the GLOBALGAP protocol. Its activities include the export of extra virgin olive oil, under the brands Corinthia Land and Lais, to the world market, while also extending into the fields of trading agricultural supplies, fertilizers and animal feed, as well as trading and subsidy systems. Recently, EASK expanded into the retail sale of fine Greek food.
The Plant Production Laboratory of the Department of Food Science and Technology of the University of Patras was founded in 2001. In a short period of time, it managed to develop and is today an important research center not only for the Region of Western Greece but also for the entire Greek territory. The research activities of the Plant Production laboratory are focused on: a) the study of ecophysiological-biochemical mechanisms of adaptation of plants under abiotic stress conditions as well as precision agriculture, b) the control of pesticide residues in different matrices (water, soil, plant tissues, agricultural products) and c) the authentication and the certification of the geographical origin of agricultural products and food stuffs. In the context of precision agriculture, research focuses on increasing the efficiency of irrigation water use, with consequent reductions in production costs and the environmental footprint of cultivation. More specifically, a holistic approach to irrigation strategy is applied based on (a) the implementation of innovative methodologies for the calculation of irrigation needs, either at the level of the area or at the level of the agricultural holding, (b) the comparative evaluation – experimental documentation of the results concerning measurements of ecophysiological and allometric parameters, and (c) the practical application according to the prediction of irrigation needs in each crop. The Plant Production laboratory has acquired, mainly, through its participation in a number of competitive research programs – such as LIFE, EDK-EPANEK, SSK – important research infrastructure and state-of-the-art equipment to fulfill the above mentioned research goals. As a result of this infrastructure exploitation and laboratory staff research effort, numerous scientific papers have been published in Greek and foreign scientific journals, while interdisciplinary collaborations with foreign research institutes have also been established.