Presentation of gaiasense at the Verde.tec exhibition The 5th edition of Verde.tec, the exhibition that aspires to become the ultimate meeting point in Greece for environmental technologies, the circular economy and “smart” cities, was successfully completed on 19 March 2023 at MEC Peania. With more exhibitors and a richer programme of events, this year’s Verde.tec brought together for three days some of the most dynamic companies in our country – and not only – that have put knowledge and innovation at the service of the environment, while showcasing the technologies that are leading the effort to protect it. The aim is to exchange scientific information and know-how, as well as to highlight innovative products and services, through workshops and seminars and with the participation of the business world, municipalities and regions, scientific bodies and educational institutions. In the framework of the parallel events of the exhibition, on Saturday 18 March, Vassilis Pyrgiotis, Head of Co-funded Projects of NEUROPUBLIC, presented the innovative system of smart farming gaiasense and, more specifically, its application in the EU co-funded project LIFE GAIA Sense. The LIFE GAIA Sense project, which was completed a few months ago, involved the application of smart farming in 18 regions in Greece, Spain and Portugal and in nine types of crops and aimed, among other things, to reduce the impact of agricultural production on natural resources and to protect the environment, while at the same time supporting circular economy models. Indeed, the project and its results highlighted the importance of digital transformation of agricultural production in order to ensure productivity and quality, enhance competitiveness and reduce climate and environmental impacts. It is worth noting that the exhibition was held with the support of the European Parliament’s office in Athens and was under the auspices of 34 Ministries and Agencies.
NEUROPUBLIC’s gaiasense at a B2B event in Jordan for olive systems The second B2B event on multifunctional olive systems organized by the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) of Jordan, the Regional Forestry Agency for Land and Environment of Sardinia (Fo.Re.S.T.A.S.) and the LIVINGAGRO project, was successfully concluded on Tuesday, March 14th in Amman, Jordan. The event, which was attended by representatives of research and technological institutions, academics, farmers’ cooperatives, politicians and entrepreneurs from the olive and olive oil sector, was a unique opportunity to bring to the fore the rising importance of agroforestry in olive groves, to open the dialogue on advanced technology in olive cultivation and to find new business partners who are active in the Mediterranean countries. NEUROPUBLIC could not be absent from the interesting conference, which, in the context of highlighting the quality characteristics of olive products through the adoption of new technologies, pioneers with products and services specially designed for the olive grower, wherever he is. In fact, Vassilis Pyrgiotis, Head of Co-funded Projects at NEUROPUBLIC, spoke about the company’s innovative smart farming system gaiasense, which aims to implement and utilize best practices in order to reduce inputs and production costs, improve the product produced and protect the environment through the rational use of natural resources and minimize the carbon footprint. Apart from the potential of gaiasense against olive pests and the particular challenges of our time, such as climate change, Mr. Pyrgiotis also referred to the EU co-funded LIFE GAIA Sense project and presented the results obtained during the project. In particular, the application of smart farming was analysed in 18 regions in Greece, Spain and Portugal and on nine types of crops, including the olive sector. The “verdict” was impressive: after the adoption of smart farming advice by NEUROPUBLIC’s gaiasense system, a 20.23% drop in irrigation costs was achieved, on average, reaching 33.76% in some cases. In addition, there was an average reduction of 21.89% in fertilization costs, which in some cases reached 40.84%. At the same time, there was also a significant reduction of 33.72% in the cost of pesticides against specific crop pests and diseases, while in terms of energy consumption costs, the average was -20.18%. Finally, thanks to smart farming practices, there was an improved nitrogen use efficiency of up to 30% depending on the crop, which led to improved air quality and less environmental pollution. At the same time, Mr. Pyrgiotis presented two more projects coordinated by GAIA EPICHEIREIN, Ploutos and QuantiFarm, which aim to achieve a more sustainable agriculture through technological solutions such as the gaiasense system that has a key role in their pilot applications. The event included a panel of distinguished speakers, among others, and gave participants the opportunity to coordinate face-to-face business meetings with institutions and companies, as well as LIVINGAGRO representatives, in order to ask questions, receive clarifications and engage in more in-depth discussions with experts.