Nicosia: An integrated and innovative information system for monitoring crop and soil health and carbon dioxide emissions from agricultural soils in Cyprus was developed during the project “GreenCarbonCY: Transitioning to Green agriculture by assessing and mitigating Carbon emissions from agricultural soils in Cyprus’, which was implemented with funding from the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF), in the framework of the CO-DEVELOP Programme.
According to Cyprus News Agency, this innovative system was based on remote sensing technologies, hydrogeological models and forecasting tools. Activities focused on the implementation of sustainable carbon farming practices in three pilot plots with olives, citrus, and cereals, as well as on the evaluation of measures to improve energy efficiency and enhance the circular economy in the agricultural sector.
Project Coordinator, Dr. Marios Tzouvaras, and Project Manager, Dr. Ioannis Varvaris, noted that “the results of the GreenCarbonCY project pave new ways for a green, resilient, and digitally supported agriculture in Cyprus, strengthening national efforts to protect the environment and adopt sustainable agricultural practices, with the ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence being at the forefront of this effort.”
The project consortium consists of the ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence (project coordinator), Cellock Ltd., and the Agricultural Research Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Environment, as well as Foreign Research Organisations, the Interbalkan Environment Centre (i-BEC) from Greece, and the Green Growth Platform from North Macedonia.
According to the press release issued by the ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence, in the context of the project’s completion, a final workshop was successfully organised on 29 April at the Centre of Excellence premises, with the participation of agricultural stakeholders and farmers’ representatives, during which the project partners presented the technologies and tools developed, explaining how they work. Participants also had the opportunity to watch the demonstration of the online decision support platform.