The area of Trifylia is once again at the center of innovative research of leading university institutions and companies in the agricultural sector in collaboration with the Directorate of Agricultural Economy and Veterinary Services. The aim of the research project planned for the area, whose funding proposal will be submitted in the near future, has to do with the better utilization of water resources.
More specifically, small but technologically advanced meteorological stations will be placed in lands of 4 local producers, from where data on the microclimate will be collected. Moreover, with modern humidity sensors and thermal cameras that will be mounted on a drone, which will fly over the crops at regular intervals, the necessary data will be collected to investigate what are the necessary amounts of water for rational irrigation.
To do all this, there is a response from farmers in the area, who have agreed to participate in the research project - as they say they are open to new technologies and consider them tools for their work. Yesterday at noon an informative meeting of all stakeholders was held at the offices of the Directorate of Agricultural Economy and Veterinary Services of Trifylia in Kyparissia, where the entire research program planned to be implemented in Trifylia and specifically in areas of Terpsithea, Agrili and Filiatra was analyzed in detail.
Speaking about this research, Panagiotis Philippopoulos, Assistant Professor at the Department of Computer Engineering of the TEI of Peloponnese, said:
"We are here for the launch of a research and innovative project, which was submitted as part of " Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation "recently and received a very good evaluation. We participate, the TEI of Peloponnese, the Agricultural University of Athens, 3 companies and 4 producers in the area of Trifylia. An area selected for its importance in the production of horticultural products.
The main objective of the program is to develop a system for dynamic irrigation planning and saving of irrigation water: a very critical issue that is intensified by over-pumping and salinization. It is also crucial at the producer level, as it may have the right tools to regulate irrigation for economic reasons as well. But also, at the regional level, in order to formulate a water policy ".
Stavros Alexandris, Associate Professor at the Agricultural University of Athens in the field of Water Resources, pointed out:
"The program we want to implement is about being able to save huge amounts of water, which are essentially wasted during irrigation. Modern systems of micro-meteorological stations will be installed, from where we will take all the climatic observations throughout the program. But we will also have aerial observations via drone about the temperature of the foliage, to see the actual water consumption of each crop. The new technologies will be a tool in the hands of the producers, but also of the state that will give directions ".
The importance of such research in the area was pointed out by the director of Agricultural Economy and Veterinary of Trifylia, Antonis Paraskevopoulos, emphasizing:
"We want in this difficult part, due to climate change, which concerns the irrigation of crops, to take advantage of new technologies. We believe that the data we will obtain will be utilized later, supporting the producers in the area ".
From the participating producers, Babis Papadopoulos, transferring his experience from a similar program in which he had participated, stressed that two years ago they had done a similar experiment and it was found that the crop needed only 30% of the water with which it was irrigated. These kinds of researches, he stressed, benefit the region and the producers by saving water.
Furthermore, Costas Malamos stressed that "it is a very pioneering and innovative program, as it will improve the cultivation and save water. We as producers are willing to participate, expecting not only to improve techniques and performance, but also to help the environment. "
Eleftheria online.gr (article in greek)