Public Dissemination Event: Prospects & Challenges of Carbon Farming

The event was hosted at the Commercial Chamber of Lesvos, Greece, and chaired by Prof. Iosif Botetzagias, Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, Greece, & TheoRI Senior Researcher. The participants were welcomed by Dimitris Voloudakis, Capacity Building Director of New Agriculture New Generation, who explained the aim and framework of the Carbon Farming Hub Erasmus+ project. Then the floor was given to the three expert invited speakers participants who presented the policy, environmental and farming-related aspects of carbon farming.

Key Speakers & Topics

Associate Prof. George Vlachos, Agricultural Policy specialist, Department of Rural Economy & Development, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece

Prof. Vlachos presented:

·        How carbon farming relates to existing EU-level agro-environmental schemes

·        What is the existing legal framework in Greece regarding certification and funding of carbon-farming initiatives

Prof. Athanasios Kizos, Rural Environment specialist, Department of Geography, University of the Aegean, Greece

Prof. Kizos provided in-depth insights into:

·        How carbon farming could enhance the environmental and soil health of the farm

·        What carbon farming would entail in the context of olive cultivation, Lesvos’ primary agricultural crop.

Mr. George Kokkinos, Director of the olive-producers’ co-operative NILEAS, Messenia, Greece

Mr Kokkinos, a seasoned olive farmer producer (with over 20 years of experience) presented his cooperative’s initiatives over the past decade to reduce olive farming and olive production carbo footprint. By providing hands-on examples and relating to the olive farmers real-life experiences, he offered much welcomed and practical insights to the generic/scientific framework explained by the previous two experts.