CYPRUSAVES

CYPRUSAVES- Tools for water-saving and field management of Cypriot vineyards

CHALLENGE

The project aims to address significant challenges of the Cyprus agricultural sector, focusing on wine production. These are:

• Adaptation to climate change in terms of water saving, soil protection and pests’ outbreak.
• Digitalization and modernization of the Cypriot wine-making sector, as most of the Cypriot farmers continue to be traditional and use conventional practices. Simple tools and decision-making methods are rarely used, while more advanced tools (e.g., web GIS tools, vegetation index, UAV, satellite images, etc.) are not utilized.
• Limited networking and cooperation between stakeholders of the same or different sectors for sharing knowledge, information, materials.

AIM

The aims are:

• Development of a decision support system for field management, a web app for water footprint estimation as well as services for farmers’ communication and data sharing.
• Maximizing water efficiency and address water scarcity.
• Sustainable management of soil and water resources at field level.
• Reduction of inputs (water, pesticides, fertilizers) and production costs.
• Boosting clustering and data/knowledge sharing between farmers and other stakeholders.
• Enhancing digitalization of Cypriot agricultural sector.

HOW

CypruSaves starts with the description of the 69 pilot fields in terms of operational parameters, and characterization of soil and water resources used during the growing seasons. NDVI, plants stress and parasitic diseases will be determined by using UAV equipped with multispectral and thermal cameras. Meteorological stations and soil sensors will be installed to measure soil electrical conductivity and humidity. Collected data will feed a database and different GIS thematic maps per field will be developed. At the same time, the partners will cooperate with DEMETER experts for feeding DEMETER enablers with the collected data and develop the CypruSaves system, a web app for water and field management. Thereafter, the tools will be tested and validated.   CypruSaves will then demonstrate the developed tools and services in a real working environment with the engagement and training of the fields’ owners.

BENEFIT

CypruSaves is user-driven and will focus on developing solutions and tools that address stakeholders’ needs. The project will reinforce the competitive advantages of local smallholdings through restructuring of the operational and cooperation schemes of local producers, the creation of value chains, and production patterns based on sustainable field practices. This will enable stakeholders to acquire a strong Identity in the market, increase visibility and create new opportunities.

Cooperation clusters and chains will be structured according to local needs and with the active participation of the interested parties. By learning to work together towards common goals, stakeholders will ensure socio-economic benefits. Participation, information sharing, and efforts to comply with environmental goals will provide benefits to all, namely reduction of production costs due to sustainable use of natural resources, economy of scale due to the development of cooperative relations and increase of products price due to their environmentally friendly profile.