smartHEALTH offers digital transformation consulting services to private and public sector actors in the broader healthcare ecosystem. It focuses on the needs of: a) companies active in the fields of eHealth, medical and biomedical informatics, bioimaging, diagnostics and drug design, b) the pharmaceutical industry, c) healthcare organizations (hospitals, medical and diagnostic centers, primary care, social and elderly care, etc.), d) professional health care organizations, e) public health authorities, f) patient associations g) regulatory authorities, h) insurance companies and others.
The project's aim is to disseminate the knowledge generated by the Institute of Agrobiotechnology in Thessaloniki to the cross-border cooperation area through a series of innovative technology transfer events. The topic is that of Agricultural Genomics and the field of application that of dairy products and milk production with focus to the area of Rodopi. The Exhibition Research Institute will use its experience to develop new forms of events in order to bridge the gap between the research community, the agriculturalists and the younger generation of farmers as they will be represented by the Bulgarian National Association "Mountains' Milk." The recent advances in agrobiotechnology actually change the way that the food change and industry will walk in the future. It also influences the way that the consumers perceive food and the way of distributing and marketing the food into the market.
Careful collection of seeds of the local populations of giants and elephants will be done by traditional and diligent growers of the area. From the genetic material that will be collected, two experimental fields of selection and observation will be installed in the area. Experimental fields will be isolated from other crops to avoid accidental crossbreeding. The improvement works will eventually create two new populations (varieties), which will have the characteristics of the old local populations of the area, improved in terms of the appearance of their seeds and improved in terms of their productivity.
The aim of the research project is to restore the genetic purity and improve the local population of beans "giants" Prespa Florina and the local population of beans "elephants" Prespa Florina so that the new populations (varieties) of the resulting populations will have all the characteristics of the region, improved in the appearance of their seeds (color, shape, size) to be such that is sought after by the market and improved in their productivity in fruit.
Provision of cultivation services on the farm of KETHEA ITHACA
The purpose of the GrEaTest is to improve the local population of beans "Giants" Prespa and the local population of beans "Elephants" Prespa by using new cultivation techniques and also new - omic technologies so that the new populations (varieties) will have all the characteristics that will emerge of traditional indigenous peoples without foreign involvement and to be entered in the National and Community Catalog of Varieties to protect themselves from future risks of genetic mixing and loss.
The originality of BIOPROSPECT relies on promoting the use of a cross-border bioprospect assessment methodological framework and economic valuation model. The main aims of the project are to explore and document the bioprospects of forested protected areas and the ways of sustainable capitalization as a mean for their wise management and conservation. --to encourage cooperation partnerships and networking among economic development planners and PA managers, to develop a cross-border bioprospect assessment methodological framework and economic valuation model in order to achieve outcomes which benefit both economic development and conservation.
Local products contribute to the adoption of the 'identity' of an area, creating links between the products, the characteristics and the culture of the place of production, thus highlighting the local 'agri-food' heritage, which is particularly important for the geographical areas of the North Aegean and οf Cyprus. Recently consumers turn to local - traditional products, with unique and special quality characteristics. Increasing the demand for such products is an economic opportunity for areas able to properly differentiate their products by utilizing the endogenous potential of the place for their production and promotion. This interest, however, is often exploited as there are products that appear on the market as local-traditional without actually being. Scientific documentation of the authenticity of local products in relation to the characteristics and place of production, both for certified (PDO, PGI, EIA, OPAP) and for non-certified products, is an immediate priority of the cross-border area as it can be a key for growth. The aim of the AGRO-IDENTITY project is to enhance the competitiveness of agri-food companies by identifying the authenticity of local traditional products in the cross-border area and building mechanisms to strengthen agricultural entrepreneurship for their commercial use in domestic and international markets. The innovative approach of the project is based on the combined use of: a) Genetic identity, b) Isotopic footprint and c) Microbial profile, which makes it possible to verify the authenticity in relation to the characteristics of products.
The biotechnology of microalgae has gained considerable importance in recent decades, as they represent a largely untapped reservoir of novel and valuable bioactive compounds. The biological and chemical diversity of the microalgae, has been the source of unique bioactive molecules with the potential for industrial development as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, nutritional supplements. The proposed project will combine both basic and applied research in the fields of –omics technologies, biochemistry, applied and enzyme biotechnology in order to exploit microalgae resources for the development: 1) Natural UV sunscreens, based on algae mycosporine-like aminoacids, 2) Algae-based nutraceuticals as functional foods and food supplements, 3) Algae-derived proteases with applications in cosmetic (skin repair enzymes) and food industry. The implementation of the project will offer to the involved academic and SMSs the opportunity to translate scientific research into well defined knowledge-based ‘green’ products and analytical tools. Apart from scientific objectives, the project will enhance the European’s capacity in the field of Blue Growth and Marine Biotechnology by exchanging interdisciplinary knowledge, developing and disseminating joint research activities, thus strengthening the intersectoral links between academia and industry for sustainable growth.
Plants are essential for many aspects of our daily lives as they provide food, medicines, and construction materials. Plants also affect us negatively through pollen and resulting allergies, poisonous species in gardens and pastures and as adulterants in herbal medicines, and as invasive aliens in marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments. Understanding and valorising botanical biodiversity requires accurate, modern and rapid assessment approaches. Plant diversity worldwide is under threat from destruction of natural habitats due to human population growth related consequences as well as climate change impacts on sensitive ecosystems. It is in our capacity to study, map and describe this diversity, and plant systematics and taxonomy has suffered from a loss of research and institutional funds as research has become more competitive and taxonomy was considered too descriptive to compete with emerging fundamental research. In taxonomy, a point has been reached where more and more taxonomists are working from retirement, and knowledge is lost when experts retire without transmitting their experience-gained knowledge to a younger generation. Natural History Museums and Botanic Gardens risk becoming barren repositories of past diversity and associated knowledge.
The project aims at enhancing the cultivation of mastic trees for mastic gum production, located in the southern part of the island of Chios, with new elements using innovative molecular methods.
Τhe present research proposal aims firstly to the traceability of Greek olive varieties, in order to certify the origin of the final products and, secondly, to the development and application of modern analytical techniques in order to ensure the quality of edible olives (using an alkaline solution or treatment with brine) and the documentation of the health claim for oils that meet the criteria of the EFSA, with aim the protection of consumers from false or misleading labels in olive products and olive oil.
Legumes4Proteins proposes, adopts and implements a holistic approach of the production of leguminous legumes in combination with their use in animal nutrition in order to replace soybeans. The project plan includes exploitation and evaluation of genetic material, collection of lupine populations from regions of Greece and their comparative evaluation with commercial varieties. This material will be used by the Genetic Material Bank of ELGO Demeter.
Aim of the project will be to evaluate the agronomic and quality characteristics in 143 foreign and Greek cultivars of peach, nectarine, cherry, apple and pear, that are established in an experimental orchard. Canning peach is a fruit of great economic importance for our country; however, production is based on 8 cultivars in which there are several mutations. Aim of this project will be to isolate mutations with improved characteristics, perform phenotypic and genotypic characterization and to create parental collections for obtaining budding sticks. The second participant company in the project is the canning association ‘DELKOF SA’, which represent a cluster of canning industries and will benefit from the availability of better quality fruit material to produce quality products and extend their operations.
The project seeks to develop novel chees products by using local chees and local herbs in an effort to exploit the local biodiversity. The new products (combination of different chees types with the local aromatic plants) will be tested for their flavour, taste, quality and their microbiome which adds special quality characteristics to the final product.
The aim of the proposal is to reinstall the cultivation of sesame in Greece, the repatriation of Greekvarieties, the application of new omics technologies to understand the molecular mechanisms that control the main biosynthetic pathways and the resistance to dry-heat conditions, the increase of employment and the development of the economy through the creation of new varieties and new products.
The project SmartBeeKeep aims to capitalize on the latest advances in Information and Communication Technologies in beekeeping and biodiversity studies by proposing an innovative platform that will facilitate beekeeping activity and research in Greece and internationally. The main objectives are: (a) to provide tools for participatory mapping of beekeeping flora and a study of local biodiversity (for selected plant species, the approximate estimation of flowering time at an early stage will also be explored), (b) providing new innovative services to beekeeping community (Beekeepers, laboratories analysing bee products and beekeeping researchers); and (c) evaluation of applications through pilot application in two study areas of the Prefecture of Thessaloniki, to demonstrate that local biodiversity in combination with 'smart' beekeeping can lead to high added-value products (production increase, quality optimization)and to savings in management and production.
Even though Mediterranean food products are generally recognized for their high nutritional and sensorial value, there is a lack of trust concerning the origin of raw materials (eg. fruits, vegetables, livestock, fish) and the quality of the processes starting from cultivation and breeding until packaging and transport. This lack of trust poses obstacles to the sustainability and competitiveness of small and medium agro-enterprises (SMAEs) into local and global value chains (LVCs and GVCs). The major drivers of changes in the field of Mediterranean food products trade are the consumers themselves at international level, given the fact that their knowledge and awareness lead to the increasing demand for high quality food products with proven origin and documented quality. The markets around the world are adapting to these novel needs and the food producers must also be adapted in order to be part of a supply chain where chain of custody is a critical factor. The solution that Med Food TTHubs brings is geared to achieve, over a 36-month work plan: Safer and more sustainable Mediterranean food products for people around the world, Full transparency concerning the traceability and authenticity of these products towards the creation of an end-to-end trust-chain in the food sector.
SMEs represent the economic backbone for both countries and are the major job creators in the cross-border area. As the 2018 SBA Fact Sheets of the European Commission for both countries demonstrate, SMEs account for 65.2 % of value added and 75.4 % of employment for Bulgaria and 63.6 % of value added and 85.2 % of employment for Greece respectively, exceeding the EU average of 56.8 % and 66.4 %. Those figures emphasize the importance of SME entrepreneurship and make even more prominent the problem of a lack of sufficient funding schemes and solutions for business in the area. Both countries have struggled with the implementation of the Small Business Act with Greece being among the weakest performing countries in access to finance 'second chance' environment. Bulgaria shows a performance that is below the EU average, again mainly due to poor access to finance and investment capital It becomes evident that SMEs are facing major obstacles in ensuring financial capacity. Also financing from the private sector has been plagued by the ongoing after-effects of the economic crisis, that occurred mainly on Greek soil but created a spill-over effect in the cross-border region, where the regional economies on both sides had created long-established and complex interlinks. Overall Bu4Inno objective is to develop an improved entrepreneurial support system for agricultural SMEs in the cross-border area which is primarily devoted to the agricultural sector with a great variety of goods being produced whilst a large portion of the populace is either wholly or partially involved in their production.
In the frame of this project metabolomic profile analsyis for patata Naxoy will be performed along with transcriptomics and metagemomics in order to identify the key elements that contribute to its unique quality.
Educated people is an investment and the most efficient instrument for building innovation capacity and achieving sustainable economic growth. The CB area possesses great advantages still remaining largely untapped: agricultural production and the relevant, processing sectors are two of the strongest and most prominent competitive advantage of the CB area. The CB area, being the host of some of the largest Universities and Research Institutions, produces consistently i) a substantial stream of graduates in a steady pace ii) valid and viable innovation techniques. The project proposes the intense training of graduates and post-graduates in innovative agricultural practices and developments, in entrepreneurial skills, through boot camps and accelerations programs and their assistance in setting up start-ups. Furthermore, the project proposes the establishment of permanent networks of the quatraple helix, academia, industry, public sector and society, structures that will stay operational after the project's completion, to support existing and future graduates in their innovation and business ideas implementation.
