On April 29 and 30, 2025, the partners of the LIFE-AgrOassis project met in Thessaly. The meeting took place at the Department of Agriculture, Crop Production and Rural Environment of the University of Thessaly, in Volos, Greece.

The urgent need for the agricultural sector to adapt to the climate crisis is now undeniable. According to a recent announcement by the European Union’s Copernicus programme, drought conditions in Europe and the Mediterranean are worsening, with the central and southeastern parts of the continent in a critical state.

During the meeting, all partners presented the progress of the project, discussed the results of actions in the implementation areas, and coordinated and planned the next steps until the project’s completion. A visit and tour also took place in the project’s action areas in Thessaly, including the area managed by the TOEV Tavropou.

On behalf of the project, we warmly thank our Thessalian partners for their excellent organization and generous hospitality. We also thank all partners whose presentations, observations, and comments made a substantial contribution to shaping the project’s next stages.

The LIFE-AgrOassis project is co-financed by the European Union and aims to support agriculture in areas at risk of desertification due to climate change, such as Cyprus, Thessaly, and Crete. The project is based on three main actions to support agriculture against the impacts of climate change: reduced or zero soil tillage, the installation of windbreaks and hedgerows on degraded land, and the creation of pilot composting units.

The LIFE-AgrOassis project involves four departments of the Ministry of Agriculture (Agricultural Research Institute, Departments of Environment, Agriculture, and Forests), the KES Research Centre, the Laona Foundation, the Open University of Cyprus, the University of Thessaly, the Cyprus Farmers’ Union, the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, the company Paradeisiotis, the Municipality of Sitia, and the Local Land Improvement Organization (TOEB) of Tavropos in Karditsa.