End of the second planting season of LIFE-AgrOassis
The second planting season of the European project LIFE-AgrOassis has been successfully completed with the planting of 400 aromatic plants in the Pyrga area. This planting took place on Friday, February 7, 2025, by project partners.
During the second planting season, which began in November 2024, hundreds of volunteers from various companies and organizations participated. Specifically, 12 tree-planting events were organized, and a total of more than 3,000 deep-rooted plants and 1,000 aromatic plants were planted in areas of Pera Orinis (Nicosia) and Pyrga (Larnaca).
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all our volunteers who participated in our activities, especially the National Guard (GEEF), UNFICYP, the organizations BirdLife Cyprus and 300,000 Trees in Limassol, and the companies Vassos Eliades Ltd, K Energy by Karantonis, @CDB Bank – Cyprus Development Bank, Eurobank, Lordos Beach Hotel and Spa, and Golden Bay Beach Hotel, as well as the students of UCLan Cyprus and the B’ Technical and Vocational School of Limassol. Thanks to your valuable support, we have once again achieved our goals and ensured the project’s success! Thank you!
The planting events are held under the auspices of the Commissioner for the Environment and Animal Welfare, Mrs. Antonia Theodosiou.
Among its activities, the LIFE-AgrOassis project promotes the reintroduction of traditional hedgerows around agricultural lands using deep-rooted plants. The plants are grown in special Deep Root Training Tubes at the Department of Forests, under the scientific guidance of the KES Research Centre. This innovative method, tested for the first time in Europe, reduces irrigation needs and enhances plant resilience to drought.
As part of this effort, last winter, 3,200 trees and shrubs were planted along the edges of fields degraded by desertification, covering a total of 7.6 km of hedgerows. This year, even more deep-rooted trees and shrubs will be planted in November and December with the help of approximately 300 volunteers in areas of Pera Orinis (Nicosia) and Pyrga-Aglisides (Larnaca). The project aims to plant a total of 18,000 trees and shrubs in Cyprus by 2026, creating approximately 30 km of hedgerows.
The LIFE-AgrOassis project, with partners from Cyprus, Thessaly, and Crete, is co-financed by the European Union and aims to support agriculture in areas at risk of desertification due to climate change.
Project partners include the Ministry of Agriculture (led by the Agricultural Research Institute and with the participation of the Departments of Environment, Agriculture, and Forests), the Open University of Cyprus, KES Research Centre, the Cyprus Farmers’ Union (EKA), the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, the University of Thessaly, the Municipality of Sitia, Paradisiotis Ltd, TOEV Tavropou, and the Laona Foundation.
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