ERATOSTHENES CoE Agri Nexus Hub
Revolutionized Agriculture
Agroclimatic Observation Tool
The Agroclimatic Observations Tool is utilizing data acquired from meteorological stations of the Department of Meteorology of Cyprus, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, Satellite Imagery from Sentinel-2, LPIS from the Cyprus Agriculture Payment Organization and in-situ observations such as spectroradiometric data, Leaf Area Index, Meteorological data from local weather stations, etc. The objective of this tool is to inform farmers on a daily basis about the water losses of their fields due to climatic conditions. Agroclimatic Observations provides also daily calculations of Crop Evapotranspiration (ETc) for citrus orchards, olive groves and potatoes cultivations around Cyprus. Sentinel-2 Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is very helpful to understand the vegetation’s health in the territory of the island.
Potential Evapotranspiration (ETo)
Reference Evapotranspiration is the amount of water that could evaporate and seep from soil and vegetation if the water supply were unlimited. The main weather parameters affecting evapotranspiration are solar radiation, air temperature, humidity and wind speed. In our application, Agri Nexus Hub the reference evapotranspiration is calculated from the Penman-Monteith equation, also known as FAO56.
Crop Evapotranspiration (ETc)
The crop evapotranspiration under standard conditions, denoted as ΕΤc is the evapotranspiration from disease-free, well-fertilized crops, grown in large fields, under optimum soil water conditions, and achieving full production under the given climatic conditions. It is a critical parameter for irrigation management and helps farmers to determine how much water their crops need to grow and produce optimal yields.
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is a remote sensing index that measures plant "greenness" and is useful for plant health assessment. NDVI is calculated as a ratio of the difference between the Near Infrared (NIR) and the Red (R) of the electromagnetic radiation and the sum of the Near Infrared (NIR) and the Red (R). NDVI is used to derive the Crop Coefficient (Kc) of 3 different crop types (citrus orchards, olive groves, and potato cultivations). NDVI values are tested and validated using in-situ spectroradiometric measurements.
More Food | Less Water
70%
On average, agriculture accounts for 70 percent of global freshwater withdrawals.
30 years
In the last 30 years, food production has increased by more than 100 percent.
60%
FAO estimates that about 60 percent more food will be needed by 2050 to meet the food requirements of a growing global population.
Given the increasing demands for water in competing sectors, the notion that agriculture must “produce more food with less water” has taken hold (FAO 2017). Towards sustainable agriculture: healthy ecosystems and sustainable management of land, water and natural resources, to ensure food security.
Services | Earth Observation (EO)
Revolutionizing agriculture with Earth Observation (EO) technology: A new era of precision farming.
Earth Observation (EO) produces valuable information to support the agriculture industry in becoming sustainable and increasing yield productivity by improving crop health monitoring. EO enhances precision farming by providing useful information such as soil moisture, vegetation indices, evapotranspiration, etc on a systematic basis.
Services | Irrigation Management
Optimizing irrigation management for increased crop yield and water use efficiency.
Efficient irrigation management is vital for achieving maximum crop yield and water efficiency. Adopting efficient irrigation by estimating evapotranspiration and consequently the real crop's water needs from satellite-derived data results in increasing crop yield, profitability, water conservation and mitigation of soil degradation.
Services | Smart Agriculture
Transforming agriculture with smart technologies.
The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), modern Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics, Remotely-Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS), field and Earth Observation (EO) can provide solutions to the most pressing needs/challenges and opportunities in the local agricultural sector.
Benefits
Smart agriculture uses technology to increase productivity and sustainability.
Increased Profitability
Increased profitability: By optimizing crop management practices and reducing waste, farmers can increase their profitability and sustainability in the long term. This can lead to a more resilient and productive agriculture industry.
Improved crop yields
By using technologies such as sensors and remote sensing, farmers can monitor soil moisture levels, plant health, and other factors that can affect crop growth. This information can be used to optimize crop management practices, resulting in higher crop yields.
Better decision-making
By collecting and analyzing data from sensors and other sources, farmers can make more informed decisions about planting, fertilizing, and harvesting crops. This can lead to more effective resource allocation and better outcomes for the farm.
Increased efficiency
Smart agriculture technologies enable more precise use of water, fertilizer, and other resources, reducing waste and increasing efficiency. This can result in cost savings for farmers and a more sustainable use of natural resources.
Research | Development
The ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence of the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) is a new, autonomous, and self-sustained Centre of Excellence, which has been established through the ‘EXCELSIOR’, H2020 Widespread Teaming Phase 2 project. The newly established centre has been created as a result of upgrading the existing Remote Sensing and Geo-Environment Lab, which has been operating within the Department of Civil Engineering and Geomatics of the Cyprus University of Technology since 2007. The ERATOSTHENES, becomes a world-class Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) for Earth Observation (EO) and Geospatial Information and develops into the reference Centre in the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East and North Africa Region (EMMENA). ERATOSTHENES is committed to promoting scientific excellence and providing services by conducting cutting-edge Earth Observation research in five main application domains: Climate Change Monitoring, Disaster Risk Reduction, Access to Energy, Water Resources Management and Big Earth Observation Data Analytics. ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence is paving the way for Cyprus to enter the space arena.
The Agricultural Research Institute (ARI) conducts research aiming to create and transfer knowledge for the development of the primary sector and to solve problems at the farmer’s level. The research results are transferred to stakeholders through modern educational programs and dissemination tools. Its research activity strengthens rural development and contributes to the adoption of a sustainable rural policy and innovation offer.
Contact Us
Give us a call, a visit, email us or use the contact form. We usually answer back in the next 24-48 hours.
This project has received funding from European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 857510
This project has received funding from the Government of the Republic of Cyprus through the Directorate General of the European's Programmes, Coordination and Development
This project is co-funded by the Cyprus University of Technology
ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence acknowledges the Cyprus Department of Meteorology (DoM), Copernicus (Atmosphere Monitoring Service and ESA's Sentinel Data), and Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organization (CAPO) for the provision of data under the auspices of the ‘EXCELSIOR’: ERATOSTHENES: EΧcellence Research Centre for Earth Surveillance and Space-Based Monitoring of the Environment H2020 Widespread Teaming project (www.excelsior2020.eu).”
