The Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (MAICH) is the partner organisation for Greece in Chameleon, an innovative technology which is providing practical help to stock-raisers in Apokoronas.
Part of the EU’s Horizon Europe funding programme for research and innovation, the Chameleon project will receive almost €6 million from Community funds over a period of 36 months, bringing together a consortium of 12 partner organisations – 6 innovative SMEs, 3 universities and three final users from 9 European countries.
The aim of the project is to improve productivity and to identify potential problems in agriculture, livestock, forestry and pest management. The innovation of Chameleon lies in the development of a new reconfigurable drone, the Chameleon drone, which can change its shape and size as required and will be capable of supporting complex scenarios in a wide range of missions and different environmental conditions. Chameleon is running three pilot projects with end-users in Spain, Greece and Austria. The Greek pilot involves developing and assessing uses of the drone to help stock-raisers in Apokoronas in their daily activities.
In October 2023, Pedro Oliveira Pinto of Portuguese Radio Television (RTP) visited MAICH in Chania, while travelling to different EU member states as part of a TV series aimed at highlighting the variety of projects which have received European funding. RTP produced a short video of his visit which can be seen on the MAICH YouTube channel, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA7uk7RQZVk.
During his stay in Chania, Pedro visited Gournes in Apokoronas, where he met Manousos Pissadakis, a young shepherd who during the spring and summer months takes his flock up to the mountainous areas to their summer pasture. Pedro saw at first hand the difficulties which are encountered by stock-raisers such as Manousos, who every day laboriously traverse the slopes of Levka Ori to gather their flocks together.
It is a process which is even more arduous when they have to search for animals which have strayed away from the flock and have got lost in the rough terrain. “Up here the ground is uneven,” Manousos explains to Pedro. “It’s full of basins and potholes and you have to walk round them all to see if there’s an animal there. With a drone like that I can go up high to see where it is and bring it back.”
In collaboration with Manousos Pissadakis, the MAICH research team aims to assess needs and collect the data required for the development of suitable algorithms which will enable the Chameleon drone to respond to the needs of the region’s stock breeders and help to reduce their daily workload. Its range of applications include locating and assembling the flock, checking the animals’ health, and also monitoring the vegetation of the pastures.
The broader perspective
In its report on the project on 29th May, Haniotika Nea stated: “At the producer level, the project is expected to help reduce the cost and manual labour involved, as well improving the general wellbeing of the animals and the management of the flock. The effects at a social level will be significant. Initially it will help in the wider adoption of new technologies (in otherwise traditional sectors), impelling the primary sector towards adopting a model of precision agriculture.
“At the same time, in step with the European directive on digitalisation of the countryside, Chameleon constitutes one more building block in bridging the digital gap between agricultural and urban areas, creating a more resilient agricultural community and reinforcing the effectiveness and sustainability of business activities. Finally, the increase in data streams in conjunction with a new generation of stockbreeders who are familiar with new technologies will undoubtedly, in the long run, transform the supply chains for agri-food products.”
(Haniotika Nea/chameleon-heu.eu). All photos: RTP/MAICH/YouTube.