ARI REVIEW FOR 2016-2017

Agricultural Research Institute, the Institute of Biometeorology of the National Research Council of Italy, the National Technical University of Athens, the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Mediterranean Fisheries of the Region of Sicily (Italy) and the Region of Crete (Greece). ( M. Markou, G. Papadavid, A. Stylianou ). The other LIFE+ project titled“Revamping organic farming and its products in the context of climate change mitigation strategies”(ORGANIKO) aims to demonstrate the comparative advantages of organic versus conventional farming and products using indicators of mitigation efficiency to climate change, agronomic and environmental quality, and decreased children exposures to pesticides, promoting healthy food for better children’s health. The project is coordinated by the Cyprus University of Technology, whereas the Agricultural Research Institute, the Department of Environment and the Kyoto Club are project partners. In 2016 the deliverable “Stakeholder Organic Sector Mapping in Cyprus”was compiled by A. Stylianou. The report was included in the preparatory actions of the project and aimed at providing a comprehensive mapping of the organic sector in Cyprus from the production at farm level right through to processing and trading. Hence, it described the current situation of the wider organic food supply chain in Cyprus and provided useful information for each actor constituting the supply chain. ( M. Omirou, D. Neocleous, P. Dalias, D. Fasoula, A. Stylianou, S. Ioannidou, I.M. Ioannides) REMOTE SENSING LABORATORY The Remote Sensing Laboratory (RSL) was established at the Acheleia Experimental Station in order to provide scientific data for applications in agriculture and environmental research. The Laboratory has been involved in two research projects regarding crop evapotranspiration and its contribution is expected to prove valuable for all the ARI Sections through collaborative research. The main purpose of the research project “Effects of Climate Change on irrigation cost of water-intensive cultivations in Cyprus, using remote sensing” is to determine the impact of climate change on crop irrigation needs and how this change affects producers’ income. Another research objective is to investigate whether these crops have managed to adapt to the new conditions or if their lifecycle has differentiated according to their irrigation needs and climatic conditions. The research activity regarding the project is already launched with in situ measurements on the different crops and of the meteorological conditions. These parameters will become inputs in the form of empirical models for crop evapotranspiration algorithms for estimating Crop Coefficients (Kc) and Crop Evapotranspiration (ETc). ( G. Papadavid, D. Neocleous, A. Stylianou ) Using SEBAL to Investigate How Variations in Climate Impact on Crop Evapotranspiration Water allocation to crops, and especially to the most water intensive ones, has always been of great importance in agricultural process. Deficit or excessive irrigation could create either crop health related problems or water over-consumption, respectively. The latter could lead to groundwater depletion and deterioration of its quality through deep percolation of agrichemical residuals. In this context, and under the current conditions, where Cyprus is facing effects of climate changes, the purpose of this study is basically to estimate the needed crop water requirements of the past (1995-2004) and the corresponding ones of the present (2005-2015) in order to test if there were any significant changes regarding the crop water requirements of the most water intensive trees in Cyprus. The Mediterranean region has been identified as the region that will suffer the most from climate change. Thus the paper refers to effects of climate changes on crop evapotranspiration (ETc) using remotely sensed data from Landsat TM/ ETM+ / OLI employing a sound methodology used worldwide, the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL). Though the general feeling is that of changes on climate will consequently affect ETc, the results indicate that there is no significant effect of climate change on crop evapotranspiration, 68 Rural Development