The event titled “Digital and Green Transition in Agri-Food: The Impact of the European DigiAgriFood Hub” was successfully held with strong participation, as part of the participation of the Democritus University of Thrace in Agrotica 2026, in Thessaloniki, on Saturday, March 14, 2026.
The event highlighted the role of DigiAgriFood EDIH, the first European Digital Innovation Hub in the agri-food sector in Greece, in connecting research and innovation with production, transforming new knowledge into services that can be directly applied in the agri-food sector.
The event was attended by the Rector of the Democritus University of Thrace, Professor Fotios Maris, the Regional Governor of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Christodoulos Topsidis, and the Deputy Regional Governor of Kavala, Theodoros Markopoulos. A significant number of exhibition visitors, representatives of agri-food businesses, producers, and members of the academic community also attended.
In his opening remarks, Regional Governor Mr. Topsidis referred to the important work carried out by the DigiAgriFood hub in supporting digital transformation and the green transition in the agri-food sector and expressed his wish for the continuation of this initiative in the coming years.
At the beginning of the event, the Hub Coordinator and member of the Governing Board, Professor Maria Michalopoulou, presented the achievements of the Hub to date, as well as the vision for its evolution into DigiAgriFood #2. As she highlighted, key elements for the next phase include the expansion of the network of partner organisations, the coverage of the entire Greek territory, and the provision of upgraded and new services. Concluding her presentation, she emphasized the commitment of the project team to continue working towards the production of new knowledge and its transformation into mature services supporting primary production.
She also underlined that the use of smart digital tools and artificial intelligence technologies can play a decisive role in addressing the impacts of climate change and in improving the efficient management of available resources in primary production. At the same time, she stressed that the Hub, through experiential workshops, systematically invests in enhancing farmers’ skills and digital education, remaining fully aligned with the key strategic priorities of the European Union, including the Digital Decade, the European Green Deal, sustainable food systems, climate neutrality, and Europe’s open strategic autonomy.
Following the introductory presentation, three thematic panel discussions took place.
In the first panel, Professor Spyridon Mamalis, Chairman of the Board of ELGO DIMITRA, Panagiotis Mylonas, Research Director and General Director of the Benaki Phytopathological Institute, and Professor Georgios Broufas, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation of the Democritus University of Thrace, discussed the challenges and prospects of agricultural research and the importance of transferring knowledge from research institutions to production. The panel was moderated by Stavros Amoiras, co-founder of ena Development Consultants.
In the second panel, representatives of DigiAgriFood partners shared their experiences from the implementation of the project. They highlighted both the challenges they faced and the valuable experience gained through collaboration and interaction with producers and agri-food businesses. As noted by several speakers, this experience has, in many cases, served as a starting point for redesigning existing services or developing new ones that will be integrated into DigiAgriFood #2. The discussion was moderated by Giannis Amarantidis, Project Manager of the project for the Democritus University of Thrace team.
The event concluded with the third panel, giving the floor to the final users of DigiAgriFood services. Participants shared their experiences of collaboration with project partners and their level of satisfaction with the quality of the services provided. Many focused on evaluating the impact of these services through both qualitative and quantitative performance indicators of their farms, including production costs. All speakers confirmed the positive impact of the Hub, describing it as a hands-on experience that led to the adoption of new digital tools and services in the production process. The panel was moderated by Stelios Vasilopoulos, Project Manager of the project for the University of Thessaly team.
The event confirmed the role of DigiAgriFood as a key hub connecting research, business, and production, strengthening innovation and sustainable development in the agri-food sector in Greece.