The University of Thessaly in Volos, Greece hosted On February 10th, 2025, the inaugural REGACE World Café, an academic workshop convening agricultural practitioners and scholars to critically examine the integration of advanced technologies within contemporary farming practices.
The event was conducted under the framework of the EU-funded REGACE Project guided by Professor Andrea Volterrani of the University of Rome Tor Vergata. It encompassed presentations, empirical demonstrations, and structured discussions aimed at evaluating both the potentialities and limits inherent to technological innovation in agriculture.
The REGACE Project is oriented toward the transformation of agricultural methodologies through the incorporation of sustainable energy systems and cutting-edge technological advancements through end users co-design.
The session, led by Professors Chryssoula Papaioannou and Nikolaos Katsoulas from University of Thessaly, commenced with an exposition of the project’s overarching objectives, theoretical foundations, and anticipated outcomes.
A pivotal component of the workshop was the empirical demonstration within a greenhouse environment, structured into four distinct experimental sections, each incorporating varying technological configurations: CO₂ enrichment, photovoltaic panel integration, a hybridized application of both technologies, and a control group.
Participants systematically observed and analyzed the differential growth trajectories of cucumbers cultivated under these discrete conditions, thereby facilitating a critical discourse on the implications of energy efficiency and plant development.
The subsequent World Café session was designed to elicit expert perspectives and structured dialogues on three primary thematic axes:
- The advantages afforded by renewable energy integration in agricultural operations.
- The principal challenges and risk factors associated with such technological adoptions.
- Prospective developments necessary for the systemic advancement of sustainable farming methodologies.
Within the thematic domain of opportunities, participants underscored the role of solar-powered greenhouses in augmenting agricultural output while simultaneously mitigating reliance on conventional energy sources. The optimization of energy utilization was posited as a critical determinant of enhanced resource efficiency and the long-term viability of agronomic sustainability.
Conversely, within the analytical framework of constraints, some concerns were articulated regarding the substantial initial investment required for the implementation of solar panels plants in greenhouses.
Additional identified limits included the economic burden of maintenance expenditures, the necessity for precise calibration of energy inputs to crop-specific physiological requirements, and the essential yet often prohibitive prerequisite of specialized technical training for immediate operability.
In addressing future developments, participants deliberated on the imperative for integrating these emergent technologies within a circular economic paradigm. Strategies proposed encompassed the incorporation of animal units into aquaponic systems, the expansion into novel agrarian markets, the enhancement of production infrastructure via progressive technological refinements, and the pursuit of energy self-sufficiency through renewable modalities.
The REGACE World Café thus functioned as an academic forum for the collaborative co-design of agronomic innovations, reinforcing the necessity of aligning technological investment with economic feasibility and sectoral sustainability.
The insights generated within this discourse underscore the dual imperatives of fostering accessibility through financial facilitation mechanisms and ensuring the widespread adoption of such innovations through targeted educational initiatives.
Ultimately, the event substantiated the critical role of participatory engagement between agricultural practitioners and the academic community in shaping the trajectory of technological advancements within the agricultural sector.
Through interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge co-production, the REGACE Project continues to facilitate the development of resilient, efficient, and ecologically sustainable agricultural paradigms.
