On July 3rd, 2024, the CARINA Demo Field Day event, organized by Novamont and Coldiretti, took place in Benevento, Italy. This gathering aimed to inform local farmers about the ongoing activities, project results, and potential opportunities arising from the cultivation of carinata and other innovative crops.

The event was highly successful, with around 60 attendees, primarily from local farms. Participants had the opportunity to visit experimental fields of carinata and safflower. These two oil crops are being explored for their potential in producing agricultural raw materials for biorefineries and the creation of various bio-products.

In addition to the CARINA project, the MIDAS and BRILIAN projects were also presented. Special attention was given to safflower, which attracted significant interest from the farmers due to its promising applications.

The day was filled with insightful presentations and engaging discussions, generating a lot of enthusiasm among the participants. The feedback received from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the event’s success in fostering interest and knowledge about sustainable agricultural practices and innovative crop cultivation.

From June 11-13, 2024, the 2nd General Assembly of the CARINA Project took place in Thessaloniki, Greece. Seventeen CARINA Project Partners gathered to share their outputs reached and insights obtained during the implementation of the Project.

The meeting was opened by Prof. Andrea Monti from the University of Bologna’s Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, who welcomed everyone and expressed his appreciation for the Partners’ contributions. The day was packed with engaging speeches from all Work Package Leaders, providing detailed project updates and progress reports. These presentations sparked lively discussions and set the tone for the rest of the meeting.

The second day continued with more in-depth sessions, including breakout discussions focusing on specific project challenges. Participants shared their insights and brainstormed solutions, making the sessions highly productive. An interactive workshop, involving businesses represented in the consortium, focused on their needs and challenges within the project, fostering a collaborative learning environment.

On the third day, the Project Partners participated in an enriching field visit. They explored fields of carinata and camelina near Thessaloniki, which are expected to be harvested in August. This hands-on experience provided invaluable insights into the practical aspects of our project and reinforced our commitment to sustainable agriculture.

One of the main achievements of the project so far is the establishment of CARINA lighthouses in France, Serbia, Tunisia, and Spain. These lighthouses are “innovation containers” developed by farmers and advisors to gather success stories from demonstration fields testing innovative cropping systems, including either camelina or carinata. These spaces will host events regarding best crop management and field visits in the future.

The lighthouses form a network of actors concerned with the cultivation of these crops. The innovative cropping systems will be built from regional co-design workshops. There will be nine lighthouses in total in CARINA, one per country involved in the project (France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Serbia, Morocco, Poland, Bulgaria, and Tunisia).

Additionally, demo fields are used to experiment with these crops under different conditions and varieties, further contributing to the project’s goals.

The 2nd General Assembly was a significant milestone for the CARINA Project, underscoring our collective efforts to advance agricultural sustainability through innovative cropping systems. We look forward to the continued collaboration and the impactful outcomes that lie ahead.