---
id: ch3-greece
type: spine
title: "Central Greece: digital skills for farming and agritourism"
readingTime: 3
standalone: true
core: true
teaser: "Ageing farmers, broadband in two of three households and an advisory system short of digital skills: what the Central Greece plan does about it."
voice: universal
parent: null
recallQ: "Which territory does the Greek pilot cover, and what does its Regional Action Plan prioritise?"
recallA: "The Region of Central Greece. Its RAP prioritises smart farming, agritourism, digital upskilling and a stronger AKIS, and its brief recommends five regional knowledge hubs and an annual Smart-Farming & Agritourism Academy. Kythera enters only through the DASK open-call project."
highlights:
  - "The pilot covers the Region of Central Greece; Kythera and Antikythera are the territory of one open-call project, DASK"
  - "Broadband reaches only 67 % of households, and large parts of the advisory system (AKIS) lack digital literacy"
  - "RAP aims at near-universal rural broadband and much wider smart-farming adoption by 2028"
  - "Brief: five regional AKIS knowledge hubs and an annual Smart-Farming & Agritourism Academy"
status: accepted
concept: greece-pilot
conceptTitle: "The Central Greece pilot"
parents: pilot-network
lang: en
lens: greece
depth: standard
formalism: none
visuality: balanced
lengthBand: standard
genre: explainer
state: core
carriers: prose|table|image
---

The Greek pilot covers the **Region of Central Greece**: mountains, plains, coastal zones and farmland around cities such as Lamia and Chalkida, with agriculture (cotton, olive oil, fruit) and tourism as mainstays (D7.4).

![Vineyards in Central Greece](images/pilots/greece.webp)
*Vineyards in Central Greece. Photo: PoliRuralPlus pilot materials (RP3), poliruralplus.eu*

| | |
|---|---|
| Territory | Region of Central Greece |
| Partners | Agricultural University of Athens, AUA (lead); GAIA Epicheirein; Neuropublic, NP |
| Theme | Smart agri-food, digital skills in AKIS, agritourism |
| RAP | Central Greece RAP, targets to 2028 |
| Open calls | Mobilise: RURBAN Challenge (Open Farm). Develop: DASK (DASKALOS APPS) |

## The challenge

The pilot names an ageing population and youth migration, a lack of digital skills among people working in farming, low uptake of smart-farming technology, and an advisory and training system (AKIS, the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System) that cannot close the gap. Broadband reaches only **67 % of households** (policy brief). D5.1 set four themes: a greener economy, digitalisation of AKIS actors, agritourism, and entrepreneurship that joins agritech with tourism.

## What the plan sets out

The RAP aims to raise smart-farming adoption substantially, grow agritourism's economic contribution and reach near-universal rural broadband by 2028. The brief, prepared with the Region of Central Greece and the Ministry of Rural Development & Food, recommends:

- collaborative hubs that combine digital technologies, stakeholder engagement and links between sectors;
- **five regional AKIS knowledge hubs** and an annual **Smart-Farming & Agritourism Academy**;
- access to financial instruments for smart agriculture, renewable energy and the circular economy;
- grants for digital services in rural tourism and local infrastructure;
- digital tools and best-practice repositories for evidence-based policy;
- nature-based adaptation (floodplain restoration, fire-resilient landscapes, drought-resistant crops) in all county plans.

## Tools, open calls and status

The **RURBAN Challenge** by Open Farm, a two-day hackathon funded through the Mobilise call, brought together more than 60 people from farming, business, education, technology and public bodies, and put PoliRural+ digital tools to local use. The Develop project **DASK** is building a single farmer-friendly gateway for the island communities of Kythera and Antikythera (see [DASK](#c/dask-platform)). In D7.4, stakeholders asked for AI and smart-governance tools such as the [PoliRural+ Advisor](#c/polirural-advisor) and the MAA Tool, but warned that rural connectivity has to improve first. D7.4 also suggests piloting [JackDaw](#c/jackdaw) in an area with emerging tourism.

The hubs, the academy and the grants are recommendations addressed to regional and national authorities. So far, the visible delivery is the hackathon and the DASK platform, which is still in development.

**Sources:**
- D7.3 Policy Brief No. 1, Annex 3 "Advancing Smart Agri-Food and Agritourism in Central Greece". [PDF](https://www.poliruralplus.eu/docs/349/D7.3_Policy_Brief_No.1.pdf)
- D5.1 Prepared pilot by Stakeholder Multi-Actor Approach, §2.3 "Central Greece". [PDF](https://www.poliruralplus.eu/docs/150/D5.1_Prepared_pilot_by_Stakeholder_Multi-Actor_Approach_v1.0.pdf)
- D7.4 Exploitation plans and business models, edition 1, Annex A §3 "Greece – Central Greece Region". [PDF](https://www.poliruralplus.eu/docs/342/D7.4_Exploitation_plans__business_models_edition_1_v1.pdf)
- D6.3 Comprehensive Report on Funded Activities and Impact Assessment (RURBAN Challenge, DASK). [PDF](https://www.poliruralplus.eu/docs/437/D6.3_Comprehensive_report.pdf)
- PoliRural+ website, pilot page "Greece – Central Greece" (2024 and 2026 texts). [poliruralplus.eu](https://www.poliruralplus.eu/)