The innovation of the Operational Plan concerns the creation of an alternative protocol of transplanting with an automatic machine, a practice that is not used at all in Greece, but contributes to increasing the effectiveness of pseudo-sowing and better weed control. An innovative element is the incorporation of the by-products of the previous rice crop which is expected to exert an allelopathic effect on the vegetation, the population and the growth of the weeds.

In addition, the application of innovative fertilizer produced from rice by-products, based on the principles of the circular economy, is foreseen. The development of the protocol will also contribute to the forecasting of the main diseases using a specialized meteorological station and the “Pyrikularia” disease forecasting model, which were created in ELGO DEMETER. Finally, an innovation will be the education and training of farmers with the organization of field schools based on the original organic farming production systems.