- Lead: Fotis Tsiroukis
- Collaborators: Institute of Olive Tree, Subtropical Crops and Viticulture (IOSV), Hellenic Agricultural Organisation – Demeter (HAO-Dimitra)
- Locations: Greece
This research project involves studying the coordination of scientific practices in Greek crop science through qualitative empirical investigation and philosophical analysis. The main field site is the IOSV with its headquarters located at Chania, Crete. IOSV has subsidiary local research centres in different geographical areas such as Heraklion, Athens, Kalamata and Lesvos, but the institute itself belongs to the broader coordinative body for agricultural practices in Greece, the Hellenic Agricultural Organization DIMITRA (HAO-Dimitra). Further research will involve visits to other sites of national research institutes belonging to HAO-DIMITRA (in e.g. Thessaloniki), to cross-compare and get a better understanding of how coordination happens across different level and scales beyond the level of the situated dynamics of researchers in a local research environment.
About IOSV
The main focus of IOSV is (subtropical) tree crops like olive, citrus, loquat, and avocado.
The lab activities of the Institute are about plant health and nutrition, pest resistance and resilience to climate change and its approach involves biochemical testing of plant samples likes soil and leaves as well as oil.
The research carried out at IOSV involves practices, spaces, materials and concerns that extend beyond lab work and incorporate the study and cultivation of field crops. Moreover, it involves coordination with a diverse network of stakeholders beyond researchers such as farmers, local businesses, supply chains, industrial manufacturing, national policy, conservation practitioners and environmental organizations. IOSV provides services to these stakeholders such as quality testing through biochemical analyses as well as educational material and publications directed at non-technical audiences.