FIGARO news archive (2013–2016)

The project's announcements, summarised in our own words, newest first. See also the blog and media coverage.

• Copa-Cogeca hosts FIGARO's closing conference in Brussels 13 September 2016
  September 2016: European farmers' organisation Copa-Cogeca hosts the final FIGARO conference, presenting three years of results.
• Three days on precision irrigation in Israel 5 September 2016
  September 2016: FIGARO announces a three-day programme in Israel, hosted by the Technion's Grand Water Research Institute.
• Netafim looks back on FIGARO 24 August 2016
  Netafim's blog reviews the FIGARO project shortly before its closing events.
• CER opens its “Acqua Campus” research centre 29 July 2016
  Italian press coverage of the opening of CER's Acqua Campus in Budrio, where FIGARO was among the projects shown.
• Three years of tests point to water and energy savings 28 June 2016
  June 2016: the consortium summarises three years of field tests in six countries.
• Final FIGARO platform presented in Kavala 31 May 2016
  June 2016: after more than three years of work, the finished FIGARO platform is presented at the partners meeting in Kavala, Greece.
• First live demonstration of the platform in Xanthi, Greece 14 March 2016
  March 2016: the Democritus University of Thrace opens FIGARO's series of live demonstrations with a workshop for farmers and agronomists.
• Bologna meeting prepares FIGARO's demonstration year 21 January 2016
  January 2016: the 17 FIGARO partners meet at the University of Bologna to prepare live demonstrations in six countries.
• Version 1 of the FIGARO decision-support platform presented in Rome 15 January 2015
  January 2015: FIGARO presents platform V1, a web-based decision support system for irrigation and fertigation, at FAO in Rome.
• An interactive timeline of the project 18 December 2014
  December 2014: the consortium publishes an interactive timeline of FIGARO's milestones.
• FIGARO on Spanish television (La 2) 22 January 2014
  Spanish public TV channel La 2 covers FIGARO's field tests with researchers from UPV, Netafim and CER.
• First full season of field results reviewed in Valencia 20 January 2014
  January 2014: FIGARO partners meet in Valencia to review the first year of field tests, including a cotton case study with large water savings.
• Spanish university TV interviews FIGARO researchers 20 January 2014
  UPV TV interview with Lior Doron (Netafim) and Adriano Battilani (CER) about water and energy savings in FIGARO's field tests.
• Field tests of the FIGARO prototype start in nine countries 30 May 2013
  May 2013: the first FIGARO prototype goes into field tests in nine countries, ahead of the Kavala partners meeting.
• Greek press introduces the FIGARO project 4 March 2013
  Early Greek media coverage of FIGARO, in a country where irrigation dominates water consumption.
• EU grants FIGARO consortium €6 million for precision irrigation research 15 February 2013
  How the FIGARO project started in 2013: a €6 million EU grant to a Netafim-led consortium working on farm-scale water productivity.