On Tuesday, 23^rd of November 2021, the Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organization (CAPO) Commissioner Mr Andreas Kyprianou, visited the premises of The Cyprus Institute (CyI) and was given a brief presentation on its activities, as well as a presentation of the current results of the cooperation between CAPO and CyI's CARE-C/USRL on pilot applications employing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for monitoring agricultural activities. In October 2019, CyI and CAPO signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), agreeing to reinforce their collaboration on issues and projects of common interest related to data storage and analysis using high-performance computational infrastructures, as well as applications for unmanned aerial vehicles.

 

“CAPO as a pioneering organization that applies cutting-edge technologies, such as the application of innovative crop recognition methods for the payment of subsidies to farmers, seeks through continuous technological upgrades to expands the services offered to the rural world, and the local economy in general”, said the Organization's Commissioner Mr Andreas Kyprianou.

 

He also noted that the creation and development of applied technologies in cooperation between CyI and CAPO, will be particularly beneficial for both organizations. According to Mr Kyprianou, CAPO will assist The Cyprus Institute, by providing important information and know-how in various research projects developed with the participation of The Cyprus Institute.

 

The Commissioner concluded that the continuous monitoring of agricultural activities by satellite imagery taken every five days, in conjunction with the use of USRL's Unmanned Aerial Vehicles where and as required, provides additional observations and information not only for control purposes, but also to assist applicants to correct and modify their applications before the payment of grants, and to avoid paying penalties due to errors.

 

The collaboration between CyI and CAPO is another important example of the growing partnership between government departments and various CyI units in which cutting-edge technologies and innovative practices are jointly developed and used for the benefit of society. Since its inception, CyI has been firmly committed towards working with government units and agencies for advancing and promoting the use of science and technology for the greater good.