AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVE OF MELIVIA “ATHANATI”

The Agricultural Cooperative of Melivia was established in 2015 and has 48 members. Its members cultivate 190 hectars on a territory that mainly lays on the mountains Kissavos (Ossa) and Mavrovouni. The farmers - members of the Agricultural Cooperative produce chestnuts, apples and cherries according to the International Quality Standards. The main goal of the Cooperative is the production of high quality products with common quality characteristics through the application of International Quality Standards in the processes of cultivation, picking, sorting, maintenance, chilling, standardization and packaging. The certified high quality products motivate the cooperative members to search for innovative and sustainable processing methods and marketing tools that will finance new investments in the agricultural sector. The high export rates of the cooperative show the importance and the efficiency of the hard work of the members.

From 2019 to 2022 the Cooperative was a project partner in the Erasmus+ project “Ecochestnut” 2019-1-FR01-KA202-06227. Main subject of the project was the creation of a learning platform about the organic cultivation of chestnuts. In the project participated institutes, universities and organizations from Spain, Portugal, France, Bulgaria and Greece.

The Agricultural Cooperative of Melivia & the Agricultural Cooperative of Karitsa have submitted an application for the recognition of the “Melivia Chestnut” as a Protected Designation of Origin Product (P.D.O.). From 2020 to 2022 it has been running in cooperation with the Organization “New Agriculture New Generation” and the Municipality of Agia the project “Local Agricultural Products of Agia: from field to shelf” that has been funded by the Foundation “Stavros Niarchos”. This project was a training programme that focused on the need of the farmers to protect the chestnut trees, decrease the costs for plant protection and improve the quality through use of ecological insecticides. It also included innovative farming methods and High Quality Certifications, the connection between local agricultural products and the tourism sector, consulting and sales management in order to improve the competitiveness, the extroversion and the quality of the local agricultural products of the Municipality of Agia.