Ιn April 2025, a cotton field in Karditsa, Greece, became the stage for innovation in sustainable agriculture. For the first time in the country, a strip tillage machine was put to work, brought-in by Tavropos Irrigation Organisation (TOEV), within the framework of the SpongeWorks projects. This marked a milestone in the SpongeWorks journey towards sustainable agricultural practices that secure healthy soil and water resources in the Greek demonstrator, the Pinios River Basin.
The demonstration attracted numerous participants, including local farmers, experts, and regional stakeholders, all eager to witness a new method that improves water retention, soil health, structure and fertility, reduces soil erosion and has significant economic benefits.
Low tillage: a sustainable farming technique
At its core, low tillage is a sustainable farming technique. It tills only narrow bands of soil (15–30 cm), leaving the remaining surface, and its crop residues, untouched. These undisturbed areas act like a natural shield, helping to retain moisture, prevent erosion, improve water infiltration and maintain soil structure.
Low tillage together with buffer zones and integrated soil and water management practices, are all part of a broader strategy by SpongeWorks in Karditsa to implement “sponge” measures that enhance the landscape’s ability to absorb and retain water.
Karditsa, is one of the implementing sites of the Greek demonstrator, the Pinios River Basin. The region is still recovering from the devastating Storm Daniel and is struggling with soil degradation, water stress, and declining fertility. The benefits that this technique has to offer can be profound.
The strip tillage demonstration by the local implementor the Tavropos Irrigation Organisation took place at the end of April 2025. In June, the crops were fully grown.
The Real Test: Rainfall
Two months after the initial demonstration, the SpongeWorks team returned to the field following a spring rain. They had contacted farmers to ask about water retention in the conventionally tilled fields and the strip-tilled fields. Farmers had alerted them that in conventionally tilled fields, water remained on the surface while in the strip-tilled field, the soil had absorbed rainwater like a sponge.
The SpongeWorks team of the Tavropos Irrigation Organisation decided to go and see for itself how the strip-tilled field was growing. The field was visibly healthy, moisture was locked in and erosion was absent.
These first signs of the strip tillage demonstration are very encouraging. Throughout the implementation of the project, the team will be closely monitoring how Nature-based Solutions such as these may lead the way for the creation of flood-resilient societies.
The SpongeWorks project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101156116 and from the UK Research and Innovation/HM Government. The project runs from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2028.
Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the granting authority, the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.