by Ilias Tsaparelis | Project Manager | RFF
In the groundbreaking STELLA project, Use Case Pilots (UCPs) play a pivotal role in bringing innovative ideas to life. These pilots are real-world testing grounds where project concepts, tools, and methodologies are applied, refined, and validated in diverse agricultural and forestry contexts. By focusing on practical implementation, UCPs bridge the gap between theoretical research and tangible impact.
What Are Use Case Pilots?
Use Case Pilots are specific test environments chosen to address real-world challenges in pest monitoring and management. Spanning six unique regions across Europe and New Zealand, each UCP is tailored to tackle localized issues related to climate, crop types, pest species, and farming practices. These environments provide an invaluable opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of STELLA’s Pest Surveillance System (PSS) and other project innovations under varying conditions.
The STELLA PSS is envisioned as a holistic digital system that aids in the early warning and detection of regulated pests, combined with a response strategy that leverages modern sensing technology and Artificial Intelligence. By deploying the system in six real-life UCPs across five countries, STELLA ensures that its solutions are tested under various conditions, including hard-to-reach areas such as wild forests and different farming systems.
The Six UCPs: Locations, Crops, and Pathogens
- Γαλλία
- Καλλιέργεια: Grape (Vitis vinifera)
- Pathogens: Grapevine Leafroll Disease (GLRaV-1 & GLRaV-3 – Virus) & Blackwood Yellows (Candidatus Phytoplasma solani – Bacterium)
- Ελλάδα
- Καλλιέργεια: Plane Tree (Platanus L)
- Pathogens: Ceratocystis platani (Fungus)
- Λιθουανία
- Καλλιέργεια: Potato (Solanum tuberosum)
- Pathogens: Potato Leafroll Virus (PLRV)
- Ιταλία
- Καλλιέργεια: Processing tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum)
- Pathogens: Ralstonia solanacearum (Βακτήριο)
- Νέα Ζηλανδία
- Καλλιέργεια: Apple (Malus domestica)
- Pathogens: Neofabraea alba (Fungus)
- Ελλάδα
- Καλλιέργεια: Olive tree (Olea europaea L)
- Pathogens: Verticillium dahliae (Fungus) & Ο Pseudomonas savastanoi (Βακτήριο)
Why Are UCPs Essential for STELLA?
The success of STELLA depends on its ability to deliver practical solutions that meet the needs of end-users, including farmers, foresters, policymakers, and researchers. UCPs contribute to this goal in several key ways:
- Real-World Validation: UCPs test the feasibility and efficiency of STELLA’s tools in actual farming and forestry settings, ensuring they address real-world challenges effectively.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Through close collaboration with local farmers, advisors, and researchers, UCPs ensure that the developed tools and methodologies are user-friendly and tailored to stakeholder needs.
- Diverse Insights: The geographical and contextual diversity of the UCPs provides a broad spectrum of data, allowing STELLA to refine its solutions for a wide range of environments.
- Addressing Challenges: Each UCP identifies specific implementation challenges, such as logistics, stakeholder training, and pest monitoring limitations, ensuring solutions are both robust and adaptable.
UCPs in Action
Each UCP is designed to address specific challenges:
- Crop-Specific Issues: From arable crops to vineyards, UCPs tackle pest threats unique to different farming systems.
- Climate Adaptation: Regions with varying climates, including hard-to-reach areas like wild forests, test the adaptability of STELLA’s solutions.
- Technological Integration: UCPs serve as platforms to implement and refine advanced technologies such as AI-driven pest monitoring, IoT-based sensing, and citizen science applications.
The preparation for UCP deployment includes identifying stakeholders, understanding their specific requirements, and establishing a roadmap for field operations. This collaborative effort ensures that the PSS is effectively integrated into local practices while addressing region-specific challenges.
The Impact of UCPs on STELLA’s Goals
The lessons learned from these pilots are instrumental in shaping the project’s outputs. Feedback from UCP stakeholders is used to refine tools, improve methodologies, and ensure that the final solutions are not only innovative but also practical and scalable. The integrated multi-scale assessment process ensures that the system’s effectiveness is evaluated comprehensively, leading to actionable insights and improved pest management practices.
By addressing critical aspects such as data collection, stakeholder engagement, and system evaluation, UCPs ensure that STELLA delivers impactful, user-focused results that can be adopted across diverse agricultural and forestry landscapes.
Stay tuned as we dive deeper into the stories and achievements from each UCP, showcasing how they drive STELLA’s mission forward.