AKTI participates in a bi-communal project for the utilisation of green waste in agriculture. The program with the name ”All4Compost: Civil Society in Action for Circular Green Waste Management” is a new European Union-funded project for the circular utilisation of agricultural prunings and livestock waste and the empowerment of civil society.
A press release by AKTI says that the project is launched in the occupied district of Lefka, with the TC Chamber of Agricultural Engineers as the lead partner, AKTI Project and Research Centre, and the Lefke Society for the Preservation of the Environment and Ecology.
All4Compost, funded by the European Union under the Aid Programme for the Turkish Cypriot community, ”aims to bring to the Turkish Cypriot community an innovative, economically sustainable, participatory and locally adapted model for the management of agricultural prunings and the production of compost, based on the active participation of civil society”.
The press release says that with the creation of the ‘Lefke Compost Community’ as its central objective, ”the project aims to bring farmers, local authorities, organisations and citizens together to co-design and co-own a functional scheme for the collection of agricultural prunings and their transformation into high-quality and low-cost compost”.
Farmers will provide their organic residues and will receive ready compost in return, reducing their costs and actively contributing to the reduction of the environmental footprint of their activities.
AKTI, utilising its experience in the co-management of green waste and bi-communal cooperation, will transfer its know-how to the Turkish Cypriot community and contribute to the design, technical guidance and adaptation of the model to the specific conditions of the district, the press release reads.
The Lefke District, in the Turkish occupied areas, has a long agricultural tradition but also acute environmental challenges and faces significant problems of accumulated green waste, burning of prunings, and soil degradation.
The press release explains that All4Compost provides a practical, low-cost and socially fair solution, through the utilisation of the Symbiotic and Circular Green Waste Management Scheme, a model already recognised and applied through innovative European projects in Cyprus.
Within the project, mapping of green waste and existing infrastructure will take place, together with participatory workshops for co-designing the scheme, training for farmers, local authorities and organisations, as well as demonstrations of the composting process in practice, using equipment and tools that ensure a sustainable and low-cost process.
In parallel, awareness-raising and educational activities in schools and among citizens will contribute to shaping a new culture of responsible green waste management.