TUI Field To Fork Greece - regenerative agriculture in tourism

Project goals

1. Training of farmers in Crete and Rhodes on regenerative agricultural practices.
2. Supporting farmers who are already practicing sustainably in converting to regenerative agriculture.
3. Training of hotels and food producers to calculate and reduce the carbon footprint of food.
4. Linking farmers with food producers and hotels to increase sales of regeneratively grown agricultural products in the tourism sector.
5. Development of tasting events for regeneratively grown agricultural products for guests
6. Transferring the ideas and concept from Crete to the island of Rhodes.

The effects of the climate crisis hit farmers particularly hard

Farmers are particularly suffering from the effects of the climate crisis. The loss of biological diversity, water scarcity and increasingly frequent extreme climate phenomena lead to crop failures and yield fluctuations.

At the same time, the food industry is one of the main causes of the climate crisis and the loss of biodiversity. For example, industrial agriculture contributes around 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

In some areas of the southern Aegean in Greece, the influence of desertification and land degradation can already be seen. This leads to a growing need for chemical agents to maintain and secure production, which in turn increases biodiversity loss and climate change. Regenerative agricultural practices help prevent emissions while removing CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil, as well as improving soil health and creating biodiversity.

However, a switch to regenerative agriculture is made more difficult by various factors, such as farmers’ lack of experience and knowledge of the basic concepts.

Futouris and TUI Care Foundation are expanding their commitment

To address these challenges, Futouris and the TUI Care Foundation, in collaboration with the Sustainable Food Destination Organization (SFDO), launched the TUI Field to Fork Greece project. The goal is to support 300 farmers on the Greek island of Crete and 200 on the island of Rhodes in switching to regenerative agricultural practices. A comprehensive learning and practice cycle is implemented, with a particular focus on reducing the carbon footprint of agricultural products. This particularly affects the production of olive oil, wine, bananas, avocados, honey and herbs.

In addition, the farmers involved will be networked with 14 food businesses and the tourism industry, including eight hotels that are partners in the program.

The goal is to create improved income opportunities, expand the range of sustainable foods and raise awareness among employees and tourists about regenerative food production. For this purpose, employees of the participating companies are trained to better understand the advantages of sustainable practices in the company and to recognize the necessity and urgency of the changes. The goal is to achieve long-term commitment and interest in the topic of sustainable food. In addition to the eight hotels, a local retail chain is also part of the program to offer sustainable food to tourists and the local population. All of these measures are intended to create sustainable food supply chains in tourism and other areas.

Joint project is based on previous project in Crete

The current project builds on the joint project “Crete – on the way to becoming a model destination for sustainable nutrition”, which Futouris and the TUI Care Foundation supported in Crete until 2019. Here the basis for a more sustainable food supply in tourism was created by introducing the concept of sustainable agriculture and creating links with the tourism sector. In total, around 200 farmers were trained in sustainable agriculture and five food producers produced 27 sustainable labeled products (wines, olive oil and bread), which were sold to guests in seven participating hotels. Guests were also able to try the products during tastings or on excursions.

Project activities

• Training at least 500 farmers on Crete and Rhodes on regenerative agricultural practices with a focus on climate protection and calculating the carbon footprint of food.
• Implementation of the learned practices with 18 farmers on their own fields for 5 products: olives, grapes, bananas, avocados, honey and herbs.
• Training of at least 6 hotels and at least 14 food producers to calculate and reduce the carbon footprint of food.
• Training of at least 6 hotels and 14 food producers on regenerative agriculture and climate protection.
• Development of a concept for local tasting events so that guests can taste regeneratively grown and produced food.
• Implementation of training and workshops on regenerative agriculture for farmers and producers on Rhodes.