Soil Science Institute of Athens- “DEMETER” Research Institutions

The Soil Science Institute of Athens (SSIA) was established in 1950, however it has been in operation since 1915 called the Institute of Soil Science, Fertilizers and Climatology (ISSFC). for analysis of fertilizers and other compounds used in agriculture. With the law of 4328/1929 the Institute  was transformed to the Central Soil Laboratory, its main tasks being the soil mapping, the study of chemical, physical, biological and morphological properties of the soils, and agro-chemical research. It produced many reports, some of which are the only available soil sources on some topics or areas. Agricultural experiments in order to develop fertilization guidelines for agricultural crops were developed over the period 1970-1980.

In 1977 the Institute renamed to Soil Science Institute of Athens (SSIA), with research activities focusing on soil mapping, fertilization, soil, plant and water analyses, soil chemistry, and soil physics. So far it has been mapped by SSIA in various scales approximately 15,000,000 acres most of which are in digital form.

With the establishment of the National Agricultural Research Foundation (N.AG.RE.F.), pursuant to Law 1845/89, the Soil Science Institute (SSIA) transferred to N.AG.RE.F.

In 2011, the Joint Ministerial Decision (JMD) 188763/10.10.2011 (Government Gazette (GG) B’ 2284/13.10.2011) established the Hellenic Agricultural Organization «DEMETER» and the National Agricultural Research Foundation with the Soil Science Institute of Athens were transferred to the new Foundation in implementation of paragraph 1 Article 66 of Law 4002/2011 (Government Gazette A '180/22.88.2011).

The Soil Science Institute of Athens is staffed with scientific and technical personnel of high qualification and specialization. The laboratory of SSIA is accredited with no 525/17.3.2009 Accreditation Certificate for soil analyzes: Total nitrogen (N), Available phosphorus (P), Exchangeable potassium (K), Exchangeable sodium (Na), Exchangeable calcium (Ca), Exchangeable magnesium (Mg), Total cadmium (Cd), Cation exchange capacity (CEC) . In addition, ongoing accreditations (e.g. soil sampling, soil organic matter, etc.) are under progress.