The digital transition
The digital transition has the potential to rapidly improve farming and forestry’s economic performance, resilience and sustainability by leveraging advanced technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence, robotics) and an increasing amount of available data obtained from multiple sources. At the same time, digitalisation can make rural communities more attractive, smart, and sustainable by offering new business opportunities and access to services.
Research and innovation play a pivotal role in developing new solutions and improving access to existing technology, increasing their effectiveness, relevance, and sustainability performance. Research contributes to a generation of new knowledge about the specific needs and challenges of users and encourages the integration of diverse perspectives and expertise leading to holistic digitalisation strategies.
Several EU-level initiatives have been launched in recent years to support the development and uptake of innovative solutions, ensure the responsible use of technology, and demonstrate the socio-economic benefits of digitalisation.
Key figures
Horizon Europe funding
Opportunities for projects in the sectors of bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and environment.
Funding under Horizon Europe is set out in multiannual work programmes, which cover most of the support available.
Research in action
Smart solutions for agriculture and forestry
Several projects have developed innovative digital solutions in support of sustainable agricultural production, focussing on solutions ranging from Internet of Things, robotics and decision-making support systems.
Examples of projects include:
- The AGRO-WELL, AgRimate, and AgRibot projects leverage robotics and augmented reality to enhance working conditions and strengthen the work force in agriculture.
- PATH2DEA and D4AGECOL assess the potential of digital technologies to support the implementation of agroecological farming approaches for different crops and farming systems.
- Other projects, such as CODECS and Quantifarm, assess the impact of digital technologies in agriculture. CERBERUS and STELLA develop and test digital technologies for plant health monitoring and pest detection.
- ICAERUS, SPADE, and CHAMELEON are exploring the use of drones as multi-purpose vehicles, including for agriculture and forestry.
- The FORSAID project aims to develop digital solution for the early detection of forest pests.
Keeping rural digitalisation sustainable
A precondition for digitalisation in rural areas is connectivity. The Xgain and COMMECT projects develop and assess innovative connectivity solutions and their cost-effectiveness.
Example of projects include:
- ICAERUS, SPADE, and CHAMELEON are exploring the use of drones as multi-purpose vehicles, including for rural areas.
- FUTURAL, SMART ERA, and RURACTIVE develop smart solutions, including digital and data-based technologies, to answer rural communities’ challenges.
A focus on data
Data is a key determinant of the effectiveness of many digital technologies. At the same time, digital technologies generate large amounts of data. Through the application of data technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), “Big data Sets” can be further utilised. To get the most out of data, it must be systematically collected, stored, and shared.
ScaleAgData, CrackSense, and AgriDataValue add value to locally generated data, such as farm data, through the upscaling of data to higher levels regarding geospatial outreach.
Digital Europe
The Digital Europe Programme is a policy instrument introduced during the 2021-27 funding period. It supports the upscaling and deployment of innovative digital solutions across sectors. These measures are particularly relevant for supporting digitalisation in agriculture and rural areas. They include Testing and Experimentation Facilities for AI in agri-food, European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), including EDIHs in agri-food, and Common European Data Spaces in the fields of Agriculture and Smart Communities.
