In April, 24 EU member states signed a declaration of cooperation for ‘A smart and sustainable digital future for European agriculture and rural areas’. This includes taking action to support a successful digitalisation of the sector by building on ongoing projects such as SmartAgriHubs.

Despite being among the top producers of food in the world, a guarantor of food security and quality as well as a provider of millions of jobs for Europeans, the EU agricultural sector faces many challenges: climate change and less biodiversity; producing traceable and quality products at affordable prices; dealing with pressure on revenues; an ageing farming population; and a lack of a digitally skilled workforce.

In order to address these challenges, whilst simultaneously improving the overall quality and environmental footprint of the EU agricultural sector, 24 EU member states have joined forces to commit towards the digitalisation of the sector:

“Digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, blockchain, high-performance computing (HPC), Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G have the potential to increase farm efficiency and improve production, and also to contribute to making farming systems more sustainable from an economic, social and environmental point of view.”

Moreover, the increasing uptake of digital technologies may also attract a younger generation to farming.

SmartAgriHubs welcomes this declaration and supports the commitment to set up a Europe-wide innovation infrastructure for a smart European agri-food sector. The project appreciates it being referenced as an example of initiatives to be built upon. By connecting Europe’s digital innovation hubs, SmartAgriHubs will continue to unleash the innovation potential for the digital transformation of the European agri-food sector.

Read the declaration here.