Fostering the Smart Agriculture development in North East Europe 

This Regional Cluster (RC) acts as a first contact point and link between farmers and technology providers in the North East Europe (NEE) region. Its goal is to bridge the gap between the needs, challenges, interests and expectations of actors in the agri-food sector.

To achieve this the RC promotes a multi-actor approach, exploiting complementary competencies and interactive innovation models to connect science with practice as well as public with private. Therefore, it establishes collaboration and communication channels for all stakeholders along the agri-food chain ranging from academia, farmers and their respective organisations to local as well as regional authorities.  

Remaining the main contact point in this region thus requires building a network of regional Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs) and Competence Centres (CCs) and to match competencies within RCs in other regions and throughout the entire SmartAgriHubs project. In addition to that, fostering the adoption of smart agriculture practices in the NEE region relies on knowledge sharing with respect to the regional needs. In these regards, the RC identifies and promotes successful DIHs to showcase the real-life benefits of modern agriculture. It also monitors and supports regional developments surrounding the progress and issues of the five Flagship Innovation Experiments (FIEs) it unites. Ultimately, the RC’s objective is to implement a long-lasting and self-sustaining innovation ecosystem in the NEE region by providing access to advanced ICT laboratories, financing models and raise awareness among decision-makers.