High Tech Farming

High Technology Farming is a broad concept which refers to a wide range of new tools (Robotics, ICT, Big Data, Earth Observation, etc.). The synergic use of these instruments allows the shifting to the new paradigm of Sustainable Precision Agriculture (SPF).

The main objective of the partnership is the development of joint activities for accelerating the adoption of high and new technologies that can improve the performance of farming practices and farm management. Specific objectives are: adoption of advanced agri-technologies in small and family farms; new solutions for early detection of pests and diseases; improvement of livestock health and wellbeing.

The S3 HIGH TECH FARMING Partnership has aggregated more than 20 Regional and National Administrations with a strong priority related to innovation and adoption of new technologies in the agricultural sectors. The mapping activity allowed a broad involvement of different stakeholders from the business sector. Many clusters are directly involved in the partnership and some businesses are also directly involved in the business cases under development.

The Partnership has also been selected as one of the Pilot Partnerships under the DG REGIO support Pilot Action launched in October 2017.

The focus areas relates to 4 Value Chains (VC):

1. arables
2. horticulture
3. protected cultivations
4. livestock

They are segmented in the following technology areas:

• EYES & TOUCH to monitor what is happening (Meteo sensors, Soil sensors, Canopy sensors, Product sensors; On-board/proximal sensors),
• MIND to elaborate data and provide instructions (Data acquisition, Data analysis, Layers/images, DSS),
• INTELLIGENT ARMS to do precise and timely activities (Machineries, Programming/Automation, Robotic),
• technology oriented SERVICES (Installing, Maintenance, Repairing),
• and educational oriented SERVICES (Training, Demo farms and sites).

• SDG 2. Zero hunger
• SDG 8. Decent Work and Economic Growth

• Partnership technical meeting, 8 November 2018, Brussels, Belgium
• Presentation at EWRC, 10th October 2018, Brussels
• +Agro '18 Congress, 3-4 October 2018, Castel Branco, Portugal
• SPACE Fair, 11-14 September 2018, Rennes Exhibition Centre, France
• Parnership technical meeting, 13-14 September 2018, Rennes, France
• Smart Agriculture Exhibition Village, 27 June 2018, Brussels, Belgium
• Technical meeting on 24 February 2017: Presentation of methodology & results for the scoping note on “High Tech Farming”
• Technical meeting on 13 April 2017: Insights gained from the mapping exercise
• 1-2 June 2017: Smart Regions 2.0 Conference, Helsinki (Finland): The S3P Agri-food on High-Tech Farming took part in the Smart Regions 2.0 Conference in Helsinki on 1-2 June 2017. On the 1st of June 2017, the thematic partnership delivered a presentation during parallel session 2C: Investing in agri-food and then played an active in the subsequent structured group discussions. 
• Technical meeting on 26 February 2018:Notes from the meeting ; Background presentation

Monitoring reports containing a management report and a progress report prepared by the lead regions are available here:

Other relevant documents: