Toolkit
Toolkit

Project at a glance

Identifying the roadblocks

The last decade has seen an explosion of interest and investment in the use of digital technology solutions in agriculture and food production (DATS). Despite the many predicted and promised benefits of their use in agriculture, actual uptake and use by farmers in Europe has been slow and limited for a number of reasons.

Lack of knowledge about DATS
Insufficient clear and “hard” data on the costs and benefits of DATS
DATS impact on sustainability when used under real life conditions
Impediments such as farmers’ cultural and behavioural attitudes

Need for real life measurements

There is a need for independent quantitative and qualitative assessments of the multiple costs and benefits and potential sustainability gains of DATS, examining both their positive and negative potential impacts. It is also important to make these assessments of DATS and their wider impacts replicable, comparable and of practical use. This is of particular importance for farmers, their advisors, and policy-makers, as this is an essential stepping-stone to facilitate the uptake of DATS in the sector and may facilitate the design of tailored and effective policy measures.

Bridging the gap between farmers and DATSs

QuantiFarm focusses on supporting the further deployment of DATS as key enablers for enhancing the sustainability performance and competitiveness of the agricultural sector. To achieve this goal, QuantiFarm aims to establish an Assessment Framework measuring the impact and effectiveness of DATS in agriculture through innovative tools, services and recommendations for farmers, advisors and policy makers:

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Our Ambition

The last decade has seen an explosion of interest and investment in the use of digital technology solutions in agriculture and food production (DATSs). Despite the many predicted and promised benefits of their use in agriculture, actual uptake and use by farmers in Europe has been slow and limited for a number of reasons.

Analyse farmers’, advisors’ and contractors’ motivations

Monitor agricultural indicators and environmental changes

Increase farm advisor capacity

Develop innovative tools for awareness raising and decision support on DATS adoption

Implement a cost-benefit analysis and elaborate the impact of sustainability of DATS

Our objectives

1

Establish a network of AKIS actors and commercial farms and use them as Test Cases to assess DATS under real conditions

2

Engage the actors in participatory research activities to conduct a thorough analysis of farmers’ motivations in terms of the uptake of DATS

3

Design a Framework for assessing the costs, benefits and sustainability impacts of

4

Provide a qualitative and quantitative assessment of each DATS tested in the TCs, using the Assessment Framework
smart farming
smart farming-
lettuce
smart farming

5

Create a Digital Toolkit for Farmers, Advisors and Policy Makers, to provide access to the assessment results and support decision-making

6

Provide capacity building for advisors and design innovative advisory services for farmers, to support DATS selection and use and to enhance agriculture’s sustainability performance and competitiveness.

7

Support Policy Makers by delivering policy recommendations and a Policy Monitoring Tool, towards the design of efficient policy measures for the uptake of DATS.