Fostering collaboration and promoting the exchange of knowledge and experiences among the various actors in the European agrifood value chain will be one of the key priorities of the Agrifood Working Group of the European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) network.

The Agrifood Working Group, moderated by Andalucía Agrotech EDIH, EDIH Bretagne, EDIH ENTIRE and DigiAgriFood EDIH, has outlined the strategic framework that will guide the Working Group’s upcoming initiatives. The shared goal is to accelerate the adoption of advanced digital technologies within the European Union’s agrifood sector.

The Action Plan is built around four core pillars:

1. Governance and communication
2. Identification of success stories and lessons learned
3. Capacity building and demonstration of technological solutions
4. Promotion of joint initiatives between EDIHs

To implement these areas effectively, dedicated sub-working groups will be established to coordinate the activities.

The European Commission has informed the EDIHs that, in the coming years, efforts should focus on developing high-impact solutions based on artificial intelligence (AI) for agriculture. To this end, a dedicated workshop on AI in agriculture was recently held, bringing together more than 200 experts from across the sector. The key objective was to identify both established and emerging AI technologies that address sector-specific needs, as well as gaps in the current market.

Participants - including industry leaders, sectoral representatives, start-ups, scientists and policy-makers – also explored key challenges and enabling factors essential for integrating AI effectively within the agricultural sector. Insights from this workshop will directly contribute to the Commission’s ongoing initiatives (i.e. the Apply AI Strategy” expected in 2025).

CEOs presented their evolving AI use cases, highlighting critical aspects such as data requirements, model scalability, and socio-economic and environmental impacts. Experts, including representatives from manufacturing, agriculture, cooperatives, and European Digital Innovation Hubs, shared insights and practical experiences on how to fully unlock the potential of AI.

Significant untapped potential was identified for AI applications in risk management, the development of digital twins, and the use of Generative AI (GenAI) to reduce administrative burdens, enhance farmer education and improve advisory services.

Challenges identified for AI in the sector include the handling of legislation at EU and national levels, limited capacities of end users to effectively adopt AI-based solutions and ensuring access to sufficient data.

Trust emerged as a pivotal factor in agriculture AI, encompassing both confidence in AI systems and readiness to share data crucial for AI development. In this context also the potential of regulation in creating conditions that foster a reliable market of safe AI applications was highlighted.

To accelerate the development and adoption of AI-based solutions, specific actions were proposed, such as enhancing interoperability among geospatial datasets to reduce the productions costs of AI-driven services, establishing a digital Farm ID, and implementing the Common European Agricultural Data Space.

More about the EDIH Network Agrifood Working Group: https://european-digital-innovation-hubs.ec.europa.eu/knowledge-hub/thematic-groups/agrifood#meetings