A smart and sustainable digital future for European agriculture and rural areas
Declaration of cooperation between 26 European countries
DescriptionOverview of the initiative and its approach.
The ”A smart and sustainable digital future for European agriculture and rural areas” document is a Declaration reflecting the common intention of 26 EU Member States to address the economic, social, climatic and environmental challenges facing the EU's agri-food sector and rural areas. It highlights the need to encourage the long-term evolution of farming systems to make them more resilient and efficient, and underlines the potential of digital technologies to help tackle such challenges. The Declaration in particular aims to strengthen the support provided for research, and promotes the establishment of an infrastructure that supports innovation and the creation of a European dataspace for smart agri-food applications, while maximizing the impact of ongoing initiatives that support the result-based transition of the CAP through the development of innovative and digital solutions for both rural stakeholders and institutions. In proposing these actions, the Member States are addressing the challenges faced by the agricultural sector in the EU, such as the environmental pressures related to climate change, the loss of biodiversity, the lack of traceable and quality products at affordable prices, the shortage of farm labour and the lack of a digitally skilled workforce, all of which are hindering the modernization of the sector.
TechnologyTechnology used by the initiative.
The Declaration highlights how digital technologies have the potential to increase farm efficiency and improve production, while also contributing to efforts to make farming systems more sustainable from an economic, social and environmental perspective. In line with the EU commitments under the Declaration of Cooperation on Artificial Intelligence (AI) of 10 April 2018, AI has been highlighted as a technology to be embraced by the Member States supporting efforts to keep Europe at the forefront of progress in smart farming. In the attempt to achieve the goals announced in the Declaration of Cooperation on blockchain of 10 April 2018, via the ongoing work on the European Blockchain Partnership, blockchain has been mentioned as a technology able to improve food traceability of the food system. The decision to implement new means of supporting and participating in IoT projects in agriculture, in particular those targeting low-power wide area wireless networks, is also mentioned, while the promotion of relevant platforms and databases and the compilation of geospatial, environmental/climate/Earth observation and meteorological datasets are also promoted, in line with the recently agreed Directive on Open Data and the re-use of public sector information. Other technologies mentioned in the document are high performance computing (HPC), Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G.
TargetUsers, groups, or communities targeted by the initiative.
The main target of the Declaration is the public sector, and in particular the 26 Member State signatories of the policy document and their national institutions. Also targeted are the European Union bodies in charge of the implementation of policies that support the development of EU agriculture.
ImpactThe observed or intended effects of the initiative.
The Declaration contributes to the increased use of digital technologies in agriculture, aiming to improve the quality of life of farm workers and the rural population in the EU Member States. It is known that such technologies can support the optimization of many aspects of farming by supporting decision making and reshaping the functioning of agri-food markets, however, broadband accessibility in rural areas in the EU is still at 53 percent. Aside from the predicted positive impact on the quality of life of farm workers and the rural population, it is thought that the policy document will help attract members of the younger generations to farming and rural business start-ups.
PartnersOrganizations and stakeholders involved in the initiative.
26 EU Member States
Four BettersThe FAO Four Betters supported by the initiative.
Better production
Better environment
