Demeter
Promoting the use of digital devices and platforms in the agrifood sector in 18 countries
Description
DEMETER was a large-scale agritech research and innovation project funded under the EU's Horizon 2020 programme between 2019 and 2023, aiming to facilitate and speed-up the deployment of data-driven, smart farming solutions as part of decision support and control systems within the agricultural sector. The project supported farmers in decision-making, allowing them to harness the full value of their own data and knowledge, and those shared by others. The innovative features of DEMETER included a human-in-the-loop model combining human expertise, digital information, interoperable data, services, platforms, machine-to-machine communication and human knowledge, supported by technologies as IoT, Earth Observation, Big Data and AI and targeting the transformation of agricultural practices. The project proposed the establishment of an Agricultural Interoperability Space (AIS), a reference architecture that supports the interoperability of different platforms and data sets for the agri-food sector. The platform aims at improving existing information models in terms of data sharing and interoperability, therefore empowering farmers and controlling the use of data for the exploration of new business models. DEMETER supports the establishment of productivity and sustainability benchmarks, and it promotes the creation of tailored solutions to innovate supplier-farmer interactions. To meet the defined objectives, DEMETER was divided into seven Work Packages: Project Coordination; Data and Knowledge; Technology Integration; Performance Indicator Monitoring; Benchmarking and Decision Support Pilot Management; Business Modelling, Innovation Management, Exploitation and Standardization; and Multi-Actor Ecosystem Development.
Technology
The DEMETER project saw the integration of a diverse range of technologies in support of interoperability and the efficient management of agricultural resources. The Agricultural Interoperability Space (AIS) focused on integrating different technologies and platforms across the agrifood chain, extending pre-existing interoperability mechanisms and ensuring fluid data exchange, while showcasing the development, validation, and deployment of solutions. The project made use of cloud computing infrastructure to host and manage DEMETER-enabled applications and services, and also included the DEMETER Agriculture Information Model (AIM), a structured framework defining how agricultural data was organized, represented and communicated within the DEMETER ecosystem. Semantic data modelling techniques were employed to facilitate a common understanding of agricultural data across different systems and platforms. By standardizing data representations and semantics, AIM ensured that different applications, devices, and services could exchange and interpret agricultural data. All of the registered resources were made available to developers through the DEMETER Enabler Hub (DEH) to guide the deployment of adopted technologies by those with different capabilities (or constraints), as well as ownership of resources factors. The DEH served as a central resource catalogue, allowing stakeholders to register, discover and share components, devices, services and data sources. The Access Control System (ACS) ensured the secure access to DEMETER Cloud resources, through its authentication, authorization and traceability components, leveraging blockchain technologies to ensure the secure and immutable recording of authentication and authorizations. Finally, The Stakeholders Open Collaboration Space (SOCS) utilized the DIHIWARE Platform to facilitate collaboration, idea sharing and co-creation among stakeholders.
Target
The project aimed to empower smallholders farmers, agriculture cooperatives, and large- and medium-sized farmers, providing them with access to affordable IoT technologies, real-time data, advisory services and market connections, while supporting them in making informed decisions, increasing productivity and improving their livelihoods. It also provided private sector actors such as ICT providers and machinery manufactures with new market opportunities due to the potential for innovation and improved product integration by enhancing their functionality and performance. The project further targeted the public sector, providing policymakers and researchers with access to valuable data to steer decision-making and collaborations, while farm advisors gained access to advanced data-driven tools and technologies that enhanced their ability to provide informed advice to farmers.
Business model
The total budget of the initiative was EUR 17.5 million.
Impact
The research and innovation project sought to empower farmers through the provision of data-driven decision support tools, and by supporting the interoperability of different stakeholders in collaborations; promoting sustainable farming practices, driving economic growth through innovation, and guiding evidence-based agricultural policies. The project saw the participation of 18 countries and 60 partners through a multi-actor approach across the value chain (demand and supply), aiming to support 6,000 farmers through 20 pilot projects, and with over 38000 devices and sensors. The overall global outreach of the project was 47 countries, 69 farmers association and a total of 1.5 billion People.
Partners
Organizzazione Mondiale Degli Agricoltori; University College Cork - National University Of Ireland, Cork; Software Imagination & Vision Srl; Open Geospatial Consortium Europe and others
Four Betters
Better life
Better environment
Better production
