Easier Hemp Cultivation with Digital Technologies: SIP4 Makes Progress
Farmtopia, an EU-supported project running from 2023 to 2026, is set to democratize digital technology access for small and medium-sized farmers. With a mission to transform agricultural practices throughout Europe, Farmtopia tackles the deficiencies in current Agricultural Digital Solutions (ADSs) and highlights regionally important sectors through nine Sustainable Innovation Pilots (SIPs). Among its nine Sustainable Innovation Pilots, SIP4 is a pioneering effort to advance industrial hemp farming in Lithuania. This initiative integrates cutting-edge technologies like remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and decision-support systems to optimize hemp cultivation, reduce costs, and enhance sustainability.
Led by the Lithuanian-based innovation house ART21, SIP4 brings together a collaborative network of farmers, ADS providers, and Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs). With the active involvement of AgriFood Lithuania (AFL) and industrial hemp farm Šironija in Lithuania, SIP4 bridges the gap between small-scale farmers and the precision agriculture solutions needed to thrive in a competitive market.
Nurturing Hemp’s Potential for a Sustainable Future
Cultivating hemp requires precision, as this versatile crop depends on an intricate balance of sunlight, nutrients, and water. Traditional methods of soil analysis are labor-intensive and costly, often out of reach for smaller farms. This pilot recognizes these challenges by deploying a suite of digital tools, including UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), hyperspectral imaging, weather and soil sensors, and advanced data logging systems. These technologies provide farmers with actionable insights, enabling timely interventions to reduce costs and maximize productivity.
“With SIP4, we aim to democratize access to advanced technologies, offering farmers valuable tools to optimize resources and meet the growing demands of the industrial hemp market. This initiative not only enhances productivity but also aligns with market requirements and policy objectives, ensuring a sustainable future for hemp farming.” Edgaras Tamelis, SIP4 Leader, ART21
Transforming Industrial Hemp Farming Through Co-development
This Farmtopia endeavor focuses on two key objectives:
- Detection: Integrating current and novel solutions for monitoring industrial hemp, supported by remote sensing and deep learning.
- Assessment: Delivering actionable insights for better decision-making and optimization of farming operations.
The co-development process emphasizes close collaboration with farmers, with technologies such as soil sensors, UAV flights, and hyperspectral imaging already operational. Data is seamlessly collected, encoded, and analyzed through a comprehensive system – from soil sensors to a web-based platform – providing farmers with real-time insights into hemp growing conditions, budgeting, and productivity.
Expected Outcomes of SIP4
- 40-60% reduction in irrigation costs
- ≥15% decrease in fertilizer and pesticide use
- ≥8% increase in productivity
Notable Developments Underway
The collaborative efforts between SIP4 stakeholders have already led to significant progress in Industrial Hemp farming. Notable developments include:
- A highly responsive and collaborative farmer base, ensuring the successful integration of ADS technologies.
- Two rounds of soil sensor installation were completed, with data directly collected into a centralized database.
- A robust data pipeline: Soil sensors → LoRaWAN gateway payload → 4G router → Postgres Database (encoded data) → Flask web platform (decoded data).
- Collection of detailed information on hemp growing conditions, budgeting, and other specifics.
- Execution of a test flight with a hyperspectral camera, enabling advanced monitoring of field conditions.
- Implementation of markers in the field for precise hemp sample collection.
- Ongoing UAV flights for further data collection and analysis.
About the Leaders of the Pilot
The leader of the pilot is ART21, an SME-sized agri-food technology innovation house from Vilnius, Lithuania. The research, development, and innovation (R&D&I) activities of ART21 are focused on advanced ICT domains such as Artificial Intelligence and data analytics, spectrometry, remote sensing, utilisation of EO, UAV, and GIS-based technologies, IoT and Robotics, distributed ICT systems, industrial ERP solutions, etc.
EU Project Farmtopia: Overall Look
Farmtopia’s approach aims to bring together various stakeholders across the agricultural value chain. This includes farmers, Agricultural Digital Solution (ADS) providers, farm advisors, researchers, policymakers, and critical players within Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS).
The Farmtopia project (GA No.: 101083541) is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program. All the information is available on the project’s website, as well as on Linkedin.