On July 8th, Farmtopia held its external introductory workshop to Farmtopia’s services, this time to a broader audience, including the Farmtopia Advisory Board and members of Farmtopia’s Sister Projects. The event aimed to present user and technical requirements, showcase the Farmtopia services, gather feedback, and inform participants about the upcoming Farmtopia Open Calls.
Project Overview by Project Coordinator Dionisis Solomos
Dionisis Solomos, Farmtopia’s project coordinator from NEUROPUBLIC, kicked off the workshop with an introduction and project overview. He highlighted the background and mission of Farmtopia, emphasising the need for Agricultural Digital Solutions (ADSs) in Europe. Despite the growing interest in ADSs, their adoption among European farmers, especially small-scale ones, has been limited. This gap needs addressing to enhance the economic and environmental aspects of the agricultural sector.
Farmtopia envisions a future where ADSs cater to the needs of small farms, focusing on their creation, deployment, and affordability. The project coordinator also discussed Farmtopia’s Sustainable Innovation Pilots (SIPs), explaining that the project includes 18 SIPs, with 9 pre-selected and 9 to be selected through an Open Call. These pilots target specific crops and livestock where existing ADSs are underdeveloped, as well as regional crops of significance.
Key Presentations
Digital FieldBook Service
Miran Bunderla from Farmtopia’s partner organisation ITC Murska Sobota introduced the Farmtopia Digital FieldBook, a modular software service designed for small farms. This service enables the recording and management of farm properties, coordination, assets, fertilisers, chemicals, and agricultural practices such as planting and observations. The Digital FieldBook standardises these recordings, facilitating the creation of comprehensive reports and data sharing. Currently, it is undergoing testing by farmers and advisors, who are actively contributing to its development through a multi-actor approach.
Farmtopia Data Integration Service
Markos Fragkopoulos from another Farmtopia partner organisation GreenSupplyChain Digital Innovation Hub presented the Farmtopia Semantic Model, an integration service that builds upon the Ploutos Common Semantic Model. This service addresses the need for affordable data acquisition from numerous sources. A significant feature is its integration with the Open Weather API, providing essential weather-related data such as ambient temperature, humidity, wind speed, direction, and precipitation. This integration supports current weather measurements and forecasting, which is crucial for informed agricultural decision-making.
Data Exchange Service
Nikos Kalatzis, the leader of the Work Package dedicated to Digital Solutions and the project’s technical leader, also from NEUROPUBLIC, introduced the Farmtopia Data Exchange Module. This module facilitates collaboration and knowledge sharing among various entities, including smart farming services and farmers. It features a datasource listing, a search engine for registered data sources, and a heartbeat function that monitors the availability of each data source, notifying owners if a source becomes unavailable. Thanasis Manos from NEUROPUBLIC elaborated on the module’s procedures, demonstrating its application and how consumer applications can utilise these services effectively.
Following the presentations, attendees engaged in open discussions, providing valuable feedback and insights.
Open Call Launching This Fall
In the closing remarks of the workshop, Dusan Pevac, the project’s Communication Manager from Foodscale Hub, delivered an announcement regarding the upcoming Farmtopia Open Call. He emphasized the role this initiative will play in fostering the development and implementation of Agricultural Digital Solutions (ADSs) tailored for small and medium farms.
The Farmtopia Open Call, set to launch this fall, is a significant opportunity for small-scale farmers and ADS providers to collaborate and innovate. This initiative aims to select nine new Pilots, each comprising a small farmer and an ADS provider. Each selected Pilot will receive €100,000 in equity-free funding to develop and implement their projects over 12 months, with a total funding pool of €900,000.