Farmtopia is a Horizon Europe project spanning three years, from September 2023 to August 2026.
Comprising 22 partners from 12 countries, Farmtopia’s goal is to democratise digital farming, making it accessible to all.
Small Farms: Big Impact
Despite the agricultural industry’s increasing interest in Agricultural Digital Solutions (ADSs), their adoption among European farmers, particularly small-scale ones, has remained limited. This creates a significant gap that 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 more readily, encompassing their creation, deployment, and affordability.
The envisioned impact includes providing validated ADSs to over 64,000 small farms. As the project advances, we will continually update our website with further details about the SIPs (Sustainable Innovation Pilots), digital solutions, and results.
Farmtopia's Inclusive Approach
In order to democratise digital farming, the project will focus on:
Crops and Livestock in Focus
- Meat and dairy traditional cows
- Cereals and oilseed crops
- Industrial hemp
- Organic oyster mushrooms
- Field and fodder crops, grapes
- Organic avocado
- Carrots
Sustainable Innovation Pilots
The project comprises of 18 Sustainable Innovation Pilots (SIPs). Of these, 9 pilots have already been pre-selected, while the remaining 9 will be awarded through an Open Call. The SIPs primarily target specific crops and livestock for which existing ADSs are underdeveloped and inadequate, as well as regional crops of significance.
Collaborative Efforts
- Farmers
- ADS Providers
- Farm Advisors
- Scientists
- Policy Makers
- AKIS (Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems) Actors
Farmtopia's Open Call
The Open Call mechanism will allow Farmtopia to dynamically respond to evolving policy and technological landscapes. The project will select 9 new farms (SIPs) that will co-create and test smart solutions for small farms, benefiting from Farmtopia’s reusable software modules. The overall amount to be set aside to support and fund third-party SIPs under the Open Call through sub-grants is €900.000, which means €100.000 per SIP. A set of demonstration and networking events will take place, to share the created knowledge and tools and create more success stories. The Open Call process will introduce additional technologies (e.g., agricultural robots), in case they are appropriate and sufficiently mature for small farms. All ADSs will be accompanied with appropriate business and governance models that will be co-developed in parallel, ensuring their future uptake by the targeted value chains.