Farmtopia, an EU-funded project running from 2023 to 2026, aims to make digital farming tools accessible to small and medium-sized farmers across Europe. Through nine Sustainable Innovation Pilots (SIPs), the project addresses current gaps in Agricultural Digital Solutions (ADSs) while supporting regionally important and underdeveloped farming sectors.
SIP5, one of these pilots, focuses on arable crop production in Slovenia and Ukraine. It tackles key challenges in farm administration, fertilization, pesticide use, and harvest planning by integrating smart, easy-to-use digital tools tailored to real-world farming needs.
Farmer-Led, Technology-Backed
Led by ITC Murska Sobota, a Slovenian non-profit organization, SIP5 brings together technical expertise, digital innovation, and the practical experience of five arable farmers from the Pomurje region in Slovenia. With farming advisors helping interpret and apply collected data, the pilot forms a strong farmer – advisor – technology partnership, ensuring the solutions are effective and grounded in day-to-day agricultural practice.
What Does SIP5 Do?
SIP5 is improving the MyFarm app – a farm management tool already used by advisors – by adding new features developed through the Farmtopia project. These features help farmers plan fertilization, spraying, and activities tracking more efficiently – using available data to support decisions that lower costs, reduce environmental impact, and improve long-term soil health.
“To achieve our sustainability and efficiency goals, we’re integrating a suite of digital technologies-from Sentinel satellite data and UAVs for crop monitoring to IoT weather stations, soil sensors, and national land registry,” says Tomaž Bokan, SIP5 Leader at ITC Murska Sobota. “Combined with a comprehensive soil analysis database, all of this feeds into a centralized advisory system that gives farmers and advisors real-time, data-driven insights to improve productivity and soil health.”
Impact and Expected Results
By focusing on targeted fertilization, pesticide optimization, and harvest planning, SIP5 aims to provide ADS to 16 farms to:
- Perform 25 targeted fertilizations
- Reduce fertilizer use by ≥25% and cut overall production costs by ≥10% (compared to approach with no targeted farming)
- Improve long-term soil health and input efficiency
As part of Sustainable Innovation Pilot 5, the Farmtopia Open Day 2025 gathered nearly 100 participants near Moravske Toplice, Slovenia, to showcase the FieldBook tool developed by ITC under DIH Agrifood ecosystem, along with cutting-edge agri-tech solutions like advanced spraying and fertilization systems, soil analysis service, drones and robots.
If you’re interested in joining future SIP5 Open Days, get in contact with Tomaz Bokan from ITC Murska Sobota at tomaz.bokan@itc-cluster.com .