Context

In the past decade, digital technologies sparked enthusiasm and encouraged investment towards enhancing the economic and environmental performance of the agricultural sector.  Agricultural Digital Solutions (ADSs) leverage advanced data-driven technologies to make farming more precise and controlled. Despite significant investments, the adoption rate among small and medium-sized farms remains quite low, falling below sectoral expectations. Small farms face challenges such as high upfront costs, uncertain benefits, solutions incompatible with their needs, lack of digital skills, and low trust in commercial vendors. Experience shows that a simple “technology push” is insufficient to overcome resistance to change and drive widespread adoption. True progress requires solutions that address real-world problems and are combined with appropriate changes in mindsets and business models.

The EU-funded Farmtopia project seeks to reverse this trend through a pioneering, synergetic farmer-driven approach that fosters the creation of cost-effective ADS tailored to the distinctive needs of small-scale farms. By engaging both farmers and ADS providers in the deployment process and introducing innovative business models, Farmtopia substantially lowers costs for both parties, rendering ADSs adoption affordable and sustainable. This initiative prioritizes strategic crops and livestock in 15 European countries, essentially contributing to digital transformation, resilience, and food security.

Objectives

The last decade has seen an explosion of interest and investment in the use of Agricultural Digital Technologies (ADSs). The use of ADSs is seen by many as an opportunity to increase the economic and environmental performance of the agricultural sector. In spite of considerable public and private investment, uptake and use of ADSs by EU farmers has been limited, especially among small and medium farms. These farms require cost-effective DATs that help them increase their environmental and economic performance and cross the digital divide.

The overall objective of the Farmtopia project is to advance digitalization and democratize digital farming by creating a paradigm shift in the way ADSs for small farms are created, deployed and paid for. This will be achieved by a) fostering co-creation of ADSs to ensure they will solve real problems and fit the needs of small farms; and b) lowering the cost for both farmers and ADSs providers, by creating a set of reusable software modules, a number of business and governance models, and identifying public provision of infrastructure that can enable scale-out of ADSs.

Using a multi-actor approach, Farmtopia will engage farmers, ADSs providers, farm advisors, scientists, policy makers, AKIS actors and other relevant stakeholders in 18 Sustainable Innovation Pilots (SIPs) in at least 15 countries across Europe, and guide them in co-creating, deploying and piloting innovative ADSs while designing, adapting and validating appropriate business and governance models to support them (such as the French CUMA model, which is embraced by >225.000 farmers). The focus will be mainly on specific crops and livestock for which current ADS provision is inadequate as well as on crops that are of regional importance, strengthening resilience, sustainability and food security across Europe. 9 SIPs have been pre-selected and 9 more will be awarded through an Open Call, enabling a dynamic response to a changing policy and technology landscape.

Activities

Farmtopia is at the forefront of the digital revolution in the agri-food sector, delivering cost-effective, accessible, and tailored agricultural digital solutions that empower all farmers, especially those from smaller operations. To advance digitalization and support the democratization of digital farming, Farmtopia undertakes the following activities: