ERIAFF High Tecnology Farming

Description of the aims and goals of WG’s activities

The High Tech Farming Working Group aims to facilitate interregional and cross-border cooperation to accelerate the transition towards Sustainable Precision Farming (SPF) in European agricultural systems. The group promotes the synergic use of advanced technologies such as robotics, ICT, big data, and Earth Observation to support more efficient, resilient, and sustainable farming practices.

Its activities focus on strengthening collaboration among regional innovation ecosystems and supporting the development of joint initiatives and pilot projects based on shared priorities. Existing pilots, such as FreshFruit and Podur, illustrate the practical implementation of this approach, while additional initiatives are currently under development.

The Working Group also works towards establishing shared interregional services and a coordinated governance model, aimed at enhancing connectivity among regions, improving knowledge exchange, and supporting joint funding opportunities for innovation in high-tech and precision agriculture.

Challenges to address

Key challenges for the Working Group include:

• Fragmentation of innovation efforts across European regions
• Limited coordination of high-tech farming initiatives at EU level
• Barriers to scaling up Sustainable Precision Farming solutions
• Uneven uptake of digital and data-driven agriculture across diverse farming systems
• Challenges in integrating multiple technologies into coherent and usable farming practices
• Need to strengthen collaboration among regional innovation ecosystems
• Limited access to shared interregional services supporting innovation
• Need to improve governance models for cross-border cooperation
• Need to facilitate joint funding mechanisms for high-tech agriculture projects
• Need to accelerate the adoption of precision and data-driven farming across Europe