New strategies to accelerate the digitalisation of small agricultural businesses in Sudoe.
CONETIC is leading a collaborative project with 10 other partners from Spain, Portugal and France, which has been supported by the second Interreg Sudoe call for proposals, called AGRITECH.
The main objective of the project is to accelerate the digital transformation of small agricultural businesses in the SUDOE region through new strategies based on a personalised approach (the ‘AgriDemoLab’ methodology).
The AGRITECH project responds to the challenge of halting depopulation in rural areas of the SUDOE region by promoting the digitalisation of its main economic sector, agriculture, as a key tool for addressing the green and digital transitions and making it more competitive, sustainable and attractive.
Statistics show that the agricultural sector, and small businesses in particular, are lagging behind in terms of digitalisation. Therefore, the main objective of the project is to accelerate the digital transformation of small agricultural businesses in the SUDOE area through new strategies based on a personalised approach (the ‘AgriDemoLab’ methodology), which will enable the current barriers to the digitisation of the sector to be overcome: a focus on technology rather than on the needs of each farm, unproven profitability and insufficient technological culture.
The main achievements of the project are:
– 1 Common strategy to promote the digital transition of small agricultural businesses and an action plan for its adaptation and adoption in the participating territories of the SUDOE area.
– 6 ‘pilot actions’ to test the Strategy using the ‘AgriDemoLab’ methodology in different territorial contexts and agricultural sectors.
The main innovation of the project is the application of the ‘AgriDemoLab’ methodology, based on three aspects:
(1) identification of the specific needs of each small agricultural enterprise,
(2) personalised support, and
(3) peer-to-peer transfer of successful implementations.
The project will serve to define, test and adopt the methodology by partner organisations and transfer it to other SUDOE organisations. The project is being implemented by a transnational and multidisciplinary consortium that integrates the entire value chain: public agencies, research organisations, ICT business associations, professional agricultural organisations, clusters and social innovation entities.
Period: 2021-2027
Status: Ongoing
Priority: 2 – Promoting social cohesion and territorial and demographic balance in Sudoe through innovation and the transformation of productive sectors
Objective: 1.4 Developing capacities for smart specialisation, industrial transition and entrepreneurship
AGRITECH will develop a common strategy to promote the digital transition of small agricultural enterprises. This strategy will include the application of the ‘AgriDemoLab’ methodology, based on a personalised approach for each farm, whose key features are: (1) identification of the specific needs of each small agricultural enterprise, (2) personalised support, and (3) peer-to-peer transfer of successful implementations.
The AGRITECH project will develop six pilot actions to apply the AgriDemoLab methodology in six different territorial and crop contexts. These include: P1 Nouvelle-Aquitaine – Viticulture, P2 Occitanie – Agroecological transition and territorialised food systems in different crops, P3 Extremadura – Irrigation and fertilisation management in horticultural crops (tomatoes, peppers and woody crops) and P4 Andalusia – Fruit growing (subtropical crops: avocado and mango).
The priorities of the Interreg Sudoe programme are
derived from the political objectives defined by the
European Union for the period 2021-2027 and are:
in Sudoe through innovation and the transformation of productive sectors.
