Project

Smart-AKIS - smart farming for agricultural businesses

Smart Farming Technology: smart information and communication technology for agricultural businesses. Much of this technology is also suitable for small and medium-sized businesses, but this can make it difficult to work out which technology is best-suited to your company and how you will benefit in economic and environmental terms. The European Smart-AKIS Network is there to help agricultural businesses with this.

Smart-AKIS is a European network that is trying to make Smart Farming Technology more accessible for use in practice  , and wants to provide a link between research and practice. What do farmers really need, and what is the best way to incorporate a solution into the work processes for optimum results?

The European Smart-AKIS Network helps agricultural entrepreneurs to improve their business operations, resulting not only in higher profits, but also more sustainable results. Smart-AKIS shows farmers and market gardeners how they can benefit from the latest agricultural technology and materials.

Aims

  • Take stock of and categorise solutions, techniques and research findings that are available as prototypes or as commercial solutions.
  • Analyse the needs and interests of end users, and the factors that may influence adoption and feasibility of potential solutions; this includes local factors. Develop a multi-actor collaboration model, in which a diverse range of interested parties can work together to realise innovation.
  • Set up an online platform for assessing Smart Farming Technology options for use in a specific context. The platform can also be used to collect and share ideas and demand from the field.

Approach and method

Smart-AKIS is a Thematic Network: a specific, multi-actor project format operated for and by interested value chain partners under the flag of the European Innovation Partnership on Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI), with funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 Programme.
The Smart-AKIS Network collects existing (and possibly under-used) insights, techniques and best practices, making them accessible for use in practice via targeted information material and presentations of techniques in their simplest form.

Intended outcomes

  • An overview of solutions that can be applied directly from the huge arsenal of research results and applications of Smart Farming Technology available on the market, aimed at the needs of specific sectors and companies.
  • Collaboration between growers, advisors and Smart Farming Technology suppliers.
  • Support for innovation projects and processes for developing ‘smart solutions’, driven by the needs and interests of the end-users.