The fulfilment of the EU’s vision for the European Digital Strategy requires more to be done in terms of understanding the state of play of digital and data-driven agriculture and forestry, pinpointing good practices, key barriers and suitable governance models and, ultimately, disseminating the relevant knowledge and tools to the wider community so as to foster its speedier and more effective adoption. The overarching objective of 4Growth is to understand where, how and to what extent digital and data technologies in agriculture and forestry are being adopted. This will contribute to a deeper knowledge of what influences market uptake, which in turn will allow 4Growth to develop robust forecasts to guide policymaking and increase further uptake.

With 4Growth, we aim to have attained a comprehensive understanding of how the markets for digital agriculture and forestry operate, what the current and projected adoption rates of digital and data technologies are and what the factors catalysing or hindering this progress are. We also aim to have Increased the transparency of data sharing practices in the agricultural and forestry sectors in support of healthy competition. Finally, we aim to have contributed to an increased uptake of digital and data technologies in agriculture and forestry and reduced investment risks. This is expected to indirectly contribute to an increase in environmental and economic performance of the sectors.

By fostering stronger connections between various stakeholders, such as researchers, farmers, food producers, policymakers, and consumers, innovative practices and technologies can be shared more efficiently. This collaboration is essential for addressing common challenges such as sustainability, food security, and climate change.

Synergy Days helps 4Growth by stimulating the exchange of ideas and the development of innovative solutions to common challenges. This event also serves as a platform for 4Growth to gather data that can inform our project and ultimately improve the efficiency, sustainability, and competitiveness of the agri-food sector.

The spark that led to the creation of AgrifoodTEF was the opportunity of bringing together “Testing and Experimentation Facilities” across Europe to create an accessible infrastructure for validating AI and Robotics solutions in the agrifood sector. The motivation that keeps alive the interest in the proposed action is the need to bridge the market with all the “made in Europe” excellent agrifood-related research and innovation activities that SMEs and Startups especially have been focusing on recently.

AI and Robotics applications for the agrifood sectors are becoming increasingly popular. In the coming 5 years AgrifoodTEF will pave the way towards more innovation adoption by the farmers, thanks to the results of testing new solutions directly in the fields and producing evidence for the advantages these bring to their farms productivity.

The primary production sector brings to technology innovators the hardest challenges because testing environment does not allow for extensive repeatability of experiments. Many are the conditions that can change the final outcome when assessing innovative solutions for testing and validation purposes. Building bridges across projects, disciplines, countries is important because it mitigates the risk created by isolation that limits the scope (and validity) of experimentation. Building bridges across European initiatives allows knowledge-sharing and builds stronger foundations for data-sharing, which for the specifics of the AgrifoodTEF project leads to more robust and reliable AI solutions.

Synergy Days give a unique opportunity to meet European SMEs and Startups that are already engaged with the community of innovators in collaborative projects for the agrifood sector. Attendants get to hear, discuss and interact with colleagues in multi-disciplinary settings, working on the latest trends and innovative technologies in many different European countries and therefore locations. This is the added value that broadens one’s knowledge and allows faster creation of innovative solutions without ignoring the hurdles that may come from societal, business and legal considerations.

The creation of our project, ALIANCE, was inspired by over 30 years of experience working in the agricultural sector, where data availability and reliability have consistently been major challenges. Although free satellite data provides valuable insights, its effectiveness is often hindered by cloud cover, which can disrupt the functionality of many systems. This limitation poses significant difficulties for farmers and agricultural stakeholders who rely on accurate and timely data for their decision-making processes.

Moreover, existing weather forecasts frequently fall short of the precision required for agricultural needs. The sector demands highly accurate, localized weather predictions to manage essential tasks such as planting, irrigation, and harvesting. Recognizing these gaps, ALIANCE was conceived to develop innovative solutions that overcome these obstacles.

ALIANCE aims to integrate advanced technologies to enhance data accuracy and reliability, even in adverse conditions. By improving access to high-quality data and providing more precise weather forecasting, the project seeks to empower farmers and stakeholders with the tools necessary to optimize their operations. Through this initiative, ALIANCE will contribute to increased productivity and resilience in the agricultural sector, addressing both current and future challenges with cutting-edge digital solutions.

Over the next five years, we envision our project, ALIANCE, having a significant impact on the European agricultural and food sector by offering global services through APIs that will empower other developers and stakeholders. Our goal is to become a key player in the market by providing advanced tools and data services that can be easily integrated into a wide range of applications.

By focusing on creating robust, scalable APIs, we aim to facilitate the widespread adoption of our technologies across Europe and beyond. These APIs will allow developers to incorporate our advanced AI-driven solutions, satellite data processing capabilities, and precise weather forecasting models into their own platforms, enabling them to offer more sophisticated and reliable services to the agricultural sector.

Our ambition is to not only support individual farmers and agribusinesses but also to contribute to a broader ecosystem of innovation in agriculture. By providing these tools globally, we help bridge the gap between cutting-edge technology and practical agricultural applications, fostering a more connected, data-driven, and efficient agricultural industry in Europe. Ultimately, we believe that ALIANCE can play a pivotal role in driving the digital transformation of the agri-food sector, enhancing productivity, sustainability, and resilience across the continent.

Building bridges across the European agri-food sector is crucial because it requires the collaboration of a diverse range of experts, including farmers, food scientists, IT and data specialists, and machinery manufacturers. The complexity of the sector, which involves everything from primary production to food processing and distribution, means that no single discipline can address all the challenges effectively.

By fostering connections between these different stakeholders, we can create a more integrated and efficient ecosystem. For example, IT and data specialists can work with farmers to develop precision farming tools that optimize resource use and increase yields, while machinery experts can design equipment that is more responsive to the needs identified by data-driven insights. Food scientists can then ensure that the quality and safety of the food produced meet the highest standards.

Such collaboration not only leads to more innovative solutions but also accelerates the adoption of new technologies across the sector. Building these bridges enhances knowledge sharing, promotes best practices, and enables the development of holistic approaches that can address the complex challenges facing the agri-food industry, such as sustainability, food security, and climate change. In essence, strong connections within the sector are essential for driving innovation and ensuring the long-term success and resilience of European agriculture.

Synergy Days offer significant added value for our project/EDIH by providing an excellent opportunity to connect with a diverse range of stakeholders, including experts, potential collaborators, and end-users from across the agri-food sector. These events are invaluable for networking, enabling us to exchange ideas, share our experiences, and learn from others who are also working to innovate and improve the sector.

In addition to the networking benefits, Synergy Days serve as a crucial platform for us to promote our services and showcase the unique solutions we are developing. Presenting our work to a broad audience allows us to raise awareness about the capabilities and potential of our technologies, attracting interest from potential partners and clients who can benefit from our offerings.

Moreover, the interactions and feedback we receive during Synergy Days help us refine our strategies and better align our services with the needs of the market. This collaborative environment fosters the kind of synergy that is essential for driving innovation and ensuring the successful adoption of new technologies across the agri-food sector. Overall, Synergy Days contribute significantly to advancing our project goals by facilitating meaningful connections and enhancing the visibility of our work.

By 2019 we were already simulating food processes in digital environments. We had replicated high temperature cooking and the effect on different vegetables. In parallel we had developed NIR cameras capable of detecting food fraud powered by artificial intelligence. Then, in 2020, confinement gave us all plenty of time to time outside the lab which sparked the idea of bringing digital twins, artificial vision, blockchain and logistic models together into one single platform for the food industry -BBTWINS. We wanted to create one single point of interaction with the user, so that the multiple interfaces behind wouldn’t be visible, nor the interaction between them. The ultimate digital tool in the cloud for food industries to benefit from digital and green transition technologies. At the end of the day costs need to be as low as possible for prices to be affordable for consumers and still leave profits for businesses. BBTWINS aims to boost efficiency, give transparency to consumers and maintain high product quality standards.

The world is experiencing a digital transition. By 2023, there were over 5.5 billion internet users globally, accounting for approximately 68.6% of the world’s population. Shopping lists are on mobiles, supermarket tickets are paperless, we use apps to check the nutritional content of what we eat, to know their origin. In parallel, the global digital transformation market in industries is expected to reach $3.3 trillion by 2025, driven by the rapid adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies such as the IoT (in other words, sensors), artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud computing. 

On the other hand, Europe is the spearhead of green transition. Packaging materials, disposal and sorting, plant-based, bio-based, clean labels free of additives, emission reduction, circular economy, energy savings, reducing food waste at home and loss at industries. We are all increasingly embracing these concepts and transforming how the world works. 

BBTWINS offers twin transition technologies, that is digital technologies that have the ability to also turn industries and consumption patterns greener. We have already deployed a full pilot in a real pork meat company, covering feed meals, breeding, fattening, logistics, curing and retail. We have a lighthouse project, a beacon. And it will not be the only one.   

The food sector depends on agriculture, and vice versa. We eat what it’s farmed, and farms produce what is demanded. The pandemic showed how fragile supply chains can be, so local sourcing of ingredients within Europe makes food chains more resilient. Farming and processing practices vary and are not always up to European quality standards, turning EU products more reliable. In the digital context, interoperability is fundamental for different systems to be compatible. Protocols, systems, regulations, and industry standards differ from industry to industry, from country to country. However twin transition technologies are somehow universal, they can b applied to any farm or food industry anywhere as long as it’s properly personalized. Horizontal exchange of knowledge and practices boost improvements and makes things better and faster. These are just a few reasons why it’s important to build bridges across the European agri-food sector, but I just had 200 words!

I want to see what’s out there. I want people to know what we are doing down here.

The inspiration for our project stems from the urgent need to address the complex challenges that global food system faces. The need for a more resilient and self-sufficient food system has become increasingly critical. Despite significant policy efforts by the European Commission and global institutions to promote sustainability, such as the European Green Deal and the CAP, the adoption of sustainable practices in agriculture remains limited and below desired levels.  Inspired by the behavioural sciences, innovation and change management, and fairness theories, The BEATLES aspires to understand the lock-ins and levers for transitioning towards fair and sustainable food systems. Our goal is to drive behavioural shifts towards climate-smart agriculture and smart farming technologies. These transformative pathways are expected to boost the adoption and expansion of climate-smart agricultural technologies among the agri-food systems actors through fair business strategies and policy changes.

Overall, BEATLES aims to accelerate the behavioural shift towards more climate-smart farming and create a more sustainable food system for Europe. In the next five years, we hope that our research findings will drive more behaviourally informed policy design and implementation and business models that will guide a fair transition to more sustainable practices and choices in agri-food sector.

Building bridges across the European agri-food sector is vital for several reasons. Among those reasons, what we believe is important and we want to highlight is how building bridges between countries and sectors can foster the sharing of knowledge and good practices among farmers, researchers, industry stakeholders, policy makers, from different countries. Joint research efforts can accelerate technological advancements in smart agriculture increasing the productivity and efficiency of the agricultural sector. Collaboration across countries enables better market access allowing producers to reach broader markets within and outside Europe.  

Moreover, BEATLES contributes to policy dialogues and business strategies. In terms of policy dialogues, the BEATLES calls for a collaborative effort to support farmers adopting CSA until the innovations mature for market uptake. In terms of the business strategies BEATLES suggests collaboratively governed business models that rely not only on formal structures, but also on informal relations.

Only a well-connected agri-food sector can face the challenges of climate change, food security and environmental degradation and foster adoption of sustainable practices on a wider scale. 

Synergy Days offer significant added value for BEATLES. Firstly, they provide exceptional networking opportunities, allowing us to connect with key stakeholders, industry leaders, and experts in the field. This networking can lead to valuable collaborations and partnerships that might not have been possible otherwise.  

Secondly, Synergy Days facilitate the discovery of potential synergies with other relevant projects. By engaging with a diverse group of initiatives, we can identify areas of overlap and mutual benefit, leading to more integrated and effective solutions across the sector. 

Lastly, the event is a prime opportunity for gaining and transferring knowledge about new sustainable solutions. Attendees can learn about advancements and innovations used in the field, which may inspire new ideas and approaches for our own work. Sharing our own insights also helps advance the broader community's progress. 

The inspiration for the CHOICE project stems from a critical analysis of existing Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), which play a significant role in shaping climate policy and decision-making processes. Traditionally, IAMs have focused predominantly on supply-side measures, often overlooking the demand-side dynamics and complexities inherent in food systems. This gap is particularly significant because food systems involve a wide array of stakeholders, each with distinct behaviors and impacts on the environment. 

Recognizing the limitations of traditional approaches, CHOICE was conceived to fundamentally transform how IAMs incorporate demand-side measures by embedding detailed behavioral insights and actor heterogeneity. The project's innovative approach integrates rigorous social science research with cutting-edge digital technologies to create a new generation of IAMs. These enhanced models aim to capture the complex decisions of consumers, producers, and other key actors within the food, agriculture, and land use sectors.  

CHOICE uses digital tools, including immersive technologies and gamification, to engage stakeholders actively. These tools are designed to inform, inspire and catalyze behavioral changes that support sustainable practices and climate-positive actions across the sectors involved. 

Over the next five years, the CHOICE project aims to significantly impact the European agricultural and food sectors by driving the adoption of sustainable practices through advanced digital technologies and behavioral science. By integrating sophisticated modeling tools like GLOBIOM and the FABLE Calculator into our strategies, we anticipate a marked improvement in how agricultural policies and practices align with environmental sustainability goals. Our project will facilitate a shift towards more plant-based diets and reduced food waste, employing digital tools to engage consumers and producers directly. These tools will help visualize the environmental and economic impacts of their choices, fostering a more sustainable consumption pattern across Europe. Moreover, CHOICE is set to enhance decision-making processes by providing stakeholders with precise data and predictive analytics on climate impact, enabling more informed policy development. This approach will likely lead to innovations in land use and food production that not only reduce carbon footprints but also enhance biodiversity and ecosystem health. Ultimately, by embedding new behavioral insights into integrated assessment models, CHOICE will offer actionable solutions that can be adopted at scale, promoting a resilient, productive, and sustainable agricultural sector across Europe.

Bringing together the European agri-food sector is key to tackling the complex challenges of sustainable farming and food security. By fostering collaboration, we can align the goals of diverse stakeholders, share cutting-edge technologies, and harmonize practices across different regions and agricultural systems. When we work together, we can pool resources, knowledge, and expertise, speeding up the adoption of innovations and best practices that might otherwise remain limited to specific areas or organizations. This kind of cooperation helps us respond to major challenges like climate change, resource shortages, and the growing need for sustainable production methods. Collaboration also plays a big role in shaping consistent policies across nations, ensuring that the regulatory frameworks support sustainability goals in a more unified way. This is critical for building a strong food system that can adapt to economic pressures, environmental shifts, and changing consumer preferences. In the end, better connections across the agri-food sector mean greater resilience. The more connected we are, the better equipped we’ll be to handle shocks and stresses, ensuring that food security and sustainability remain strong for future generations. This collaborative spirit not only strengthens economic stability but also advances environmental care across Europe.

Synergy Days offer an invaluable opportunity for the CHOICE project to expand its influence within the European agricultural and food sectors. These events give our team the chance to connect with a wide range of stakeholders, including policymakers, researchers, industry experts, and innovators. Engaging with this diverse group allows us to exchange ideas, gain new perspectives, and stay up to date with the latest trends and challenges in the agri-food industry. Through Synergy Days, we can also share our research findings and technological innovations with a broader audience. This increased visibility helps us attract potential collaborators and investors who are crucial to scaling our initiatives and promoting the adoption of sustainable practices across the sector. Additionally, these events provide a vital feedback loop. Presenting our work and receiving input from experts helps us refine our strategies and tools, ensuring they remain relevant, user-friendly, and effective. This ongoing feedback is essential to the success of our project, allowing us to continuously improve and meet the evolving needs of the European agri-food sector.

The COMMECT project was born from the pressing need to bridge the digital gap between rural and urban areas, focusing on the broader use of digital technologies and communication network infrastructures. Based on our experience in previous national and international projects in the rural regions, with farmers, we saw firsthand how limited access to digital tools and services in rural communities was holding rural communities back, widening the digital divide. The Horizon Europe call for projects on this topic came at the perfect time. It offered us a unique opportunity to design and deploy innovative connectivity solutions to overcome the challenges faced by rural areas in accessing and utilizing digital technologies effectively. 

We believe that by leveraging our expertise and collaborating directly with end-users and key stakeholders, COMMECT can make a significant contribution to bridging the digital divide and ensuring that everyone, regardless of location, can participate fully in the digital age. 

We believe that COMMECT will have an impact besides the project lifetime. Having created the Living Labs as ecosystems, connecting researchers, with farmers, stakeholders, policymakers, among others, the project has changed the approach and mind-set of the target rural communities.  

In the next five years, we envision COMMECT's Decision-Making Support Tool (DST) becoming a cornerstone of digital agriculture, not only in Europe but globally. We anticipate widespread adoption of the DST, with its AI-powered, multimodal capabilities establishing it as a leading digital farming consultant. 

As farmers increasingly embrace data-driven decision-making, we foresee the DST playing a pivotal role in optimizing agricultural practices, resource management, and overall productivity. The tool's ability to provide personalized, context-aware advice through seamless interaction will empower farmers across diverse sectors and regions to make informed choices, fostering a more sustainable and resilient agricultural landscape. 

Ultimately, we see the DST as a catalyst for digital transformation in the agri-food sector, contributing to a more connected and efficient global food system. The widespread adoption of the DST will not only benefit individual farmers but will also have a ripple effect, promoting food security, environmental sustainability, and economic prosperity on a broader scale. 

Building bridges in the European agri-food sector is about making sure that everyone has access to the same opportunities, from small-scale farmers to large tech providers. COMMECT focuses on sharing knowledge and tools that can make a real difference, especially in rural areas that are often left behind. When regions lack access to digital tools they risk falling behind in productivity and economic growth. This can affect the food system with inefficiencies and missed opportunities for innovation.  

By building collaboration across borders and among different types of stakeholders, we can make sure that innovations such as IoT and AI are not limited to certain regions or only big players, but also reach remote farms and smaller firms. Involving rural areas to be a part of the digital transformation can have great impact on the local economy and strengthen the food system across Europe.  

We appreciate the opportunity to participate in the Synergy Days and showcase our project, first in the exhibition area, second through a series of workshops, focused on specific topics. The event is the perfect opportunity to exchange with other EU projects, having common objectives, addressing similar issues, using the same approach, leveraging on the Living Lab. It is an enriching experience, to be aware of all the EU initiatives, and try to take the best out of them, to support innovation in the sector. At the Synergy days interactions with a broader ecosystem of stakeholders are also possible. Such interactions are crucial for generating new ideas, forging partnerships, and accelerating the adoption of our technologies.

The creation of the COMUNIDAD project was inspired by our ongoing involvement in both EU research initiatives and the commercialization of advanced tools and technologies. Over the years, we have gained valuable experience and insights through our participation in various European projects, where we developed and refined innovative solutions that address key challenges in the agri-food sector and beyond. However, we recognized that to truly maximize the impact of these technologies, it is essential to extend our reach beyond the European market.

The COMUNIDAD project represents a strategic effort to leverage our expertise and the technological advancements we have achieved within the EU to explore and establish a presence in global markets. By doing so, we aim to broaden the adoption of our tools, ensuring they benefit a wider range of stakeholders, particularly in regions where such solutions are urgently needed. Additionally, this project allows us to gather new insights and feedback from diverse markets, which will further enhance the effectiveness and relevance of our offerings. Ultimately, COMUNIDAD serves as a bridge between European innovation and global application, driving both commercial success and positive social impact.

While the COMUNIDAD project is primarily focused on markets outside of the European Union, we foresee that the new requirements and technologies we develop will have a significant impact on the European agricultural and food sector over the next five years. The challenges and needs identified in regions such as South America often parallel those faced by European stakeholders, particularly in areas like sustainability, resource management, and climate resilience.

As we develop and refine solutions to meet the specific demands of markets in Chile and Colombia, these innovations can be adapted and applied within the EU context. For instance, the integration of IoT, satellite data, and AI that we are pioneering in non-EU markets will offer valuable insights and tools that can enhance precision agriculture, improve supply chain efficiency, and support sustainable practices within Europe.

Moreover, the experiences and feedback gathered from our international efforts will inform and drive the development of more robust and versatile technologies that can address both local and global challenges.

Addressing the challenges facing the agri-food sector requires the exchange of experience and collaboration between experts from different disciplines, across research organisations, businesses of all sizes and the public sector.

Detailed knowledge of the local conditions and needs of the agri-food sector in each EU country, as well as contacts with local potential users of the developed technologies and services, is almost impossible to achieve without the involvement of local players interacting with farmers and other companies related to the agri-food sector.

Close contact with local communities is as important as multidisciplinarity in the development of technologies and services for the European agri-food sector.

In addition, building bridges within the European agri-food sector can lead to the creation of unified standards and practices, which can further strengthen the position of European companies in the global market. By working together, European companies can not only compete more effectively but also lead in the development of sustainable, innovative solutions that set a benchmark globally. Ultimately, cooperation is key to ensuring that European companies can thrive and contribute to a robust and dynamic agri-food sector.

Synergy Days offer significant added value to our project by providing a platform to present our ambitions and engage with potential collaborators. These events are an invaluable opportunity to showcase the progress and innovations we and that we plan to achieve allowing us to highlight the practical applications and impact of our work. By interacting with a wider audience, we can attract interest from other experts, organizations, and stakeholders who may be interested in collaborating with us.

Furthermore, Synergy Days facilitate networking and the exchange of ideas with a diverse group of participants, including researchers, industry leaders, policymakers, and other digital innovation hubs. This environment is ideal for forging new partnerships that can enhance our project's reach and effectiveness. By connecting with like-minded organizations and individuals, we can explore opportunities for joint initiatives, co-development of technologies, and the sharing of best practices.

The collaborative potential of Synergy Days aligns perfectly with our goal of expanding our impact both within and beyond the European market. By leveraging the connections and insights gained during these events, we can accelerate our project's development, bring innovative solutions to new markets, and contribute to the broader goals of the European digital innovation ecosystem.

In the evolution of IT systems in the agri-food sector, the trend of digital data plays a pivotal role. Like in other domains, data platforms are popping up and data is becoming a valuable asset in what is called the data economy. However, this data economy is embedded in complex and dynamic ecosystems with many different stakeholders, IT systems and multi-sided business models. The inspiration behind Data4Food2030 is the need to clarify various aspects of the Data Economy for Food Systems and how they can be managed into a desired direction. In this context, data is not only a new economic asset but also a strategic resource in the transition to sustainable food systems and a fair, inclusive society. With 24 partners from 12 different countries across Europe and equipped with 10 million euros in funding, Data4Food2030 aims to enhance the Data Economy For Food Systems by expanding its definition, mapping its development, emphasizing the need for a robust monitoring system, and introducing business and governance models derived from stakeholder dialogues.

By providing a common understanding of the Data Economy for Food Systems, Data4Food2030, aims to deepen the integration of data-driven insights, leading to more efficient, sustainable, and resilient food systems. The project’s objective is to establish a unified data infrastructure that will enable stakeholders to make informed decisions based on real-time, actionable insights. This will lead to more efficient and sustainable agricultural practices, reducing waste and optimizing resource use. By enhancing the precision of forecasting and management tools, we expect to boost productivity while minimizing environmental footprints. Data4Food2030 will also facilitate greater collaboration across different sectors of the agri-food sector, fostering innovation and driving forward new technological solutions. Our efforts will support the EU’s strategic goals for a fair and inclusive digital agriculture and food security, positioning Europe as a leader in data-driven, sustainable agricultural practices. Ultimately, we aim to contribute to a more resilient food supply chain and support the transition to a greener, more efficient agri-food system.

Unfortunately there is still a lot of fragmentation in the development of digital technologies and solutions. Developments are going fast and it is challenging for stakeholders such as farmers to follow and understand this. Building bridges across the European agri-food sector between various initiatives and project is therefore essential for fostering a collaborative and integrated approach to addressing the complex, interconnected challenges faced across the sector. Data4Food2030 acknowledges the value of cross-sectoral partnerships in facilitating the exchange of knowledge, expertise, and resources. By connecting researchers, industry players, policymakers, and other stakeholders, we can create a more cohesive and effective ecosystem for digital innovation. This collaborative approach ensures that diverse perspectives are considered, leading to more comprehensive solutions that address various aspects of the agri-food sector, from production and processing to distribution and consumption. Additionally, building these bridges helps to align research and policy with practical industry needs, enhancing the relevance and impact of technological advancements. In a sector that is increasingly globalized and interconnected, such collaboration is vital for driving progress, ensuring food security, and promoting sustainability across Europe.

Synergy Days provides a platform for Data4Food2030 to engage with diverse stakeholders, share key achievements, and explore new partnerships. It serves as an excellent opportunity to disseminate the work done so far within the agri-food ecosystem and receive feedback from experts, end-users, and other relevant stakeholders on the project’s key results, such as the Monitoring System. An essential part of the project’s success is the engagement and input of stakeholders in various DE4FS concepts, as well as the evaluation of several project outcomes. Therefore, since the beginning of the project, Data4Food2030 has identified Synergy Days as a flagship annual event.

The Extreme Food Risk Analytics (EFRA) project was inspired when the consortium spotted the need to address some major scientific, economic, and societal challenges associated with food safety and quality in Europe. Considering that around 1 million deaths annually are attributed to unhealthy diets in the EU, alongside 1.2 million reported cases of foodborne diseases, the partners strongly believe that it should be an international priority to improve food risk prevention measures. Our goal is to utilize extreme data mining, aggregation, and analytics to transform food safety practices from reactive to proactive. The project aims to develop advanced solutions to discover and distill food risk data from diverse, multilingual, and often scarce sources. The integration of technologies such as AI, IoT, and big data, EFRA will help create a robust ecosystem for food safety stakeholders to share data and infrastructure, to ensure safe food for consumers around the world. 

As of October 2024, 22 months have passed since the beginning of the project. During these, EFRA has achieved several key milestones. Notably, the team has developed the EFRA Data Hub, which employs intelligent crawlers and data annotation modules to mine, process, and link dispersed food safety data sources. In addition, the EFRA Analytics Powerhouse stands as another significant achievement, running over a green cloud HPC to distill insights from the Data Hub to train privacy-preserving AI models. Our project has also launched the EFRA Data & Analytics Marketplace, a user-friendly web application facilitating the discovery and use of food safety data and AI models. Moreover, EFRA has successfully piloted its technologies in real-world scenarios, such as predicting poultry pathogens and optimizing pesticide use for food safety. 

EFRA is in a unique position to leverage innovative technologies that are both exciting and promising. Our Data Hub uses state-of-the-art natural language processing (NLP) to extract vital information from multilingual food safety texts. The Analytics Powerhouse takes advantage of AI and machine learning techniques to predict food risks with high accuracy, while making sure that energy efficiency and privacy preservation are prioritized. Finally, and by integrating IoT devices and big data management systems, the team can collect and analyze big amounts of environmental, genomic, and supply chain data in real-time. These innovations help us create highly tailored prediction and proactive measures around food safety, therefore greatly enhancing our ability to prevent food safety incidents before they occur. 

There are several sectors that innovators in the agricultural and food sectors should focus on if they wish to make an impact. To begin with, they should focus on the integration of diverse data sources in order to create comprehensive insights. By leveraging advanced technologies such as AI, IoT, and big data, they can revolutionize traditional practices and improve the decision-making processes. Second, they should ensure that solutions are user-friendly and accessible to a variety of stakeholders, from farmers to policymakers. It is vital to connect with end-users through focus groups and real-world pilots to provide constructive feedback and increase adoption. Finally, they should emphasize sustainability and energy efficiency in technological developments to align with European and global environmental goals and ensure long-term viability. 

In the next five years, EFRA aims to significantly impact the European agricultural and food sector by establishing a robust framework for proactive food safety risk prevention. Our advanced data and analytics platform will empower stakeholders with real-time, accurate predictions of food safety risks, reducing the incidence of foodborne diseases and associated economic losses. By fostering a collaborative environment for data sharing and integrating cutting-edge technologies, EFRA will enhance the overall efficiency and sustainability of food safety measures. We envision our project leading to a more secure, dynamic, and globally competitive European food sector, capable of addressing urgent societal challenges and ensuring the health and safety of its consumers. 

Connecting and networking across the European agri-food sector is vital for several reasons. Firstly, it makes data sharing easier and more efficient, alongside the flow of knowledge, best practices and food safety standards generally. Linking diverse stakeholders such as researchers, policy makers, experts and consumers helps create a single unified approach in combating food risk more effectively. Collaborations like these can further facilitate the uptake of innovative technologies and methodologies, ensuring that these advancements benefit the entire sector. Finally, building these connections strengthens the resilience of the food supply chain, enhances transparency, and supports the development of comprehensive risk prevention strategies. 

Synergy Days provide an excellent platform for EFRA partners to showcase our achievements, while engaging with stakeholders and exploring future collaborations. The event offers the opportunity to share our innovative technologies and methodologies with a broad audience consisting of experts, policy makers, industry players, alongside the general public. The interactions and feedback that will occur during Synergy Days are crucial for refining our approaches and ensuring that our solutions meet the needs of the dynamic agricultural and food sectors. Synergy Days will -like last year- foster a collaborative environment that promotes further innovation and creates a a=lasting impact in the wider food safety sector. 

The identified needs for a better advisory network dedicated especifically to service the short food supply chains (SFSC) in Europe. SFSC are signaled out by the EU Commission as representing an alternative to conventional longer food chains where small farmers often have little bargaining power and the consumer cannot trace the food to a known producer or local area. Their advantages include a fairer price for farmers, access to fresh and seasonal produce for consumers, a potentially reduced environmental impact and greater social cohesion at local level. Local economies also benefit from such schemes, which have the potential to create jobs. But most of all, they mean a valid choice both for farmers and for consumers.

EU4Advice is directly linked with the results of the Smartchain H2020 project https://www.smartchain-h2020.eu and some of the core partners and most of the activities are reacting to the needs and barriers identified in that project.

The need for a strong and integrated advisory system is clear and this project aims to promote it and help to its adequate inclusion in the national Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Services -AKIS.

We are quite sure our project will have (it already is having) an important impact in the future of food chains in Europe. There is an evident will of farmers (especially smaller ones) to have a larger say and more choices when accessing the food market, on the one hand. On the other, there is an increasing demand from consumers for trustful, fair and sustainable food production and distribution. Both elements do not tend to diminish in the near future, as local food markets and small holders productions are looking for an economically sustainable model. We intend to provide the environment and the community for that to boost in these next years.

The EU4Advice project emphasizes building bridges across Europe’s agri-food sector to foster resilient, sustainable food supply chains. By connecting advisors, policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders through Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS), EU4Advice supports the upscaling of short food supply chains (SFSCs). This integration enhances trust, transparency, and collaboration among member states, enabling efficient knowledge transfer, effective advisory services, and innovative practices. Such cross-sector cooperation promotes more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient food systems, aligning with broader EU goals on food security and environmental sustainability.

Synergy Days offers EU4Advice a valuable platform to connect with European agri-food sector innovators, policymakers, and digital hubs, fostering collaboration across projects focused on digital transformation in agriculture. Through workshops, networking, and knowledge exchange sessions, EU4Advice can engage with other Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020 initiatives, aligning its goals with broader EU agri-food research priorities. The event supports EU4Advice’s mission by providing insights into best practices and technological advancements, which help enhance advisory services and agricultural knowledge systems across Europe.

The creation of the Farmtopia projects was inspired by the need to bridge the digital divide in agriculture, particularly for small and medium-sized farms. Despite advancements in Agricultural Digital Solutions (ADSs), adoption remains low among small EU farms due to high costs, unsuitable technologies, and lack of trust. Farmtopia builds on the principle that a simple “technology push” is insufficient. Technology must solve real problems and be combined with appropriate changes in business models and cooperation across the agri-food value chain.

Unlike top-down, profit-oriented models for large-scale agriculture, Farmtopia pioneers a bottom-up, farmer-driven approach. This approach fosters the co-creation of cost-effective ADSs tailored to small farms. By engaging diverse stakeholders in Sustainable Innovation Pilots across Europe, Farmtopia aims to enhance resilience, sustainability, and food security. This collaborative effort will guide the co-creation, deployment, and piloting of innovative ADSs, focusing on crops and livestock where current ADS provision is inadequate, strengthening the overall agricultural ecosystem.

We aim to transform the European agricultural sector by democratizing digital farming. Collaborating with the European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) and the French CUMA network, we will provide over 64,000 farmers with access to our Agricultural Digital Solutions (ADS), training programs, and an ADS sharing platform. This extensive network ensures that small and medium-sized farms benefit from our innovations.

In the next five years, Farmtopia will drive significant advancements through enhanced governance frameworks, including a holistic technology code of conduct and policy recommendations. By offering increased access to public infrastructures, we’ll promote broader ADS adoption.

Farmtopia's team, which includes leading universities, industry representatives, SMEs, startups, farmer associations, and consultancy companies from across Europe, ensures our solutions are practical and tailored to farmers' needs. Through our Sustainable Innovation Pilots (SIPs) and Digital FieldBook, we will collect insights that align with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to improve compliance and sustainability.

In addition, we will focus on building competence in using ADS through knowledge-sharing, capacity-building events, and debunking misconceptions via social media and demonstration events. By fostering local digital farming ecosystems, we will accelerate the uptake of ADS, improving farm efficiency and promoting sustainable practices across Europe.

Building bridges across the European agri-food sector is essential for driving innovation and achieving sustainable growth. Farmtopia emphasizes collaboration, as outlined in our grant agreement and synergy initiatives, because we recognize that complex challenges like climate change, resource efficiency, and food security cannot be tackled in isolation. Connecting diverse stakeholders—ranging from researchers and farmers to tech providers and policymakers—enables the sharing of knowledge, resources, and best practices. For instance, our recent feedback session with collaborators and workshop with SIP pilots provided crucial insights that are helping us refine our services into final, market-ready solutions. Such collaborative efforts ensure that innovations are not only effective but also widely adopted, ultimately benefiting the entire agri-food ecosystem.

Our pilot farms, which include a mix of organic and conventional farmers across Europe — in countries such as France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Slovenia, Romania, and Ukraine—serve as a testament to the importance of these connections. This is why building these bridges is so important to the success of Farmtopia and the broader agri-food ecosystem.

The added value of Synergy Days for our project, and particularly for the European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) involved, lies in the collaboration, knowledge exchange, and networking opportunities they provide.

Organized by the SmartAgriHubs, Synergy Days is important for Farmtopia in building a pan-European network of DIHs that boost the uptake of Agricultural Digital Solutions (ADSs) in the agri-food sector. For Farmtopia, these events are instrumental in scaling up our created ADSs by leveraging this expansive DIHs network. For our project, Synergy Days enables us to align our efforts with those of other initiatives, ensuring that we are not duplicating work but rather complementing and amplifying each other's impact. The exchange of ideas and best practices during these events leads to co-creating innovative solutions, accelerates the adoption of digital technologies, and fosters partnerships that might not have otherwise formed.

There has been significant advancement in AI technologies and data. Nonetheless, we are still at a point where the potential of merging and combining different sources of data (conventional, unconventional, public, private, etc.), especially in food systems, is not fully realized. Such couplings can greatly inform how the food chain should be organized and optimized, promoting sustainable, healthy diets for consumers and reducing emissions. To achieve this, in addition to IT and infrastructure solutions, we need to focus on governance, business models, ethics, and trust around data-sharing.

We are ambitious and aim to demonstrate that it is possible to couple and connect many actors and data sources throughout the food chain for a greater purpose. We have four use cases involving multiple food chain-related actors. We hope that after the project's timeline, they will continue this collaboration and either scale their use cases or further research how to scale them. Additionally, we hope to see our use cases positively impacting food safety, waste reduction, consumer choices, and more.

Our project recognizes the importance of uniting the sector towards a common goal. We believe there is great potential, and many actors can collaborate using new technologies such as AI and ML, and more importantly, through data-sharing. This is the only way to give meaning to all the data that is out there (i.e., data valorization).

As a new project, we would first like to show that we are here and hope to meet other projects in the digitalization and data-sharing field. The Synergy Days event is a great opportunity for us. We know that many projects will be there, and we can learn from them not only about what and how they are producing certain outcomes but also about their challenges. We are also (co-)organizing two workshops and will ask the participants, who are experts in their field, for their input and feedback on our work.

The Food-scalEUp project was initiated to strengthen European regional food digital innovation ecosystems. Our goal was to enhance their connectedness, effectiveness, and resilience, particularly in emerging and moderate innovator regions. By fostering collaboration among key actors—ranging from food companies to accelerators, clusters, and policy makers —we sought to improve business acceleration services, enabling start-ups and SMEs to scale and thrive.

Through the project, we aimed to expand knowledge exchange and collaboration at the regional, European, and international levels. Our project partners, who have a deep understanding of the needs and challenges faced by food-sector start-ups and innovative SMEs, have played a key role in creating start-up-friendly ecosystems. Food-scalEUp has provided the perfect platform to bring these organisations together to address the challenges of digitalisation and growth in the food sector.

The TSSP Smart Sensors 4 Agri–food, of which the project partners are members, generated the ideal forum for us to develop the project idea and come together in a successful European consortium.

With Food-scalEUp nearing its conclusion, we are confident that it will leave a lasting legacy in the European food sector. By strengthening regional innovation ecosystems, particularly in emerging and moderate innovator regions, the project has fostered deeper connections between stakeholders at both regional and European levels. This increased collaboration has driven the successful scaling of food start-ups and SMEs, promoting more effective innovation across the sector.

We have gathered valuable knowledge and methodologies that help lower the barriers for start-ups and SMEs to access and implement digital solutions. This has allowed us to integrate new support services into our portfolios, ensuring continued guidance for food companies even after the project’s conclusion.

Building bridges across the European food sector is essential for driving innovation, fostering resilience, and ensuring long-term competitiveness. The sector is inherently complex, requiring contributions from diverse stakeholders such as food companies, digital solution providers, researchers, and policymakers. By connecting these actors at regional and European levels, we enable the exchange of knowledge, best practices, and resources that are crucial for growth.

Cross-border collaboration enhances the capacity of regional ecosystems to innovate and scale, while also lowering the barriers for companies to adopt digital solutions. Through shared learning and joint efforts, we are better equipped to tackle challenges like digitalisation, sustainability, and regulatory adaptation.

Moreover, building connections fosters trust and cooperation, strengthening the resilience of food systems and ensuring they remain effective under changing conditions. By building these bridges, we create ecosystems that are not only innovative but also internationally recognised, driving sustainable growth across the sector.

The Synergy Days offers immense value to the Food-scalEUp project by providing a platform to showcase our achievements and engage with key stakeholders in the European agri-food sector. It allows us to share the knowledge and methodologies we’ve developed, particularly in accelerating food start-ups and scale-ups through digitalisation.

The event’s networking opportunities will help us forge new connections with policymakers and other EU projects, ensuring the sustainability and expansion of Food-scalEUp’s outcomes. Synergy Days also create space for us to identify synergies with other initiatives, paving the way for new collaborations that can drive innovation and growth across the food sector and ensuring the sustainability and expansion of the project's outcomes.

By participating in Synergy Days, we ensure that the legacy of Food-scalEUp continues through co-creation and collaboration, extending its impact across Europe.

The Food Safety for Africa project aims to improve African food safety systems – with particular attention to the informal sector – through local market transformation, enhancing food security and regional trade while reducing negative impacts on the environment, biodiversity, health, and society. It focuses on food safety issues associated with weak channels for value chain organisation, traceability & authentication of safe food. For far too many people, food safety is not ensured and health outcomes are lower because of that.

European projects and EDIH can learn so much from African partners. The understanding and use of insects in agri-food is so much more advanced, and there are so many clever solutions exploring local value streams. The use of mobile phones and mobile money is very common and changes presentation of knowledge and the way of working.

The realisation that Europe and Africa have so much in common yet are so different in the way they develop solutions, makes it an extraordinarily rich environment for innovation. Also, the enthusiasm and tech understanding of the young African population is a major asset to advance innovation processes bottom-up.

As it was the motto for SmartAgriHubs, we want to connect the dots and bring African and European innovators closer to each other. Also, we want to reach out to those EDIH that have already connections with Africa and can help us to bridge the divide.

The inspiration for the FUTURAL project stems from a combination of pressing social and environmental challenges that rural areas in the EU are currently facing. These challenges include the need for sustainable development, technological advancement, and social innovation to improve the quality of life in these regions. Rural areas are characterised by immense diversity, both in terms of society and culture, but also in terms of geography and topography. FUTURAL is working to address challenges in rural areas, such as depopulation, brain drain, ageing population, limited connectivity and access to public infrastructures and services, and environmental conditions (extreme weather phenomena and other consequences of climate change). Our vision for resilient rural areas with a prosperous future, ignited the inspiration for our project.

FUTURAL aspires to strengthen the capacities of rural people and equip them with digital tools to address the most significant societal and environmental challenges of rural areas. With our Smart Solutions, we expect to see tangible results in making rural areas and communities more resilient and improving the citizens’ quality of life. We envision that, in the near future, rural citizens will acquire new knowledge and skills, leading to more job opportunities in the long term. Furthermore, we foresee that financial support to third parties through our Open Call is expected to expand the portfolio of Smart Solutions and increase the potential for innovation in rural communities, leading to the creation of new businesses and job opportunities. We aim to collect and share our co-creating experiences and help shape policies that will enhance rural communities’ ability to evolve.

Our project is oriented around resilience in rural areas and communities. In this essence, our scope is within the agricultural sector, without the “food dimension”. We are targeting people in villages, farmers, and members of agricultural cooperatives. Building bridges and forming synergies across this sector is essential for several reasons. Collaboration can be the stepping stone for significant advances among different regions and stakeholders. It encourages joint research initiatives, leading to innovative, socially beneficial, sustainable, and empowering solutions for rural and agricultural communities. Synergies encourage skill development and form best practices, enhancing the sector's resilience and fostering social and economic growth.

In a nutshell, building bridges across the European agricultural sector fosters innovation, economic growth, sustainability, and resilience, while also improving the quality of life for those involved in the sector. The idea of building bridges is at the heart of the European ideal.

Synergy Days adds significant value to our project in several ways:

Collaboration and Networking: Synergy Days event facilitates connections with diverse stakeholders, fostering partnerships that can lead to collaborative projects and providing opportunities to engage with key players in the agri-food sector, including policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders.

Knowledge Sharing: The event encourages the sharing of best practices, innovative solutions, and research findings, enhancing the collective knowledge base. Through the organisation of workshops, we are able to showcase the project’s achievements to a wider audience and engage in discussions that provide valuable insights and new perspectives for our project.

Ecosystem Building: The event helps in the building of a vibrant ecosystem around FUTURAL by connecting various stakeholders and fostering a sense of community. It contributes to creating sustainable networks that support ongoing collaboration and innovation.

In the agricultural sector, there continue to be big gaps between men and women. Agriculture is still a male-dominated sector. The Gender Task Force, which was part of Horizon-project SmartAgriHubs, was set up to bring more balance in the sector by stimulating for sustainable and inclusive initiatives. After the finishing of SmartAgriHubs, several organisations came together to continue the work on closing the gender gap in the agri-food sector. This became GAIA, the Gender Alliance for Innovation in Agriculture, which was officially launched in January of this year.

In the next five years, GAIA aims to create a significant and measurable impact on the European agricultural and food sector by building a diverse and inclusive network of stakeholders. We will expand our membership base to include a broader range of actors, including farmers, agribusinesses, technology providers, and policy influencers, while prioritizing the inclusion and representation of women at all levels. By increasing awareness and advocacy efforts, we aim to challenge the existing gender norms and barriers that currently limit women's participation and leadership within the sector.

Our efforts will also focus on equipping women with the skills, resources, and digital tools they need to thrive in an increasingly technology-driven industry. We will facilitate access to training programs, workshops, and digital platforms that enhance their competencies, ensuring that women are not just included but are empowered to innovate and lead. Ultimately, our goal is to create a more balanced and prosperous agri-food sector where women have a strong and influential voice, contributing to the sector’s growth and transformation.

Building bridges across the European agri-food sector is crucial for advancing gender equality, as it creates opportunities for women to access resources, knowledge, and networks that are often male-dominated. By promoting partnerships, we can share best practices and successful models that empower women, such as access to financing, land ownership, and training programs. These bridges also help establish policies that ensure women have equal opportunities for growth and advancement in the sector. For example, policy harmonization across countries can provide women with better access to social protections and entrepreneurial support.

Moreover, connecting women’s organizations and cooperatives across Europe enhances their collective influence, enabling them to advocate for fairer working conditions, equal pay, and representation in decision-making bodies. Encouraging mixed-gender networks and leadership can also foster cultural and behavioral shifts towards a sector with more equal opportunities. Building these bridges is fundamental to achieving a more inclusive and diverse agri-food sector where women have the tools, support, and opportunities to thrive and lead.

The Synergy Days allows us to both showcase our achievements, through the exhibition and the pitch sessions. Besides this, we can easily connect with the agri-food representatives from all over Europe. This allows us to explore new opportunities, connect our work with other organisations and projects and open new ways to further promote gender equality in the agri-food sector. Through awareness-raising on the gender gap and making our work known to others, we can encourage others to also take steps in bridging this gap.

I have worked on the question of equality for rural and farm women for many years. In 2016 I did research for the Scottish Government on women’s equality in agriculture, which had a significant impact on policy. I had also just completed a report for the European Court of Auditors looking at women’s equality in agriculture at the European level. When the Horizon Europe call came to lead a consortium looking at rural and farm women’s role in leading on ecological innovations, I saw it as an exciting opportunity to develop this research. My colleague and good friend Bettina Bock from Wageningen has also worked extensively on this topic. We spent a number of days together in a fishing village in Ireland in late October 2021 and fleshed out the beginning of our proposal. We have wonderful partners from across the nine countries involved.

We know that diverse industries perform better. They are more innovative and forward thinking. We have seen the efforts to increase gender equality in STEM subjects. I expect the same policy focus to turn to agriculture, which is the most gender unequal occupation. DG Agri is actively trying to promote more women in the sector. I believe GRASS CEILING is generating knowledge about the types of obstacles women face, and also tools to address this inequality. More importantly, we are demonstrating the novel and innovative ways women approach agriculture. Women tend to farm in a more ecological fashion and have a farm to fork approach. I think this work will be invaluable in the policy context.

Building bridges is critical. Whether we are looking at ecological transitions in the sector, women’s equality, farmer health and safety, or digital innovation, they all interconnect. We need to understand what is happening in a rounded way to be more effective.

It is an amazing opportunity! It showcases the exciting work our consortium is undertaking. It is also an opportunity to hear about other research projects and to build synergies.

The food processing industry is facing intense international competition and a growing need for rapid digital and sustainable transformations. At the heart of these companies is the core value of producing high-quality products but achieving this in today's environment comes with several challenges. For one, there are rising demands for quality, which means companies need to meet higher standards than ever before. Additionally, there’s a need to produce a wider variety of products with greater flexibility, which adds complexity to their operations.

Ensuring traceability of origin is another critical challenge, especially as consumers and regulators are increasingly focused on transparency. This, coupled with the constant pressure to reduce costs and meet tight delivery times, creates a tough landscape for these companies. On top of that, personnel costs are rising, and there’s a growing difficulty in attracting specialized talent, which is crucial for maintaining and advancing these complex processes.

To address these challenges, the integration of modern, cost-effective sensors connected with advanced computer-aided systems for information fusion is proving to be a game-changer. Digital technologies, including sensor fusion, big data management, offer promising tools for developing practical and cost-effective solutions. These innovations significantly improve process efficiency and transparency within the agri-food industry. The HIGHFIVE project has centered its activities around these concrete challenges and technical priorities, working to equip food processing companies with the tools they need to navigate this evolving landscape successfully.

As HIGHFIVE originates from the S3 partnership SS4AF, it inherently contributes to the long term strategy of SS4AF. We see our project making a significant impact on the European agricultural and food sector over the next five years through two key avenues. First, by disseminating the conclusions and lessons learned from the HIGHFIVE processes and methodologies, we aim to provide valuable insights that other companies can apply. The challenges we've addressed are common across the food processing industry, so our experiences and solutions will be highly relevant to many others.

Secondly, the HIGHFIVE stakeholder community plays a crucial role in this impact. By bringing together key actors from across Europe, we’re fostering stronger connections, knowledge exchange, and dialogue. This community currently includes close to 70 unique organizations, and we expect it to grow, further strengthening the collaborative efforts within the sector. Both avenues to ensure a long term impact will be explored and implemented via the activities of SS4AF.

Supporting SMEs, key in the HIGHFIVE project, is a cornerstone of the SS4AF strategy. By supporting SMEs with high TRL-level technologies and ensuring these innovations are applied in real-world environments, we’re helping bring cutting-edge digital solutions to market. The success stories and lessons we share will inspire others in the industry, ensuring that the benefits of our work have a broad and lasting reach across Europe.

Building bridges across the European agri-food sector is crucial for several reasons. First and foremost, the sector faces common challenges, such as rising quality demands, the need for greater operational efficiency, and the push for sustainability. By connecting various stakeholders—ranging from SMEs to large enterprises, research institutions, and technology providers—we can foster collaboration and knowledge exchange, which are essential for tackling these challenges effectively.

The HIGHFIVE project has been instrumental in this regard, particularly through its support of SMEs. The initiative has optimized various financial support systems, which has been a game-changer for these businesses. In total, HIGHFIVE has supported 34 SMEs, providing them with the resources and guidance needed to adopt new technologies and improve their operations.

Furthermore, the project’s stakeholder community, which currently includes almost 70 unique organizations across Europe, has strengthened connections and facilitated knowledge sharing. This network enables the dissemination of best practices, success stories, and lessons learned, accelerating the adoption of innovative technologies across the sector. By building these bridges, we ensure that the entire European agri-food industry moves forward together, leveraging collective knowledge and resources for greater impact.

For the HIGHFIVE project, Synergy Days provide the perfect opportunity to showcase our work, share our success stories, and highlight the impact we've made in supporting SMEs. The events also allows us to connect with new partners, broadening our stakeholder community and enhancing the collaborative efforts across the sector. This is particularly important as we aim to scale the impact of our project and ensure that the benefits of our work are felt across Europe.

Moreover, Synergy Days facilitate the cross-pollination of ideas between different projects and initiatives, helping to identify synergies and opportunities for further collaboration. This added value is crucial for the continuous innovation and improvement of the agri-food sector, ensuring that we are not only addressing current challenges but also anticipating and preparing for future ones.

The inspiration for the FUTURAL project stems from a combination of pressing social and environmental challenges that rural areas in the EU are currently facing. These challenges include the need for sustainable development, technological advancement, and social innovation to improve the quality of life in these regions. Rural areas are characterised by immense diversity, both in terms of society and culture, but also in terms of geography and topography. FUTURAL is working to address challenges in rural areas, such as depopulation, brain drain, ageing population, limited connectivity and access to public infrastructures and services, and environmental conditions (extreme weather phenomena and other consequences of climate change). Our vision for resilient rural areas with a prosperous future, ignited the inspiration for our project.

FUTURAL aspires to strengthen the capacities of rural people and equip them with digital tools to address the most significant societal and environmental challenges of rural areas. With our Smart Solutions, we expect to see tangible results in making rural areas and communities more resilient and improving the citizens’ quality of life. We envision that, in the near future, rural citizens will acquire new knowledge and skills, leading to more job opportunities in the long term. Furthermore, we foresee that financial support to third parties through our Open Call is expected to expand the portfolio of Smart Solutions and increase the potential for innovation in rural communities, leading to the creation of new businesses and job opportunities. We aim to collect and share our co-creating experiences and help shape policies that will enhance rural communities’ ability to evolve.

Our project is oriented around resilience in rural areas and communities. In this essence, our scope is within the agricultural sector, without the “food dimension”. We are targeting people in villages, farmers, and members of agricultural cooperatives. Building bridges and forming synergies across this sector is essential for several reasons. Collaboration can be the stepping stone for significant advances among different regions and stakeholders. It encourages joint research initiatives, leading to innovative, socially beneficial, sustainable, and empowering solutions for rural and agricultural communities. Synergies encourage skill development and form best practices, enhancing the sector's resilience and fostering social and economic growth.

In a nutshell, building bridges across the European agricultural sector fosters innovation, economic growth, sustainability, and resilience, while also improving the quality of life for those involved in the sector. The idea of building bridges is at the heart of the European ideal.

Synergy Days adds significant value to our project in several ways:

Collaboration and Networking: Synergy Days event facilitates connections with diverse stakeholders, fostering partnerships that can lead to collaborative projects and providing opportunities to engage with key players in the agri-food sector, including policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders.

Knowledge Sharing: The event encourages the sharing of best practices, innovative solutions, and research findings, enhancing the collective knowledge base. Through the organisation of workshops, we are able to showcase the project’s achievements to a wider audience and engage in discussions that provide valuable insights and new perspectives for our project.

Ecosystem Building: The event helps in the building of a vibrant ecosystem around FUTURAL by connecting various stakeholders and fostering a sense of community. It contributes to creating sustainable networks that support ongoing collaboration and innovation.

African cities’ population growth leads to increased consumption of protein-rich food, yet undernourishment and malnutrition persists. The INCiTiS-FOOD project hopes to create a system with novel practices to ensure a stable food future for Africa. Fish accounts for up to 50% of protein intake in some countries but is still below global levels. Insects are already common in African diets and vegetables needed to be grown locally. These developments give us sufficient reason to increase innovation in food systems in Africa and foster an open innovation network supported by digitalisation.

European projects and EDIH can learn so much from African partners. The understanding and use of insects in agri-food is so much more advanced, and there are so many clever solutions working around technical issues and exploring local value streams.

The realisation that Europe and Africa have so much in common, yet are so different in the way they develop solutions, makes it a very rich environment for innovation. Also the enthusiasm and tech understanding of the young African population is a major asset to advance innovation processes bottom-up.

As it was the motto for SmartAgriHubs, we want to connect the dots and bring African and European innovators closer to each other. Also, we want to reach out to those EDIH that have already connections with Africa and can help us to bridge the divide.

The inspiration behind this project stems from the need to strengthen and help evolve Europe’s Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS). The project aims to provide a discussion platform for key AKISactors across Europe’s agricultural ecosystem, driving innovation and fostering collaboration. With the challenges of sustainable resource management in farming and forestry looming large, it became clear that a coordinated effort was needed to build AKIS capacities at individual, organizational, and systemic levels. This project is a response to the need for transformation towards more coherent, effective, and efficient AKIS systems that can support the transition to sustainable agricultural practices.

Over the next five years, this project is poised to significantly impact the European agricultural and food sector by creating a more interconnected and resilient AKIS. By empowering key actors and fostering collaboration across Member States, the project will drive the adoption of sustainable practices and innovative solutions. The strengthened AKIS network will enhance knowledge sharing, leading to more informed decision-making and a greater capacity to respond to emerging challenges. Ultimately, this will contribute to the modernization of the agri-food sector, aligning it with key European policy objectives and ensuring its long-term sustainability.

Building bridges across the European agri-food sector is essential for addressing the complex challenges of the future. A holistic approach, where all actors within the agricultural ecosystem contribute their unique perspectives and knowledge, is key to fostering adaptation, resilience, and innovation. By connecting these actors, the project aims to create a dynamic network that nurtures new knowledge, encourages collaboration, and drives continuous improvement across the sector. This interconnectedness is vital for ensuring that the European agri-food sector remains competitive, sustainable, and responsive to global challenges.

Synergy Days play an important role in advancing the project's goals by bringing together actors from across the digital and agricultural sectors. This event provides a unique platform to generate multi-actor synergies, fostering collaboration and innovation. The focus on digital transformation aligns perfectly with the project’s objectives of strengthening AKIS in Europe. By facilitating the exchange of ideas and best practices, Synergy Days contribute to the development of a more connected, innovative, and sustainable agri-food sector, making it a valuable component of the project's success.

The Nostradamus project stemmed from several critical challenges facing the European agricultural sector today. One major issue is that not all regions, particularly those with weak connectivity, have access to digital tools, leading to an exclusionary approach that leaves many stakeholders, including both farmers and policymakers, at a disadvantage. This lack of access has resulted in unsustainable management practices, as decision-makers do not have the necessary digital tools to optimize operations, reduce environmental impact, and shape effective policies. Additionally, the rising costs of agrochemical inputs, exacerbated by political volatility and conflicts, have placed further strain on the sector, making sustainable practices even more challenging to implement. Recognizing these issues, we saw an urgent need to develop a platform that could provide equitable access to advanced digital tools, regardless of connectivity challenges. By involving all stakeholders, including farmers, policymakers, and experts from all sectors, we aim to equip them with the necessary tools to fully support EU strategies for a resilient society. Nostradamus was created to bridge these gaps, ensuring that every stakeholder, regardless of location or resources, can contribute to and benefit from sustainable agriculture practices, ultimately fostering a more resilient and inclusive agricultural landscape in Europe.

Over the next five years, the Nostradamus project will significantly impact the European agricultural and food sector by driving a shift towards more sustainable and resilient practices. By providing farmers and policymakers with advanced digital tools, such as near-real-time data analysis, geospatial mapping, and IoT-enabled monitoring, we aim to optimize agricultural operations, reduce agrochemical inputs, and improve overall efficiency. One of the key impacts will be the empowerment of farmers in regions with weak connectivity, ensuring they have access to the same cutting-edge technologies as those in more developed areas. This inclusivity will help close the digital divide and foster more equitable growth across the sector. Additionally, by equipping stakeholders with the tools to make data-driven decisions, we anticipate a reduction in environmental impact through better resource management and more precise agricultural practices. This will contribute to achieving the EU's sustainability goals and enhance the sector's resilience in the face of economic, political, and environmental challenges.

Building bridges across the European agri-food sector is crucial for fostering collaboration, innovation, and sustainability. The sector is highly diverse, with varying practices, challenges, and resources across different regions. By creating strong connections between farmers, researchers, policymakers, technology providers, and other stakeholders, we can share knowledge, best practices, and technological advancements more effectively. This collaborative approach accelerates the adoption of innovative solutions and ensures no region or group is left behind, promoting a more inclusive and equitable agricultural landscape. Moreover, building these bridges enhances the sector’s ability to respond to global challenges, such as climate change, political instability, and economic fluctuations. When different stakeholders work together, they can develop more resilient and adaptable systems better equipped to withstand disruptions. This interconnectedness also supports the alignment of local practices with broader EU strategies and policies, ensuring that all parts of the agri-food sector contribute to the goals of sustainability, food security, and a resilient society. Ultimately, fostering collaboration across the agri-food sector strengthens the entire value chain, from production to consumption, driving innovation and ensuring a more sustainable and prosperous future for European agriculture.

These events provide a crucial platform for fostering collaboration and building synergies with other projects, which is an important milestone for us. Synergy Days enable us to align our work with broader initiatives by giving the floor to these interactions, ensuring that the Data Cubes we are developing for Cyprus, Germany, Serbia, Slovenia, and Switzerland can meet other projects' data requirements. This potential to expand the provision of digital tools for decision-makers and policymakers is critical for the agricultural sector. Moreover, Synergy Days offer a unique opportunity to gather insights from mature projects right from the start of our initiative. Understanding the challenges and needs that the agricultural sector and rural areas face daily is essential for shaping our solutions effectively. This early engagement will help us tailor our approach to provide maximum support to the European Union's existing and forthcoming strategies, such as the Soil Monitoring Law. By focusing on the specific needs of rural areas, we aim to enhance their resilience and sustainability, ensuring that our project not only meets immediate needs but also contributes to the long-term goals of the European Union.

The OpenAgri project was inspired by the recognition that agricultural digital solutions (ADSs) hold immense potential to enhance the sustainability and competitiveness of the agricultural sector. However, several challenges hinder their widespread adoption, particularly among small farmers. These include the high costs and questionable economic benefits of ADSs, which are often designed with large farms and industrial-scale crops in mind.

Additionally, farmers are wary of ADSs due to concerns about data misuse, the lack of transparency in algorithm development, and the risk of vendor lock-ins.

The project also addresses the unique challenges faced by remote farms, such as weak network connectivity and limited access to reliable energy sources.

OpenAgri seeks to overcome these barriers by developing open-source, community-driven digital solutions that are accessible, cost effective, trustworthy, and tailored to the needs of all farmers, regardless of their location or scale of operation.

In the next five years, OpenAgri aims to revolutionize the European agricultural sector by democratizing access to digital farming tools. Our project will empower over 20,000 farmers across Europe by providing them with innovative, open-source agricultural digital solutions that are tailored to their specific needs. By focusing on energy efficiency, interoperability, and adaptability to areas with weak or no connectivity, we will enhance the sustainability and competitiveness of the sector.

Through our 14 Sustainable Innovation Pilots, we will co-create ADSs that address real-world challenges, ensuring they are both practical and scalable. The deployment of these ADSs will not only reduce the administrative burden on farmers but also improve resource management, leading to more sustainable farming practices.

Moreover, our advanced Decision Support Tool will enable policymakers, farm advisors, and public administration to make informed decisions based on comprehensive, location-aware data, thereby fostering a more resilient agricultural ecosystem. By supporting the widespread adoption of digital tools, OpenAgri will contribute to the sector’s long-term sustainability and competitiveness, ensuring that European agriculture remains at the forefront of innovation.

Building bridges across the European agri-food sector is crucial for fostering collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation. By connecting diverse stakeholders, including farmers, researchers, policymakers, and technology developers, the sector can leverage a wide range of expertise and resources. This collaborative approach enhances the development and implementation of innovative solutions, addressing common challenges such as sustainability, productivity, and resilience. It also promotes the harmonization of standards and practices, facilitating the integration of new technologies and ensuring that benefits are distributed equitably across different regions and communities.

Synergy Days offer a strategic platform for OpenAgri to advance its mission of transforming the European agricultural sector through innovation and collaboration. With our Open Call set to launch from September to December, Synergy Days provide an ideal opportunity to invite innovative minds from across Europe to co-create agricultural digital solutions tailored to local needs.

This event also facilitates networking, enabling participants to exchange ideas, experiences, and best practices. For OpenAgri, Synergy Days are an opportunity to highlight its innovative approaches and gather feedback.

The creation of the PoliRuralPlus project was primarily inspired by the outcomes and challenges encountered during the finalization of our previous project, PoliRural. While PoliRural achieved significant technical advancements, particularly in developing tools to support decision-making in rural and regional contexts, widespread adoption by the broader community remained limited. This gap highlighted the need for more innovative approaches to engage and support stakeholders effectively. Concurrently, the emergence of Large Language Models (LLMs) presented a novel opportunity to enhance our existing tools. Recognizing the potential of LLMs to process vast amounts of data, provide nuanced insights, and facilitate more informed decision-making, we envisioned integrating these capabilities with our established technical infrastructure. PoliRuralPlus aims to leverage this synergy, bringing a new quality to decision-making processes at the local and regional administrative levels. By combining LLMs with our existing tools, we aspire to overcome previous adoption barriers, offering more accessible, intuitive, and impactful solutions for stakeholders.

Over the next five years, we envision our project having a transformative impact on the European agricultural and rural sectors. By harnessing the power of new technologies such as AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), and advanced Geographic Information (GI) analysis, we aim to unlock new possibilities not only for the agrifood sector but for all rural communities. These innovations will enable more precise, data-driven decision-making, enhance productivity, and support sustainable practices that are critical for the future of agriculture and rural development. 

However, realizing this vision will require more than just technological advancement. It will necessitate the integration of significant computational capacities and the mobilization of commercial investments to scale these solutions effectively. The collaboration between public and private sectors will be key to ensuring that these technologies are not only developed but also widely adopted across Europe. 

Our goal is to create a supportive ecosystem where rural communities can fully leverage these digital tools to improve their resilience, competitiveness, and sustainability. By fostering partnerships and investing in the necessary infrastructure, we believe our project will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the European agricultural and rural landscape, making it more innovative, connected, and prosperous. 

Building bridges across the European agri-food sector is vital for fostering mutual understanding and collaboration between technologists and agricultural practitioners. Often, technical experts may not fully grasp the nuanced needs and challenges inherent to the agriculture sector. Unlike industries where processes are highly controlled and predictable, agriculture deals with variables such as weather, soil conditions, and biological factors, making the direct transfer of methods from industry to agriculture inherently challenging. 

This gap underscores the necessity for mutual learning. Technicians and innovators must engage closely with farmers, agronomists, and other stakeholders to tailor technological solutions that are practical, effective, and context-sensitive. Conversely, those within the agricultural sector can benefit from understanding the potential and limitations of emerging technologies. Such collaborative efforts can lead to the co-creation of tools and methods that are both innovative and grounded in real-world applicability. 

Moreover, building these bridges facilitates the dissemination of best practices, encourages standardization where appropriate, and promotes a more cohesive approach to addressing common challenges such as sustainability, climate change, and food security. In essence, fostering strong connections within the agri-food sector is indispensable for driving meaningful progress and ensuring that technological advancements translate into tangible benefits on the ground.

The added value of Synergy Days for our project lies in the opportunity to exchange knowledge and connect with other technical groups and stakeholders across the sector. Synergy Days provide a unique platform for fostering collaboration and sharing insights, which are crucial for the success of our project. By engaging with a diverse range of experts, we can gain new perspectives, learn from the experiences of others, and refine our approaches to better meet the needs of the agri-food sector. 

As we work towards driving a future revolution in agriculture and rural development, it is clear that such transformation cannot be achieved in isolation. The complexity and scale of the challenges faced by the sector demand a collaborative approach, where innovations are developed and implemented through the combined efforts of multiple stakeholders. Synergy Days facilitate this by enabling the formation of strategic partnerships and alliances, which are essential for achieving the big synergy required to drive meaningful change. 

Synergy Days add significant value to our project by enabling the knowledge exchange and collaborative spirit necessary to realize the full potential of digital technologies in the European agri-food sector.

“How do we know what’s the best technology for a given farm?” This is the question that led to the founding principle of QuantiFarm, which aims to explore if and how well digital tools perform in commercial agriculture. The challenges faced by farmers in the field are diverse and complex, calling for new practices and tools that address farmers’ actual needs in terms of productivity, cost-effectiveness, sustainability, and resilience. 

QuantiFarm steps in to bridge the gap by evaluating Digital Agriculture Technology Solutions (DATSs) in real-world settings. This innovative and unique project sets forth a comprehensive, inclusive, and human-centered approach to facilitate the adoption of DATSs among farmers, supporting their decision-making process, and most importantly, helping them understand the wide range of benefits associated with digitalization in agriculture. 

QuantiFarm will continue to contribute dynamically to the agrifood sector beyond the project duration. The project partners have already created an inclusive plan to ensure the sustainability of the project’s results, including the QuantiFarm toolkit, the Digital Innovation Academy (DIA), and the communication channels, such as the website and the project’s social media. For instance, the QuantiFarm toolkit will remain a fully operational tool, continuously updated with the latest DATSs information to support farmers, farm advisors and policy makers in making informed decisions regarding DATSs in the field of digital farming. Additionally, efforts will be made to integrate DIA into higher education and vocational training programs of relevant agricultural specialties, also upholding its uptake by relevant EDIHs.

Our aim with this strategic decision is to maintain the network established through QuantiFarm, continue sharing updates, and keep our results available and accessible for further advancement by interested stakeholders in the sector. By democratising knowledge and disseminating our research and technical insights widely, we ensure that QuantiFarm, along with other EU projects, will continue to bring impactful change to the sector.

QuantiFarm emphasises the critical importance of building bridges within the European agri-food sector to enhance knowledge sharing, foster collaboration, and drive innovation.  

Collaboration among diverse stakeholders, including farmers, agribusinesses, researchers, and policymakers, is essential for addressing complex agricultural challenges. Unified efforts result in integrated solutions that are more effective than isolated initiatives. A cohesive European agri-food sector also enhances global competitiveness by leveraging collective knowledge and resources to meet market demands and international standards. 

Building bridges accelerates innovation by combining diverse perspectives and expertise, resulting in robust and adaptable technologies and practices. It also aids in the development and implementation of comprehensive agricultural policies, informed by a broad understanding of regional challenges and successes. 

Furthermore, this approach promotes sustainability by spreading sustainable practices that can be adapted and scaled across Europe. QuantiFarm's commitment to uniting stakeholders ensures a more productive, sustainable, and resilient agricultural future for Europe, addressing environmental challenges and securing the sector's long-term viability. 

This is the second time that QuantiFarm participates in the unique two-day conference, following last year’s great organisation in Thessaloniki, Greece, in early October 2023. Having the opportunity to connect, create new collaborations and enlarge our network, QuantiFarm’s impact reached a significant maximisation, making the Synergy Days Conference a memorable event for the whole project team.  

In addition, showcasing our ambitious project in various ways, including a pitch presentation, an interactive booth in the exhibition area and, of course, through thematic workshops, sparked the interest of numerous visitors and other EU projects that focus on the agrifood sector. All in all, Synergy Days offers a unique space for the digital innovators of the European agri-food sector to meet, debate and exchange knowledge, while also bringing together ​EU projects, policy-makers, European and Digital Innovations Hubs, farmers and more.  

The European Green Deal has been designed to build a sustainable response to climate and environmental challenges, including those found in agriculture and food production, addressed in the Farm to Fork Strategy. This includes measures linked with the reduction on the use of Plant Protection Products (PPP), given their potential negative effect on air and water pollution, soil degradation, food safety and human health. However, the implementation of these measures has become a challenge, especially for small and medium-sized farms, which have less economicresources and are often run by poorly trained personnel. Additionally, new technologies have experienced a great improvement in the last years but, the adoption of new technologies is still poor and heterogeneous, since results from R&D do not reach final users. In this context, where there is a legislative framework and a range of new technologies available, training and sharing practical knowledge for farmers and advisors is key to ensure sustainability in the food production process. Being aware of the importance of education, there are mandatory training programs that cover some basics on the SUD, but concerns have arisen about the quality of the training contents, and there are still differences in the education level among European farmers. RENOVATE will offer renovated training solutions covering legislation, sustainability, innovations, environment and operator’s protection, and PPP optimization, through a multi-actor stakeholders’ network.

As project coordinator, and in the name of the whole consortium, we hope to develop attractive, useful and long-term use devices to enlarge the educational skills of new farmer’s generation. The main goal is to make attractive agriculture to young farmers, helping them in the implementation of the latest developments, assuring adoption.

Agri-food sector is one of the most pillars for global development, not only in Europe but in the rest of the world. Within the European context, it is crucial to establish a proper and profitable exchange among agri-food stakeholders. Common problems require common solutions. Global markets can be easily managed having a collaborative production system. The development of EU projects and the participation of all the active actors (stakeholders) will serve as a robust pillar for this development.

Enlarge professional networks and personal relationships is always a very profitable experience. In the case of EU project, it is frequent to discover that some of the objectives, problems, and or solutions of your own project have been already experienced in other projects. Additionally, actions such as the synergy days allow to enlarge the number of involved professionals knowing the actions and proposed solutions, giving a great opportunity to improve the dissemination process.

The Robs4Crops project was inspired by the urgent and growing challenges faced by farmers across Europe. The agricultural sector has been grappling with numerous difficulties, including labour shortages, escalating costs of essential resources like fertilizer, seeds, and fuel, and the unpredictable impacts of climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated these issues, highlighting the vulnerabilities within the food production system as fields were left untended due to the inability of seasonal workers to travel. 

Recognizing the critical need for a sustainable and resilient solution, Robs4Crops emerged as a transformative approach to modernizing agricultural practices. By integrating autonomous robotic systems for tasks such as spraying and mechanical weeding, our project aims to significantly reduce labour requirements and operational costs, providing farmers with the tools they need to adapt and thrive in this evolving landscape. The inspiration behind Robs4Crops is to empower farmers with innovative, efficient and sustainable future solutions in agriculture. 

In the next five years, the ROBS4CROPS project is poised to significantly impact the European agricultural sector. By demonstrating our robotic systems in large-scale pilots, we aim to showcase their adaptability and effectiveness across diverse environments. This will benefit both current and future farmers. Our impact will extend beyond the project's four-year duration due to three key factors. First, our commitment from farming business partners to maintain and exploit these innovations. Second, the valuable technical specifications and standards we will develop for autonomous crop care, which will be a crucial resource for future generations. Third, our focus on creating businesses that share robotic equipment to lower costs, making advanced technology more accessible.

Building bridges across the European agri-food sector is crucial for fostering innovation and ensuring sustainable growth. Digitisation and robotisation in agriculture require a collaborative innovation ecosystem that includes a wide range of stakeholders such as farmers, cooperatives, machinery dealers, crop advisors, financial institutions, insurance providers, and nature and citizen organizations. By connecting these diverse groups, we facilitate the sharing of knowledge, resources, and best practices, which is essential for overcoming complex challenges like climate change, resource efficiency, and food security. Despite significant advancements in robotics and substantial investments from the manufacturing community, agriculture has seen relatively low adoption of these technologies. Therefore, creating strong connections within the sector helps to showcase the benefits and limitations of robotic systems in real farming settings, ultimately driving greater adoption and improving overall efficiency.

The added value of Synergy Days for our project, Robs4Crops, and for the European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) involved, lies in the opportunities for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and networking. Organized by SmartAgriHubs, these events are crucial for Robs4Crops as they help in our mission of revitalising the European food and farm industry and catalysing the adoption of high-tech robotics and automated technologies in agriculture. They allow us to align our efforts with other initiatives, helping to enhance each other’s impact. The exchange of ideas and best practices at these events fosters innovative solutions, speeds up the adoption of digital technologies, and creates valuable partnerships that might not have otherwise emerged.

We were inspired by the opportunity to contribute to the EU’s vision for rural areas to become stronger, connected, resilient and prosperous. Rural areas have the potential to drive the transition to a wellbeing economy but have limited access to technological infrastructure and a shortage of services related to socio-environmental sustainability. RURBANIVE’s main challenge and motivation is the establishment of a novel rural-urban innovation framework supported by technical and social innovations in domains known to favour bi-directional rural-urban synergies. This framework will enhance territorial governance and put citizens at the centre of the development of policy tools. We envisage a future where rural areas are digitally connected and rural-urban interactions are enabled through readily available immersive technologies, such as augmented, mixed and virtual reality.

In addition to the 6 enablers developed within RURBANIVE, we will be funding 6 more within the same domains through an open call for financial support to third parties willing to follow our innovation framework to promote rural-urban synergies in their area. We are also contributing to sustainable rural-urban connections through the development of appropriate business models and innovation pathways supported by future-proofed EU policy recommendations for strategic and governance arrangements.

Building bridges across the Union between Europe’s rural communities and its urban centres is essential for fostering collaboration and place-based innovation. It enables the sharing of knowledge, resources, and best practices, leading to more efficient and sustainable rural areas. Enhanced cooperation between rural and urban environments can address common challenges such as inter alia, food security, climate change, and economic disparities. By creating fora that connect stakeholders from both rural and urban communities and across the spectrum, e.g. from farmers to policymakers, we infuse the fabric of European society with resilience and inclusiveness. Moreover, building these bridges promotes cultural exchange and understanding, which is crucial for developing solutions that are sensitive to the needs of disparate communities. Ultimately, fostering strong connections across Europe’s diverse geographies will drive progress and ensure a more inclusive and prosperous future for all. RURBANIVE’s enablers, inspired as they are by the revitalization of scales of multi-level governance.

Synergy Days provides a unique platform for RURBANIVE to connect with like-minded stakeholders. It offers an opportunity to share our vision and progress with a broader audience, fostering greater awareness and support for our initiatives. The event facilitates networking with experts, policymakers, and other innovators, enabling us to exchange ideas, gain new insights, and form strategic partnerships. By participating in this event, we can strengthen our project's impact, enhance our strategies, and contribute to the broader discourse on rural-urban synergies and innovation in the European agri-food sector.

The Thematic Smart Specialisation Partnership ‘Smart Sensors 4 agri – food’ was launched in 2018 to contribute to the development and roll-out of Smart Specialisation Strategies (RIS3) in the involved regions in a way that the agri-food sector evolves into an interconnected, sustainable, resilient, and smart ecosystem built upon competitive food processing companies that embrace the principles of Industry 5.0 and environmental sustainability.

Currently, SS4AF connects 20 partners (clusters, RTO’s, regional authorities, …) across 41 NUTS2 regions in 9 EU countries. SS4AF fosters collaboration between agri-food clusters, tech providers, and stakeholders to drive digital innovation in food processing SME’s, bringing together concrete challenges and digital solutions in one ecosystem. We connect competences, share knowledge and foster green and digital transformation in food processing SME’s towards an interconnected, sustainable, resilient and smart agri-food system in Europe.  

With SS4AF, we strongly focus on the food processing industry and in particular the SMEs´ perspective. Their needs and challenges form the basis for the strategy of the partnership. To facilitate and enable the implementation of digital technologies that can provide solutions to the concrete needs and challenges of the food processing industry, other stakeholders play a crucial role, in particular the technical companies (machine manufacturers, digital solution providers).    

Having walked a significant path since its formation, we have reached a moment where we have created a trust zone between the members and gathered a relevant pool of knowledge and methodologies (namely through the implementation of collaborative EU projects) on how to lower the barriers for agri-food companies to access and implement the newest technologies linked to digitalisation.  Furthermore, we have been able to mobilize a significant amount of financial SME support that results in concrete innovation implementation via projects like S3FOOD and HIGHFIVE.

SS4AF fosters a trust-based network among member organizations, creating a robust ecosystem for agri-food companies. This collaboration enhances knowledge exchange and supports SMEs through improved innovation structures. 

Clusters and Innovation Actors: SS4AF emphasizes cross-sectoral collaboration, connecting food clusters with digital and technology clusters to tackle the digital revolution. This partnership facilitates the creation of a European-wide digital innovation ecosystem, accelerating Industry 4.0 adoption in the agri-food sector. Clusters, starting with SS4AF partners, gain access to stakeholders across this ecosystem, enabling the development of initiatives around S3FOOD’s thematic priorities. 

Policy Makers and Lobby Organizations: SS4AF supports regional strategies for digitalization and Industry 4.0 adoption in the agri-food industry, addressing the limitations of competition within EU regions. By fostering collaboration between complementary regions, SS4AF provides decision-making support to regional funding bodies, ensuring more effective, sustainable investments. 

SMEs: SS4AF indirectly supports SMEs—food processing companies, technology providers, and digital solution providers—by enhancing and creating new support structures through clusters and innovation actors. The ecosystem benefits technology and digital solution providers, RTOs, and others, driving a win-win approach that strengthens both the Partnership and the food processing industry. 

In essence, we expect the Synergy Days in Barcelona to not only solidify the SS4AF network but also lay the groundwork for future collaborations that will yield long-term benefits for all stakeholders involved. 

We anticipate that the event will showcase cutting-edge technologies and best practices in digital and green transformation within the agri-food sector. Participants will have the chance to explore practical applications and discuss challenges with peers and experts, directly contributing to the acceleration of Industry 4.0 adoption across Europe and reinforcing the SS4AF’s mission. 

Moreover, Synergy Days are expected to facilitate the co-creation of future projects, enabling clusters to identify synergies and develop joint initiatives that will drive sustainable growth and innovation in the agri-food industry. 

The STELLA project was inspired by the pressing need to enhance plant health surveillance and safeguard agricultural productivity in the face of increasing threats from emerging plant pests and diseases. As the global population grows and the pressure to ensure food security intensifies, the agricultural sector faces numerous challenges, including climate change, shifting pest dynamics, and the necessity for sustainable farming practices.  It was evident that innovative solutions were required to tackle these complex issues and we envisioned a comprehensive digital system, STELLA PSS, that integrates advanced technologies like remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics to provide early detection and warning of plant health threats. This proactive approach enables timely interventions, reducing crop losses and minimising the environmental impact of pest and disease management. 

Collaboration among diverse stakeholders, including researchers, farmers, policymakers, and technology providers, was a key motivator for the project's creation. By bringing together expertise from various fields, STELLA aims to develop robust, scalable, and user-friendly solutions that can be adopted globally, ultimately contributing to sustainable agriculture and food security. 

In the next five years, the STELLA project will significantly impact the European agricultural and food sector by:

• Enhanced Pest and Disease Management: STELLA's early detection and warning systems for plant pathogens and pests will help farmers reduce crop losses and improve plant health, leading to more reliable yields and contributing to food security and economic stability. 

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Our digital platform will enable farmers to make informed decisions based on real-time data and advanced analytics, optimising resource use, reducing input costs, and enhancing overall farm efficiency. 

• Sustainable Practices: By promoting environmentally friendly technologies and practices, STELLA will support the transition to sustainable agriculture, reducing reliance on chemical inputs, conserving water, and minimising farming's environmental footprint. 

• Knowledge and Skills Development: STELLA's capacity-building activities will empower farmers and agricultural professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to adopt and benefit from digital innovations, fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation. 

Overall, STELLA aims to facilitate digital transformation in European agriculture, making it more resilient, efficient, and sustainable. 

Building bridges across the European agri-food sector is crucial for a more resilient and efficient food system. Here's why: 

• Collaboration for Innovation: Bridging the gap between research institutions, farmers, and technology providers fosters collaboration. By promoting exchange of knowledge between these actors allows for the development of practical solutions that address real-world challenges faced by farmers. 

• Transparency and Trust: Stronger communication between producers and consumers builds trust in the European food chain. Consumers gain insight into farming practices, while producers receive valuable feedback on consumer preferences. 

• Market Efficiency: Effective bridges between different sectors can streamline the food supply chain. This can reduce inefficiencies, minimises food waste, and ensures fair prices for both farmers and consumers. 

• Sustainability for All: Collaboration across the sector allows for the development of sustainable practices. Sharing knowledge on responsible resource management, reduced environmental impact, and animal welfare benefits all stakeholders. 

By fostering stronger connections, the European agri-food sector can become a more innovative, efficient, and sustainable system,  ensuring a secure and healthy food supply for all. 

Synergy Days presents a valuable opportunity for STELLA to connect and collaborate within the European agri-food ecosystem. Here's how: 

• Visibility and Networking: Synergy Days allows us to showcase STELLA's innovative technologies and solutions to a vast audience of stakeholders, including potential partners, investors, and future adopters. This fosters collaboration and opens doors for future partnerships that can accelerate project development and impact. 

• Knowledge Exchange: The event provides a platform to exchange knowledge and best practices with other EDIHs and innovators in the agricultural sector. We can learn from their experiences, identify potential synergies, and explore opportunities for joint ventures or knowledge sharing initiatives. 

• Feedback and User Insights: Synergy Days offers a chance to connect directly with farmers and other end-users. Their feedback on STELLA's functionalities and challenges will be invaluable in refining our approach and ensuring the project delivers user-centric solutions that meet their specific needs. 

By actively participating in Synergy Days, STELLA can leverage the event's networking power, knowledge exchange opportunities, and user feedback to strengthen its impact and contribute to a more innovative and data-driven European agriculture sector. 

The THEROS project was inspired by the need to modernize the verification processes for organic and geographical indications (GI) food products. The project aims to address the growing concern over food fraud and non-compliance within the agri-food supply chain. Traditional methods are often labor-intensive and lack the technological sophistication needed to tackle these challenges effectively. THEROS seeks to provide innovative solutions using advanced technologies like Earth Observation, photonics, Internet of Things (IoT), and DNA authenticity methods. By integrating these technologies in combination with machine learning and blockchain, the project aims to enhance the traceability, security, and transparency of food products from farm to fork. The project was perceived to empower stakeholders, including farmers, certification bodies, and policymakers, to make informed decisions and build trust in quality-labelled food products. Through this initiative, THEROS aspires to support sustainable agricultural practices and protect both producers and consumers from fraudulent activities.

In the next five years, the THEROS project is composed to significantly transform the European agri-food sector by enhancing the transparency and traceability of organic and geographical indication products. The widespread adoption of the project's technologies, will reduce food fraud and mislabeling, ensuring that consumers have access to authentic, high-quality products. This will also support genuine producers by protecting them from unfair competition and enhancing their market reputation. The project's innovative tools will enable more efficient and accurate monitoring of compliance with organic and quality standards, leading to increased trust in European food products both domestically and internationally. Additionally, by promoting short supply chains and supporting local economies, THEROS will contribute to more sustainable and resilient food systems, strengthening the competitiveness of the European agri-food sector on the global stage.

Building bridges across the European agri-food sector is essential for fostering collaboration, innovation, and resilience in the face of complex challenges such as food safety, sustainability, and compliance with quality standards. By connecting farmers, researchers, policymakers, and technology providers, we can develop integrated solutions that address these challenges more effectively. Collaborative networks enable the sharing of best practices and innovations, facilitating the adoption of new technologies and methodologies across different regions. This not only helps in overcoming local constraints but also strengthens the overall resilience and competitiveness of the European agri-food sector. Moreover, building bridges enhances the sector's ability to respond to emerging issues such as climate change and supply chain disruptions through collective action and shared resources. It also helps in aligning policies and regulations across EU, creating a more cohesive and efficient market for agri-food products.

Synergy Days offer a unique opportunity for the THEROS project to connect with key stakeholders and initiatives in the digital and agri-food sectors. This event serves as a platform for networking, knowledge exchange, and collaboration, allowing us to showcase our innovative solutions and learn from the experiences of others. It helps in identifying potential partners and exploring opportunities for scaling our technologies across different regions and applications. Participation in Synergy Days also enables us to stay informed about the latest trends and developments in the sector, ensuring that our project remains aligned with the needs and expectations of the market. The visibility and recognition gained through such events are invaluable for raising awareness about the importance of digital innovation in enhancing food safety, quality, and traceability. Overall, Synergy Days contribute to the project's impact by fostering a collaborative ecosystem that supports innovation and growth.

The project has been defined in response to a call for proposals of the Horizon Europe Programme of the European Commission. TITAN was created to leverage transparency and digital innovations in the food sector to pursue a paradigm shift: transforming the food system into a demand-driven economy that provides consumers with healthy and sustainable food. To achieve this goal, TITAN is working towards the provision of a broad platform for the development of different innovative pilots, the analysis of the current policy to set up a set of recommendations, the setting up an inventory to identify current digital innovations and future challenges. Key for the success of TITAN project is the involvement of primary and secondary stakeholders that – around the same table – can provide their say on how food system should be transformed. 

Two years into the project, TITAN has already achieved several significant milestones. First, the 15 pre-identified pilots have begun their activities, initiating the testing phases of the solutions to be developed. This has led to the involvement of external stakeholders who have provided samples and other valuable contributions for project activities. 

In addition to the initial 15 pilots, 8 more were identified through an Open Call, which saw participation from over 70 organizations. These 8 pilots enhance TITAN’s unique innovation ecosystem in the European landscape, with multiple startups and SMEs supported in deploying enabling technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and Rapid-Detection methods.

Through dedicated stakeholder interaction activities, various supply chains have been reconstructed to understand the gaps, challenges, and opportunities arising from the implementation of innovative technologies. This effort also aims to explore how these technologies can improve interactions among different stakeholders. TITAN is also building a network of experts from businesses, universities, civil society, and public authorities to strengthen the project's position within the European dimension. This collaborative effort will be essential in the future to address the challenges faced by the entire food system. 

TITAN has the opportunity to showcase multiple innovative technological pilots based on various technologies. In addition to the initial 15 pilots, 8 more were identified through an Open Call with a budget of €1.25 million, which attracted participation from over 70 organizations across Europe in a competitive process. These pilots aim to enhance traceability across different supply chains to ensure product authenticity for consumers' benefit. They also explore the use of artificial intelligence in areas such as detecting undeclared allergens and utilizing a chatbot to influence sustainable food choices, precision agriculture through satellite systems, and much more. 

Today, collaboration is increasingly essential for driving innovation in the complex agri-food system. For innovation to become a reality, it must have the support of various allies, including other key players in the food supply chain. First and foremost, it is crucial that this innovation addresses a genuine need within society, aligning with what is deemed important by the community. This community comprises both businesses, ensuring the innovation is a market breakthrough, and end-users, ensuring it meets an existing need highlighted by studies and research. 

Equally important is ensuring that the innovation complies with the regulatory framework, guaranteeing its suitability within the current system of rules. Additionally, innovation is increasingly linked to sustainability. Analyzing the project's entire life cycle, its sustainability, and any potential negative impacts is essential to ensure that the benefits of implementation outweigh any possible harm. This holistic approach is fundamental to ensuring that the innovation not only succeeds in the market but also contributes positively to society and the environment. 

The TITAN project has the potential to create a significant, long-term impact across all dimensions of sustainability—economic, environmental, and social. For the food sector, TITAN will enhance European competitiveness by leveraging intellectual property developed within the project to benefit European industry. It aims to establish European leadership in developing, producing, and utilizing technologies that increase transparency in the food supply chain. Environmentally, TITAN's digital innovations will promote more efficient use of the food supply chain. By ensuring the right product is purchased at the right time, and incorporating factors such as production conditions, carbon footprint, and seasonality into decision-making processes, TITAN will help reduce negative environmental impacts. For the social dimension, the TITAN solutions will guide consumers to making informed food choices. 

Today, building bridges within the agri-food system is crucial to strengthening its resilience. Environmental issues have already demonstrated their ability to disrupt the system. Climate change, leading to alternating periods of drought and heavy rainfall, and the persistent reduction in biodiversity due to various factors, such as pollution, overexploitation of natural resources and intensive agricultural practices, require timely actions. Only by collaborating, joining human and financial resources and knowledge, this urgent challenge can be addressed. This cooperation is essential to increase the sector's sustainability and productivity, also by sharing best practices and research findings. Common challenges demand a broader collaborative effort. 

Synergy Days is a remarkable opportunity for the TITAN project to engage with other digital innovators enhancing the transparency of the food system. The interactions and exchange with other food system actors such as among policy-makers, farmers, civil society and more are one of the biggest added value of this event. Additionally, this event is an opportunity to showcase the results achieved so far. 

The rise in food fraud incidents in recent years highlights a critical vulnerability in the world’s food supply chain that puts consumer trust, public health and business ethics at risk. Food fraud in the supply chain is costly and can take place through various means – the most common being adulteration by substitution, omission, dilution, falsification, deception in the production method or its origin, intentional mislabelling, or masking a defect or contamination. The cost of fraudulent practices for the global food industry has been estimated at around €30 billion every year. To tackle food fraud, an overall framework is required along with anticounterfeit and intelligence-based technologies to assist food chain stakeholders in rapidly identifying and preventing the spread of fraudulent practices. The Watson project aims to do this by providing a methodological framework combined with a set of tools and systems that can detect and prevent fraudulent activities throughout the whole food chain thus accelerating the deployment of transparency solutions in the EU food system. The project takes a holistic approach to understanding the underlying reasons for and drivers of food fraud, and how to contribute to its identification, prediction and prevention.

Watson aims to have the following impacts: 

• Address stakeholders needs and demand for food traceability and transparency: Watson enhances the transparency and traceability of the supply chain business processes, as well as authentication of the food products for end users. The project is expected to increase transparency in food supply chains through improved track-and-trace mechanisms containing accurate, time-relevant and untampered information for the food product. 

• Support authorities on food controls and food fraud checking: Equip authorities and policy makers with data, knowledge and insights to have the complete situational awareness of the food chain. Authorities may improve their audit activities for fraud prevention.  

• Contribute to consumers’ behavioural change and raise awareness: The adoption of Watson solutions is expected to contribute to behavioural change in consumers’ preference structure in food consumption of more original and quality products. Watson raises consumer awareness on food safety and value, leading to the adoption of healthier lifestyles and the development of sustainable food ecosystems.  

• Strengthening EU Competitiveness: Watson improves the food supply chain through enhanced communication and integration of R&D and marketing activities related to food data traceability. It contributes to policy developments that support national and EU regulations, including potential taxation benefits. 

Building bridges across the European agri-food sector is crucial for the success of the Watson project, which aims to promote data-driven solutions to the agri-food sector. The diversity of the sector, encompassing farmers, agribusinesses, technology providers, and policymakers, requires a collaborative approach to tackle shared challenges like climate change, food security, and resource efficiency. By fostering connections between these stakeholders, Watson can accelerate the adoption of its cutting-edge solutions. Collaboration across the sector ensures that technological innovations are practical, scalable, and aligned with the needs of farmers and industry actors across different regions of Europe.

Moreover, building bridges enhances knowledge exchange and best practices, which is key for Watson's goal of achieving widespread impact. Engaging with other initiatives, policymakers, and agricultural communities helps Watson ensure its solutions are interoperable with existing systems, promote sustainability, and comply with evolving regulatory frameworks. Bringing together diverse stakeholders also enables Watson to drive innovation more effectively, ensuring that digital tools are accessible to all and empowering the sector to transition to smarter, more resilient agricultural practices. Ultimately, these collaborations strengthen the European agri-food ecosystem, ensuring long-term sustainability and competitiveness. 

The Watson project brings substantial added value to the Smart Agri Hubs Synergy Days event by fostering innovation and collaboration in smart agriculture. Watson complements the mission of Smart Agri Hubs by contributing cutting-edge research and solutions to the ongoing digital transformation of agriculture. During Synergy Days, Watson can showcase its advancements in areas like artificial intelligence, IoT, and big data analytics, which aligns with many projects goals of enhancing agri-food system efficiency and sustainability. This creates opportunities for synergies between Watson and other projects also focused on building an interconnected ecosystem for agricultural innovation. 

Furthermore, Watson can share its lessons learned and best practices in the first half of the project, benefiting other attendees and stakeholders. Through this, it can help strengthen collaborations with relevant organizations and projects, including technology providers, farmers, and policymakers, advancing shared goals like climate resilience and productivity. By participating in the event, the Watson project can also leverage Smart Agri Hubs' extensive network to build partnerships, access new collaborations opportunities, and ensure its solutions are widely known across Europe, thereby accelerating the digital transition of the agricultural sector. 

The East-Netherlands’ economy is predominantly a lively network of SMEs of which many struggle with digital transformation. The EDIH is key to make these SMEs ready for the future digital and green economy and to embed them more prominently in European value chains. 

EDIH BOOST ROBOTICS EASTNL focuses on Robotics & Sensing in the region’s key sectors Manufacturing, Agrifood and Health. 

Let’s focus on significantly boosting labour productivity while simultaneously reducing our environmental impact, paving the way for a sustainable and prosperous future. 

Looking ahead to 2025, we plan to pilot two new international services with our partner EDIHs. One of these services will focus on sustainability and green services, which we are integrating into our Digital Maturity Assessment. We’ve recognized that many solutions for enhancing sustainability stem from adopting new digital tools, and we aim to expand this perspective in our international collaborations. For the second international service, we invite the readers input on potential topics related to the agri-food sector. This collaborative approach will ensure that our initiatives address the most pressing needs of the industry in agrifood.  

Collaboration. The European agri-food sector is very diverse, consisting of many small and medium-sized enterprises. This diversity is a strength for sustainable and resilient economies, but fragmented development of digital technologies is a weakness. Therefore it is important to coordinate this development and join forces where possible to remain competitive in comparison to other continents in the world. The EDIH network in which BOOST participates is facilitating this.

Network, inspire and collaborate.

Brittany is famous worldwide for its primary and food production, being one of the 1st producing regions in France and Europe. Historically traditional agriculture land, Brittany has progressively turned toward an industrial economy based on food production. It’s long and rich tradition of innovators and food pioneers were beneficial for the region, but the sector is now facing new challenges, such as generational gap and conflicts in production models, technology adoption, skills and labor, climatic, environmental and geopolitical changes. 

Convinced that digital solutions can play a key role in addressing these challenges, the EDIH Bretagne project partners considered Agrifood sector as one of its focuses, as of strategic importance for the Region’s resilience. They gathered competencies and networks to address the agrifood industry’s challenges. With the idea of offering a secured digital transition, after many agrifood industrials were cyber attacked, as more digital solutions can also bring higher risks. 

Thanks to initiatives such as EDIH, technology adoption problems could be addressed sensibly, together with other initiatives, funds, training, mental and cultural shifts. But to me, digitalization must serve a purpose, we must consider ethics, sovereignty and sustainability at the very beginning, to avoid problems such geopolitical and technological dependency, technological locks or aversion, hyper concentration. So EDIHs will have to be the hubs of a safe, impactful, healthy and ethical digitalization.

First, we must speak the same technological and sectorial language, and serving the same purpose: a prosperous, efficient and sufficient Europe by reinforcing trust and cooperation at the technological level. A digital single market, with clear objectives and a shared vision of digital solutions is key. By taking different situations into account (especially regarding different geographical impacts of climate change, or geopolitical dependencies), we must learn the lessons of others, and share good practices, connecting innovators and markets. To do that, we must find a sense or a form of unity in the ecosystems to be able to easily navigate between different European contexts, while being sufficiently diversified, flexible to respect and address local specific needs. So basically, knowing what is going on in Europe, in terms of innovation of the Agrifood sector, to mutualize efforts and become stronger together, because the challenges we will face will need strong cooperation, cohesion and solidarity.

Synergy Days is a way to affirm the EDIH ambition of having a widespread European initiative, a common methodology to address digitalization, and showcase its results and impacts in the Agrifood sector. It is to me the event where the European Agrifood innovation ecosystem meets, an inspiring place to confront imaginaries, leverage obstacles and build this much needed European cooperation.

The EDIH DigiAgriFood project was inspired by the pressing need to accelerate the digital transformation of the agrifood sector, a cornerstone of sustainable development and economic growth in Europe. The sector faces significant challenges, including climate change, resource scarcity, and market competitiveness, necessitating innovative solutions. Our initiative was born from the recognition that advanced digital technologies—such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, ML, and Big Data—hold immense potential to address these challenges while enhancing productivity, sustainability, and food security. 

The project emerged as a collaborative effort between key stakeholders, including research institutions, technology providers, agrifood businesses, and policymakers, united by a shared vision of a digitally empowered agrifood ecosystem. Our inspiration also stemmed from the Horizon Europe framework's call for sustainable innovation and the European Union's priorities for green and digital transitions. 

DigiAgriFood aims to bridge the gap between cutting-edge digital solutions and practical application in the agrifood value chain. By providing training, technological services, and fostering innovation ecosystems, we strive to empower farmers, agribusinesses, and SMEs to adopt digital tools that optimize resource use, reduce environmental impact, and enhance competitiveness in global markets. The project embodies our commitment to transforming challenges into opportunities for a resilient agrifood sector. 

• Start Small, Scale Fast: Test your solutions on a smaller scale to validate their effectiveness and refine your approach. Once proven, focus on scaling rapidly to maximize impact. 

• Stay Informed on Policies and Funding Opportunities: Keep track of government policies, EU initiatives, and funding programs like Horizon Europe that support digital transformation in agrifood. These can provide valuable resources and alignment for your projects. 

Over the next five years, EDIH DigiAgriFood aims to become a transformative force in the European agrifood sector, driving its digital and green transition. By providing advanced digital services, training, and support, we envision empowering farmers, SMEs, and businesses to adopt cutting-edge technologies that improve efficiency, sustainability, and competitiveness. 

Through our "Test Before Invest" approach, stakeholders will gain hands-on experience with solutions like AI, IoT, and blockchain, enabling informed decision-making and reducing risks. Our training programs will bridge the digital skills gap, equipping agrifood professionals with the knowledge to leverage technology effectively. 

We anticipate a significant boost in productivity, with better resource management and reduced environmental impact. Enhanced networking and collaboration within the European Digital Innovation Hubs network will drive cross-border synergies, fostering innovation ecosystems that benefit the entire sector. 

Building bridges across the European agrifood sector is vital to fostering collaboration, innovation, and resilience. The sector faces complex challenges, including climate change, resource constraints, and evolving market demands, which require collective solutions and shared expertise. By connecting stakeholders—farmers, SMEs, researchers, policymakers, and technology providers—across regions and countries, we create a network that accelerates the exchange of knowledge, best practices, and cutting-edge technologies. 

Cross-border collaboration enables the pooling of resources, allowing regions with diverse strengths to complement each other. For instance, advanced technological innovations from one region can be adapted to address specific needs in another, ensuring widespread impact. Building these bridges also facilitates access to funding, investments, and markets, helping agrifood businesses scale and thrive in the competitive global landscape. 

Furthermore, a unified European agrifood ecosystem enhances the sector's ability to respond to shared challenges, such as ensuring food security, reducing environmental impact, and meeting sustainability goals. It also aligns the sector with broader EU strategies like the Green Deal and Farm to Fork initiatives. 

Synergy Days are invaluable for EDIH DigiAgriFood as they help us identify potential partners and explore new project opportunities. These events allow us to learn from other initiatives, gaining insights to improve our project portfolio and services. We also discover best practices for engaging farmers and end-users early on, ensuring effective communication and stronger impact. Synergy Days strengthen collaboration and innovation, making our efforts more aligned with real-world needs.

As early as 2019, we recognized the potential of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) for growth and development in the Southeast region of Ireland. According to the European Innovation Scorecard, this region is considered a moderate innovator, yet it is home to several leading universities, research centers, and institutes. These institutions are well-positioned to drive innovation and contribute significantly to regional and European advancements in technology and digital transformation. 

Our strong, established relationships with many of these partners, along with key regional stakeholders, placed us in a prime position to host a European Digital Innovation Hub. We believed that by leveraging these partnerships, we could enhance the region's digital capabilities and support various sectors in embracing innovation. As a result, in June 2023, we officially launched ENTIRE, the European Digital Innovation Hub for the NUTS 2 region. With ENTIRE, we aim to foster collaboration, drive cutting-edge research, and position our region as a leader in digital transformation across Europe. The hub will play a crucial role in shaping the future of innovation in the Southeast region and beyond 

ENTIRE is currently working with the Irish farming organisation (IFA) on a series of services aimed at benefiting both the organisation and farmers directly. This initiative will involve key services such as our Digital Innovation Consultation Workshop and Stakeholder Engagement, among others. Through these efforts, we hope to create a meaningful impact that enhances digital innovation and supports the farming community on the ground.

Building bridges across the European agri-food sector is essential, and events like Synergy Days provide the perfect platform for this. This event offers a unique opportunity to gather and explore the possibilities of innovation while addressing future challenges in the sector. By bringing together stakeholders, policymakers, researchers, farmers, and the wider community, we can foster collaboration that leads to impactful technologies and innovations benefiting the entire agri-food sector. 

The true value of Synergy Days lies in the communication it fosters, the connections it builds, and the bringing together of brilliant minds to tackle upcoming challenges. Events like these are key to driving meaningful change and progress in the sector. 

Synergy Days 2023 marked the first panel discussion featuring European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), with some hubs having signed contracts while others had not. In 2024, Synergy Days will take it a step further by introducing workshops for EDIHs, allowing them to exchange lessons learned and explore opportunities for collaboration. The event also includes presentations from SMEs and public sector organisations (PSOs) that have benefited from EDIH services.

Looking ahead, we are excited to host Synergy Days 2026 in Ireland. This event will build on the progress made in previous years, further strengthening connections between EDIHs and creating more opportunities for collaboration and innovation. Hosting the event in Ireland will also give us the chance to showcase our region’s advances in digital transformation and foster deeper engagement with stakeholders across Europe. 

The future of Synergy Days plays a significant role in connecting EDIHs, fostering collaboration, and supporting the digitisation of various organisations. It provides a vital platform for those receiving our services to share the impact of these efforts, helping drive digital transformation forward. We look forward to welcoming everyone to Ireland for Synergy Days 2026 and continuing this important work. 

In accordance with the European Data Strategy, interoperable information combined with location information is an indispensable resource for developing competitiveness and innovation capacity. That's why it has been important for us, together with our partners, to provide low-threshold opportunities for businesses and public administrations to make better use and benefit from location data.  

We believe that Location Innovation Hub (LIH) would bring benefits to the whole society in Finland, but also in the EU. Our goal is to create a functional, permanent location innovation ecosystem for networking and matchmaking, testing services and developing new innovations in Europe. 

For example, we are working on data interoperability and the use of novel data sets that could unlock new business opportunities in agriculture and food production. There is a need to standardise machine data and provide solutions for accessing, processing, and analysing data to make it more usable.  

We believe that innovations using location information knowledge and technologies will dramatically improve production processes, logistics and traceability of raw materials and finished products.  

We also think that location data linked to the agri-food sector and other sectors will improve overall sustainability, i.e. recycling, safety, health and well-being, and resilience. 

Our mission is to improve the use of agrifood data in decision making at regional, national, and European level by promoting the development of data spaces and by integrating location and agricultural data spaces. We also aim to collaborate with European projects such as ScaleAgData and AgrifoodTEF, and to develop partnerships in the field of agricultural data. 

Enhancing efficiency across the entire value chain by enabling better decision-making, reducing waste, and improving traceability is imperative. This leads to more sustainable practices, optimized resource use, and increased transparency from farm to consumer. 

I think in this work building bridges across the European sector is very important because we need to have better solutions in terms of data sharing, data use and new innovations to provide cost-effective and easy-to-use solutions.   

It is also valuable that we can increase efficiency in the agri-food sector by scaling up innovation across countries. Actors will be able to develop and adopt new knowledge, services and products at lower cost and faster than if they were isolated in smaller areas.  

At Synergy Days, our aim is to network with other EDIHs. It is also important to find potential companies and other networks with whom we can start working together. It will be interesting to hear about the role of geospatial data and services in different projects. It will also be an opportunity to consider whether we can be of help and offer support to other EDIHs on geospatial issues.  It will also be interesting to see how other EDIHs could strengthen our range of services.