Page 8 - Economy_Local Development

8

1.4 Agricolture 4.0 – best practices

Digitalisation is increasingly gaining ground in the agro-food sector, among technologies that improve the
quality and sustainability of crops; innovations for the competitiveness of companies and tools for product
traceability. Agriculture 4.0 uses several interconnected technologies to improve crop yield and
sustainability, to increase production and processing quality and to improve working conditions.

Source: Unsplash: Cameron Venti -https://unsplash.com/s/photos/drone-view-vineyard-field?utm_
source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText

Best practice 1. “SmartAgriHubs”(a consortium of start-ups, professionals and research centres aiming at
the digitization of agriculture) is moving in this direction. The sectors concerned are arable farming,
livestock, vegetables, fruit and aquaculture. The Italy-Malta district is led by the Consortium for Innovation
of the Emilia Romagna Region (Art-ER) and Coldiretti. It is a 20 million euro EU project funded by the Horizon
2020 research and development programme which aims to achieve, in its 2018-2022 planning period, the
digitization of European agriculture. The University of Wageningen coordinates the project. It brings
together a consortium of over 164 partners, including SMEs, start-ups and technology experts.
The SmartAgriHubs project includes digitisation activities in all five agri-food sectors, such as arable,
livestock, vegetables, fruit and aquaculture.

Best practice 2. Aeroponics Mediterranean Ltd. – ‘Planty’ ‘Planty’ has built a state-of-the-art greenhouse
that uses environmentally friendly techniques and covers the complete production cycle from seed to
market. Seeking innovative agriculture projects that are environmentally friendly and adapted to the market
reality of Cyprus, the beneficiaries decided to invest in a state-of-the-art agricultural production unit. The
new unit will provide premium horticultural products to the Cypriot market and, more importantly, will be
able to export these products to new markets, such as Greece and the Gulf Countries. Rural Development
Programme (RDP) support facilitated the construction of a state-of-the-art greenhouse which includes
a nursery and a hydroponic growing plant, using Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) as well as storage and
packaging facilities.Establishmentof a 10 000 m2 state-of-the-art facility and greenhouse made up of a 5 000
m2 nursery and a 5.000 m2 area for hydroponic production using the Nutrient Film Technique (NFT).