New model of eco-sustainable agriculture

New model of eco-sustainable agriculture

A smart platform to implement a new model of eco-sustainable agriculture

The iAgri project, which is funded by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, is being coordinated by the Andalusian cluster OnTech Innovation.

The agri-food industry is immersed in an unstoppable process of transformation to adapt to the new habits and demands of consumers, who are increasingly looking for healthier and more sustainable products. The implementation of a new model of eco-sustainable agriculture that guarantees the productivity, quality and sustainability of crops is precisely the objective of the ‘iAgri’ project, an industrial research initiative that is designing and developing an intelligent platform for the storage, processing and management of biomarkers and indicators relevant to agri-food production.

This platform – which will collect data in an automated way through a combination of sensor or advanced processing stations, the application of data processing techniques on external sources and the addition of data by the farmer – will reduce production costs, optimise farm management (fertilisers, irrigation, pathogen control, harvest time, physiological adaptation of the crop to climatic conditions) and certify the quality of food and the sustainability of agricultural production.

iAgri’, a project coordinated by OnTech and developed by the biotech company Econatur, the innovative solutions company Solutia Digital Health and the University of Seville, is developing an artificial intelligence algorithm that analyses data from sensors installed on the La Añoreta farm (Cordoba) and emulates the knowledge of experts to inform the farmer of the different situations that are occurring in the plantations. Specifically, data from different types of crops such as wheat, almond trees or tomatoes are processed and magnitudes such as environmental temperature, amount of rainfall, humidity, pressure or salinity are measured.

With these measurements and their subsequent analysis, relationships will be investigated to predict risks such as pests, diseases, water stress, solar radiation stress, salinity stress, poor vegetative development or fruit set failure. The algorithm should alert the farmer of possible risks that may occur in the future, thus anticipating and preventing possible damage to crops.

Another objective of the iAgri project, funded by the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade through the support programme for Innovative Business Groups, is to determine whether the crop is sustainable or not by analysing sensor measurements. The function of the artificial intelligence system will be to assess the situation and alert the farmer to take the appropriate measures indicated by the experts.

One of the main values of this project is to provide agri-food SMEs with tools that are available to large companies and that would otherwise be difficult to afford. Small agricultural producers will be able to take advantage of all the data collected in the platform’s databases to optimise production and receive assistance in decision-making, boosting the quality and productivity of their crops.

SMEs involved in the distribution and sale of these agri-food products will also clearly benefit. The ‘iAgri’ project will develop an eco-sustainable agriculture certification standard based on data on productivity, nutritional quality and environmental sustainability, which will allow distributors to easily certify suppliers.

Finally, this industrial research initiative will also benefit the end consumer, who will be able to obtain healthier and higher quality products, in nearby distribution channels, at reasonable prices and with the added value of knowing that the purchase of these products has an impact on the sustainability of both the physical and socio-economic environment.

Participating entities

The project ‘Development of a smart platform for the implementation of a new productive model of eco-sustainable agriculture (iAgri)’ is being coordinated by OnTech Innovation, the largest digital economy cluster in Andalusia.

The development of the industrial research initiative is led by the innovation area of Econatur, a biotechnology-based company focused on research and knowledge generation applied to the eco-sustainable agriculture sector; Solutia Digital Health, a technology company focused on software development and systems integration with the most advanced technologies; and the University of Seville.