EU Digital Days set the frame to confirm the commitment on precision farming at EU level

On a recent publication, CEMA announced the intention of the Commission to request a clear commitment from Member States to strengthen the role of smart farming technologies in EU agriculture. We called on all Member States to step up to the challenge and commit.

The EU Digital Days were the chosen scene by both EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan and EU Digital Economy Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, to join forces and ask national governments for a real push to the digital transformation of EU farming and rural areas.

Member States were asked to work closer together in order to:

  • strengthen support for research in areas such as smart farming and food traceability,  
  • establish a Europe-wide innovation infrastructure for a smart European agri-food sector and
  • create a European dataspace for smart agri-food applications.

Commenting on the text of the Declaration, Jerome Bandry CEMA Secretary General agreed that “the uptake of digital technologies has a positive impact on farmers’ quality of life but also on the way they run farms’ operations. Digital technologies should be available to farmers and farms of all size and might be key to attract younger generations into the sector”.

Farming technologies together with the growing potential of Artificial Intelligence, 5G or upcoming robotics are some of the key elements mentioned in the Declaration that can transform farming and enable better decision making in the years to come.

24 European countries out of 28 signed the Declaration of cooperation on ‘A smart and sustainable digital future for European agriculture and rural areas’. The full text can be found HERE