The project SmartAgriHubs, presented by a consortium of which CEMA is a participating partner, was recently selected for funding by the European Commission under the Rural renaissance H2020 Call for proposals DT-RUR-12-2018.
SmartAgriHubs is dedicated to accelerating the digital transformation of the European agri-food sector. It will consolidate, activate and extend the current ecosystem by building a network of Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs) that will boost the uptake of digital solutions by the farming sector.
This will be achieved by integrating technology and business support in a local one-stop-shop approach involving all regions and all relevant players in Europe. The heart of the project is formed by 28 flagship innovation experiments demonstrating digital innovations in agriculture, facilitated by DIHs from 9 Regional Clusters including all European member states.
SmartAgriHubs will at the same time improve the maturity of innovation services of DIHs so that digital innovations will be replicated across Europe and widely adopted by European farmers. A lean multi-actor approach focusing on user acceptability, stakeholder engagement and sustainable business models will boost technology and market readiness levels and bring user adoption to the next level. This will be enhanced by synergetic effects between SmartAgriHubs and Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3), since SmartAgriHubs will work together with European regions to maximize the return of European investments, including regional structural funds and private capital.
Open Calls with a total budget of ±6 M€ will expand the network and ensure that technological developments and emerging challenges of the agri-food sector are incorporated in the DIH service portfolio. SmartAgriHubs’ inclusive structure and ambitious targets will bring the entire European ecosystem together, connecting the dots to ensure global leadership for Europe in the AgTech market.
Stichting Wageningen research (Netherlands) will lead the SmartAgriHubs project, which will see the work of 108 partners from Academia, Professional association, Research, Industry and Public sector. The project’s duration is 4 years, with an expected start date in November 2018.
CEMA’s role will be in the Dissemination and communication activities, including the organization of the project’s closing event.