Why does research and innovation on agricultural and rural digital transformation matter?
Digital technologies have the potential to revolutionise agriculture by helping farmers work more precisely, efficiently and sustainably.
Data-driven insights can improve decision-making and practices and help increase environmental performance while making farming jobs more attractive to younger generations.
Digital technologies also have the potential to offer consumers greater transparency as to how their food is produced. They offer opportunities to renew business models in value chains by connecting producers and consumers in innovative ways.
Beyond farming, digital technologies are key for making rural communities more attractive, smart and sustainable as well as for reducing problems related to remoteness and improving access to services.
Research and innovation is vitally important to facilitate and accelerate digital transformation in agriculture and rural areas for the benefit of European citizens and businesses.
The EU has been active in recent years undertaking research and innovation activities laying the ground for digitalised and data-empowered European agriculture and rural areas.
Strategic interventions support:
- the uptake of digital technologies,
- increased research and innovation investments,
- crucial assessment of the socioeconomic impacts of digitalisation.
Funding opportunities
Calls for proposals and funding information related to agriculture, forestry and rural areas
The rural development policy supports innovation through a range of interventions, including the European innovation partnership for agriculture (EIP-AGRI)
Some digital transformation in agriculture and rural areas related calls may be found in this programme
Projects and results
This factsheet collects most of the research and innovation related to digital transformation in agriculture and rural areas under Horizon 2020 societal challenge 2
The one-stop shop to EU-funded agricultural innovation projects
The Commission's primary portal for results of EU-funded research projects
This CORDIS Results Pack focuses on 17 EU-funded projects that have been at the forefront of the precision farming revolution
Collaboration and jobs
The EIP-AGRI fosters innovation in agriculture and forestry connecting knowledge and practice
Search and view profiles of all organisations that have received funding via the funding and tenders portal
Researcher jobs in related fields
Scientific publications, tools and databases
Scientific publications produced by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC)
The Commission's Joint Research Centre compiles databases and develops software and modelling tools
Single point of access to open data produced by the EU institutions. All data is free to use for commercial and non-commercial purposes
You can access all scientific publications from Horizon 2020 via OpenAIRE
Access to agriculture data from the Copernicus programme