This week the Agritecnica exhibition, the best international reference in agricultural machinery, took place in Hannover (Germany), with more than 50 exhibitors from Spain. Crop spraying and advances in drones or digital assistance systems are part of the crowd Alvaro PerezThe Coordinator of the Project Department of Asaja (Agricultural Association of Young Farmers) highlights the importance of adapting to change in agriculture and livestock: „Over the years, from technological advances to changes in institutional policies, we have seen important changes to improve sustainability and innovation and guarantee the economic viability of farms.
„Variable scale and precision agriculture (he adds) are key components. The first involves adjusting the amount of inputs such as fertilizers or pesticides using advanced technologies such as global positioning systems (GPS) and sensors that collect detailed data on soil and crop variability.” Other technological practices to improve productivity include.”
Asaja schemes like Neogiant (Grape juice for reduction of antibiotics in pig industry), Go to microclimate (Testing of new biostimulants based on microalgae) or RecoverBiotechnological solutions (along with insects) to combat plastic pollution are part of a battery of technological solutions for 21st century agriculture.
The 'Action Groups and Innovative Projects’ initiative (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development; Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and National Rural Network) also stands out. A financial institution like Cajamar has experimental agriculture centers in Almeria and Valencia, and various R&D&i projects have been developed and developed in an area of 20 hectares, and initiatives such as geospatial, innovation, digitization and sustainability ecosystems.
For the livestock sector, works such as the CSIC (Higher Center for Scientific Research) leading the European project stand out (the first call of the Horizon Europe research project) Cattle again (Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock Systems). Times of 'smart cattle’, which optimize processes for better efficiency throughout the journey on farms and where the 'Internet of Things’ is already part of the process.
Events like Figan, held every March at the Zaragoza fair, bring together a 'robot sketch’ of the present and future of this economic activity. This is what happened this year with advances in the agri-food sector’s management software (ERP), genetic enhancement, and estimation of animal block weight by processing images obtained with 2D and 3D cameras. On land, companies such as InnoPorc implement solutions for geofence farms such as CheckPig (farm organization protocols), Pig Advisor (management and realization through 'big data’) or LaresAgri.
Animal ability
Technology deployment includes monitoring of proven technologies of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, animal production and nutrition systems, detection of pests and diseases, high efficiency in irrigation… Ministry has launched 23 grants for innovative projects of common interest in agriculture, livestock, forestry sector and food industry. , 12.15 million euros from the European Recovery Instrument (Next Generation), included in Agri-Food Berte.
Fishing, for its part, also benefits from technological disruption. It was highlighted last May (at the Technological Innovation Day of the Association of Artisan Producers of the Province of Asturias). Isabel Artime, Secretary General of Fisheries: „Research and science are key partners of the fisheries sector in addressing the challenges of sustainability, profitability and competitiveness.” In this context, organizations such as AZTI work to address the future impact of climate change on ecosystems „especially (its Fisheries Technology Coordinator, Kabina Gorga) for fisheries, the increasing cost of raw materials, the need to diversify sources of resources to meet the growing demand for fish consumption, etc.
Therefore, they work on different lines of digitization to adapt to new scenarios of uncertainty (unexpected events, legislative changes, etc.). Gabiña highlights projects such as SustunTech (digitalization and AI to reduce fuel consumption) or Simulek (operational and energy models of the craft fleet in the face of a possible electrification strategy). It also highlights the importance of developing methods and tools that include the use of „artificial intelligence and 'big data’,” with examples such as our advances in mitigating overfishing in ecosystems, classifying catches by species and size, and „artificial interactions with protected, threatened and/or endangered species.” In avoiding.”
