On 8 July 2025, a comprehensive webinar, “Innovative Practices for a Sustainable European Agri-sector“, gathered a diverse audience to explore the forefront of Agritech in European projects.
Hosted by Felipe Taylor (F6S) and under the umbrella of the F6S Greentech Synergy Channel, the event highlighted how cutting-edge innovations are empowering Europe’s green transition, culminating in a robust debate on collaborative strategies. The webinar specifically targeted European projects and their consortium efforts (from universities and research institutions to the private sector) aiming to build synergies, share knowledge and collaborate for greater impact.
The session featured presentations from key innovation projects:
- INNO4CFIs (Giulia Berni, PLANET): Promotes carbon farming and nature-based business models through AI and satellite technologies.
- Nostradamus (Ioannis Varvaris, ERASTOTHENES): Focuses on data-driven decision-making for sustainable agriculture, creating a scalable platform for real-time data collection and analysis.
- AgRimate (Leire Bastida, TECNALIA): Utilizes AI, AR, and robotics, including exoskeletons and pruning robots, to boost efficiency and improve working conditions for smallholder farmers in vineyards and olive groves.
- PaluWise (Päivi Merilä, Luke): Employs paludiculture, converting degraded peatlands into productive sites for GHG emission reduction and nature restoration.
- REGILIENCE (Anne-Florence Harpon, F6S): Centers on stakeholder engagement in climate adaptation and resilience, using tools like citizen surveys to inform regional strategies.
The core of the event was a dynamic roundtable discussion, illuminating the challenges and synergies of integrating diverse innovations.
Data as the backbone, towards integrated systems: The debate underscored how data is becoming the backbone of modern agriculture. Giulia (INNO4CFIs) highlighted the challenge of achieving true interoperability across different data types (carbon capture, water availability, soil remediation) and technological systems. Ioannis (Nostradamus) echoed this, emphasising the current fragmentation of data and the need for a common “language” to facilitate seamless integration. His project’s “one-stop shops” for data aim to centralise and harmonise information. Päivi (PaluWise) demonstrated this integration in practice, detailing how remote sensing data is crucial for assessing peatlands and how specialized machinery can then operate effectively. Anne-Florence (REGILIENCE) articulated her project’s role as an integrator, connecting various innovations into coherent regional strategies, showcasing that effective integration is both technical and organizational.
Human-centric technology and practices: The discussion also addressed the social hurdles of technology adoption. Leire (AgriMate) emphasised AgriMate’s human-centric approach, where farmers directly interact with AR and robotics to build trust and demonstrate tangible benefits, going beyond theoretical explanations. This hands-on method helps overcome initial apprehension and boosts digital literacy, a point reinforced by Ioannis (Nostradamus) concerning user-oriented training, underscoring that they are tools to empower farmers.
Ecological & economic rationale – maximizing co-benefits: The projects collectively highlighted the multi-faceted benefits of their approaches. Päivi (PaluWise) outlined how paludiculture not only cuts GHG emissions but also enhances biodiversity and water management, though it faces market development challenges for its biomass. Giulia (INNO4CFIs) championed a “water, energy, food, and ecosystem services” (WEFE nexus) approach, stressing the need to tokenize environmental benefits to create new revenue streams for farmers. This perspective was supported by Ioannis (Nostradamus), who stressed the importance of integrating socio-economic data to showcase the full economic potential of these green practices.
Policy & scalability for resilience: Finally, Anne-Florence (REGILIENCE) brought forward the challenges of policy and scalability. She noted that local authorities often struggle with limited resources and unclear roadmaps for climate adaptation. REGILIENCE aims to bridge this gap by providing tools and guidance for robust regional strategies, emphasising that adaptation must be locally grounded and actionable. The projects collectively advocate for policies that incentivise sustainable practices and support the large-scale deployment of these innovative solutions across Europe.
The webinar concluded with a strong message: by leveraging data, empowering farmers with human-centric technologies, maximising ecological and economic co-benefits, and fostering supportive policies, Europe can build genuinely resilient agricultural systems. The collaboration showcased among these diverse projects offers a promising blueprint for a truly sustainable agri-food future.
Watch the webinar recording 👇
