EU to fund agdata development

The European Union has invested €4 million in the SmartAgri Food accelerator, an EU initiative for entrepreneurs and web developers creating  and developing agdata services for European farmers.

The accelerator, which is part of a wider European Union enterprise accelerator called EBN, is connected to a network of angel investors and venture capitals firms that are looking for investments in Europe and Ireland.

The initiative is part of the EU’s aim to develop digital infrastructure on Europe’s farms. “There are lots of digital sensors on existing farming equipment, but up-to-date digital services are not being utilised to a great extent on Europe’s farms,” Carole Thurston, who is providing support to entrepreneurs applying from Ireland, Greece, Malta, Moldova and the UK, told Agri Investor.

Some countries, such as Germany and Denmark have already improved the incorporation of agdata in their agricultural sectors, but potential end users in smaller EU countries have not been able to afford these services yet, according to Thurston. And some have not even been aware of them at all, she added.

The project, which lasts two years, is hoping to spawn as many as 40 agdata apps created by entrepreneurs from across the EU, resulting in agdata services in every EU country.