TechCare is a multi-actor approach project aiming to develop appropriate business models using innovative technologies to improve welfare management for all EU small ruminant (SR) systems, to enable stakeholders to choose animal welfare-friendly products. SRs play a key socio-economic role in Europe, especially in harsh environments where innovative technology is not much implanted. SRs are often managed as a flock/herd, allowing only average welfare states to be considered. Innovative technologies are a unique opportunity to monitor and improve SR welfare management at the individual or flock/herd level, along the value chain. Based on SR welfare state-of-the-art, TechCare will undertake a multi-actor approach to encapsulate stakeholders’ expectations in terms of welfare and innovative technologies, and provide them with adapted solutions, in a co-design approach. TechCare will cover all stages of SR production and build novel welfare approaches to develop and validate tools, early warning systems, algorithms and indicators for efficient identification of welfare issues, including positive welfare, to include them in welfare management models. The innovative technologies identified in TechCare will pass different stages of validation, from prototyping to large scale studies. TechCare identified solutions will therefore be replicable and adapted to different SR systems, production purposes, and value chains, for improvement of SR welfare management EU-wide. Business models will be constructed and validated with stakeholders. Dissemination, communication and exploitation materials will be produced and widely shared for easy use of TechCare solutions, ensuring their uptake and relevance to all sectors and stakeholders. TechCare will offer a durable improvement of SR welfare management using innovative technologies along the whole value chain and across the EU, and will act as an example in terms of approach and solutions for other species and production systems.

The digital transformation of food systems has entered a twilight zone: data-driven innovations have proven to be promising, but it is still unclear how to upscale adoption and have broader acceptance. The Data4Food2030 project aims to improve the data economy for food systems (DE4FS) by expanding its definition, mapping its development, performance and impact to create new insights and opportunities. This contributes to a more competitive and sustainable food system in the EU and supports implementation and adaptation of relevant policies such as a Digital Single Market, Green Deal and the Common Agricultural Policy. Data4Food2030 is a 4-year project that aims to 1) enlarge the knowledge base and insight into the DE4FS, 2) develop a system that monitors and evaluates the development, performance and impact of the DE4FS on relevant EU policies 3) identify drivers and barriers and turn these into opportunities, recommendations and solutions, 4) test solutions and evaluate recommendations in case studies and through stakeholder dialogues and 5) provide future scenarios and a roadmap and sustain the monitoring system to support policy development and accelerate the desired future state of the DE4FS. Data4Food2030’s approach is targeted at an improved future state of the DE4FS from which clear design principles, recommendations and solutions are derived for improving and adapting policies and practices at public and private level. As an essential part of the project, stakeholders are deeply engaged to provide input to various DE4FS concepts and evaluate several project outcomes to increase the impact of the project. Nine case studies provide real-life examples of the DE4FS at micro- and meso-economic level, deploying data and technologies, which are used for mapping and improvement to promote data-enabled business models. In this way, Data4Food2030 creates credible pathways to navigate properly through the twilight zone towards a fair, inclusive and innovative DE4FS.

EU Data Governance Act and recent advances in technology provide a unique momentum to automate and expand livestock data collection, integration and exploitation by strengthening the coordination of efforts of science and industry. The ultimate goal of Digi4Live is to increase the capacity of livestock sector actors across Europe to benefit from data generating and digital technologies. By using a strong multi-actor and co-creation approach, which brings together livestock sector actors from farm to fork, from science to livestock and technology industries, competent authorities, and other key actors, and engages them in co-creation of digital & data concepts, Digi4Live enables greater use of current and new data & digital technologies in livestock tracking. Digi4Live is a 4.5 years coordination and support action that is reaching out to over 1000 organisations and initiatives across Europe to make an impact towards economically, environmentally and socially sustainable, digitalised livestock business that meets consumers’ expectations, more effective public administration and impactful policy. Digi4Live boosts the creation of standards and harmonised regulations, thus eliminating technical barriers for data and new data-generating technologies, and provides evidence on economic, social and environmental impacts of data-driven solutions in the livestock sector and boosts collaboration between R&I initiatives across all EU member states and beyond. It will point out how public administration and policy monitoring & assessment, businesses and consumers can benefit from digital technologies. Concepts for greater exploitation of data will be co-developed and examined in six thematic case study hubs and brought to the attention of end users to. Such an integrated approach can really make a difference by enabling substantially improved use of data for the benefit of science, policy and business. The project will provide policy and business conclusions.

SmartAgriHubs is dedicated to accelerate 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. Concurrently, SmartAgriHubs will 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 RIS3, since SmartAgriHubs will work in lock step 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. The consortium, led by Wageningen Research and other partners of previous key projects such as IoF2020, FIWARE, S3P Agri-Food and I4MS, will leverage the existing ecosystem and guarantee a maximum ROI for European taxpayers and a vital agri-food sector producing adequate and safe food for future generations.