Coordination of ICT and Robotics in Agriculture and Related Environmental Issues (ICT-AGRI)

The overall goal of ICT-AGRI is to strengthen the European research in the area of ICT and robotics in agriculture, to develop a common European research agenda on this subject, to create a network of researchers, and to follow up with calls for proposals. The project focuses on the application of ICT, automation and robotics in (precision) agriculture and related environmental issues.

In the course of this project, knowledge and research about ICT and automation are applied to agriculture but are also applied to industrial applications, as ICT is further developed in industry than in agriculture. We hereby strive for cross-pollination between industry and agriculture. This is reflected in the cross-thematic ERA-NET, which spans three FP7 themes: Agriculture and food supply; Environment and climate; and Information and Communication Technology.

A Country Report and a Strategic Research Agenda have already been published. The Meta Knowledge Base (MKB), an online web application (http://db-ictagri.eu), hosts information regarding researchers and research topics in ICT and robotics in agriculture. The first call for proposals resulted in 44 proposals, of which 7 were funded. PigWise, one of these sucessful projects, is now underway in ILVO’s Agricultural Engineering research group. Public-Private-Partnerships (PPP) have also been stimulated through this initiative. For complete information about ICT-AGRI, visit http://www.ict-agri.eu.