ISARA is a partner of the new European project “Paving the Way towards Digitalisation Enabling Agroecology for European Farming Systems” involving 20 European organisations and lead by the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT).
(Tulln, 18.01.2023) Last week the Horizon Europe project PATH2DEA was successfully kicked-off in Tulln, Austria. The three-year Horizon Europe project is funded by the European Commission and focuses on digitalisation as an enabler of agroecological farming systems in Europe.
While digital tools and technologies for use in agroecological farming are already available, they are not yet widely put into use. At the same time, there are strong userdriven EU initiatives, networks, and research projects focusing on agroecology, which are partly insufficiently connected with a solid knowledge base on relevant digital technologies suitable for agroecology.
PATH2DEA is set out to foster connectivity among these isolated, major assets in digital agroecology, basically presented by
1. Available digital tools and technologies for use in agriculture,
2. Farmers’ (traditional) knowledge, and
3. Relevant expertise in science and technology.
“The emergence of numerous digital tools and technologies used by farmers and agricultural organizations raises the question of their contribution to the transition to agroecology. In this context, PATH2DEA aims to study such tools and technologies and analyze to which extent they can play a role in the transition, but also which constraints they may pose regarding agroecological approaches and principles.” Alexander Wezel, Research Director of ISARA.
Six Showcase farms were selected across Europe to integrate hands-on experience in the use and real-life application of digital agroecology and to support co-creation processes and knowledge sharing.
Path2Dea Kick-off 2 PATH2DEA will deliver a robust knowledge base in the frame of an Open Source Repository of digital tools and technologies in agroecology with decision support functionalities and a well-aligned Research and Innovation Roadmap for guiding digital agroecology transition.
PATH2DEA is embedded in a European “Agroecology Innovation System” and aims at strengthening the linkages with existing and past initiatives and projects, such as other European projects (e.g. AE4EU, ALL-Ready, SmartAgriHubs) or the future European Partnership on Agroecology Living Labs and Research Infrastructures. This strong link was also emphasized by the Policy Officer from the European Commission Susana Gaona Saéz during her presentation on the first day. In order to foster and sustain this European landscape, PATH2DEA will establish a Digital Agroecology Cluster.
PATH2DEA involves 19 partners and one associated partner from 10 countries and is coordinated by the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT).
Recognized for its expertise in agroecology, ISARA will in particular develop a framework to assess the sustainability of different digital tools and technologies in link with the 13 principles of agroecology.
Contacts
• Stefan Pfeiffer, Project Coordinator, Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) T +43 50550-4663 | M +43 664 88904295 stefan.pfeiffer@ait.ac.at | www.ait.ac.at
• Alexander Wezel, Research Director of ISARA awezel@isara.fr | www.isara.fr
• Dr Ioanna Mouratiadou, Associate Professor, ISARA imouratiadou@isara.fr
• Baptiste Grard, Researcher, ISARA bgrard@isara.fr
PATH2DEA Partners
• Austrian Institute Of Technology GMBH (AIT), Austria
• Acondicionamiento Tarrasense Associacion (LEITAT), Spain,
• Agroecology Europe (AEEU), Belgium,
• Ellinikos Georgikos Organismos – Dimitra (ELGO), Greece,
• Research Institute of Organic Agriculture Europe (FIBL EUROPE), Belgium,
• Provinciaal Extern Verzelfstandigd Agentschap In Privaatrechtelijke Vorm Vzw (INAGRO), Belgium,
• ISARA, France,
• E-Science European Infrastructure For Biodiversity And Ecosystem Research (Lifewatch ERIC), Spain
• Scuola Superiore Di Studi Universitari E Di Perfezionamento S Anna (SSSA), Italy,
• South Pole Netherlands Bv (SP), Netherlands,
• Universitaet Hohenheim (UHOH), Germany,
• Vegepolys Valley (VGV), France,
• Vlaamse Instelling Voor Technologisch Onderzoek N.V. (VITO), Belgium,
• Ökologiai Mezogazdasagi Kutatointezet Kozhasznu Nonprofitkft (ÖMKi), Hungary,
• Wageningen University (WU), Netherlands,
• AEDIT SRL (AEDIT), Italy,
• Universidad De Almeria (UAL), Spain,
• Asociacion de Organizaciones de Productores de Frutas y Hortalizas de Almeria (COEXPHAL), Spain,
• Federacio De Cooperatives Agraries De Catalunya (FCAC), Spain,
• Research Institute of Organic Agriculture Switzerland (FIBL Switzerland), Switzerland (associated partner).
