The EU-backed project Farmtopia, running from 2023 to 2026, is poised to democratise access to digital technologies, catering particularly to small- and medium-sized farmers.

With a strategic vision to revolutionise agricultural practices across Europe, Farmtopia is set to tackle the currently inadequate domain of Agricultural Digital Solutions (ADSs) while shining a spotlight on regionally significant crops through 9 Sustainable Innovation Pilots. One of those Pilots connects Ireland, Hungary, and Germany through its aim to support small oyster mushroom farmers with a Smart Mushroom Farming Solution that can reduce production costs, improve yield, and increase profitability.

The University College Dublin acts as an ADS provider and a leader in this Pilot that aims to lower production costs by ≥15% while increasing profitability by ≥10%.

Oyster Mushroom Farming Made Profitable

At the moment, small and medium-sized oyster mushroom farms are tackling hurdles posed by limited financial resources and operational constraints that lead to sub-optimal yields. Farmers struggle to optimise production processes, manage inputs efficiently, and - to be even more specific - monitor mushroom yields.

Now, with the development and implementation of innovative Farmtopia solutions underway, this topic is being addressed head-on through the project’s Sustainable Innovation Pilot 2 (SIP2). All with the goal of revolutionising mushroom farming practices via a Smart Mushroom Farming Solution - an integrated solution for real-time monitoring and control of mushroom growth and yield.

By providing a user-friendly interface and using sensor networks for environmental monitoring, our Pilot aims to support farmers to make data-driven decisions that help bring up productivity and profitability. We have mapped out challenges and begun the activities, with the said sensor infrastructure already deployed on farms for environmental monitoring. Other planned digital technologies include camera-based technology for real-time mushroom growth monitoring, advanced analytics, a visualisation dashboard, and AI for decision support.

Dr Dimitrios Argyropoulos, Leader of SIP2 activities on behalf of University College Dublin in Farmtopia

University College Dublin (UCD) brings its expertise in combining smart sensor solutions and AI (artificial intelligence), while other involved Farmtopia partners, Hungary’s Pilze-Nagy and Germany’s Substratproduktion Kynast -Löcke GmbH provide the testing ground through its connection to farmers. Overall, a network of mushroom growers in Hungary, Germany, and Ireland is involved.

The outcomes expected are: a reduction in production costs by ≥15%; a decrease in energy consumption by ≥10%; and an increase in profitability by ≥10%.

Farmtopia’s Open Call for Innovation in 2024

As mentioned, 9 SIPs have been preliminarily identified. Apart from this, the Farmtopia project will begin the further selection of Pilots in its upcoming Farmtopia Open Call, slated for fall 2024. This initiative aims to encourage collaborative development and testing of customised ADSs for small farms, spearheaded by the 9 new Pilots that will be selected through the Call. The Pilots needs to consist of a small farmer and ADS provider. A total funding pool of €900,000, distributed at €100,000 per SIP, has been allocated to support these efforts.

EU Project Farmtopia: Cultivating Community

Farmtopia's multi-actor approach aims to bring together different stakeholders along the agricultural value chain. This includes farmers, Agricultural Digital Solutions (ADS) providers, farm advisors, scientists, policymakers, Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) actors, and various other vital contributors. Their joint effort and contribution will help harvest the best results from synergies between farmers and ADS providers.

The Farmtopia project (GA No.: 101083541) has received funding by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. All the information is available on the project's website, as well as Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Youtube.