LivestockSense

 

Project title: Enhancing environmental sustainability of livestock farms by removing barriers for adopting ICT technologies
Duration: 1.04.2021 – 31.05.2023
Project budget: 1 643 000 EUR
Budget for UPWr (role): 843 443,50 PLN (Partner)
Project Coordinator: dr hab. inż. Sebastian Opaliński, profesor uczelni
 

WEBSITE
 

Consortium:

1. AgHiTech Kft./ Hungary (Coordinator)
2. Estonian University of Life Science/ Estonia
3. SBA Research/ Austria
4. NARIC Research Institute of Agricultural Economics/ Hungary
5. MIGAL Galilee Research Institute/ Israel
6. Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences/ Poland
7. Aarhus University, Department of Engineering/ Denmark
8. Innvite ApS/ Denmark
9. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences/ Sweden

 
The utilisation of ICT based tools in agriculture is crucial for the EU to become internationally competitive, socially inclusive and climate neutral by 2050, the goal set in the European Green Deal. However, promoting and adopting ICT tools is a significant challenge in animal production. Although advanced ICT solutions improve animal husbandry's environmental and economic viability, farmers are not open to new technologies due to a lack of in-depth knowledge about the implications of its usage. The development of sustainable animal husbandry requires removing socio-economic and cultural barriers preventing the broader adoption of ICT tools.

Therefore, the main objectives of the LivestockSense are:

1. to improve the economic and environmental viability of livestock farms through the application of advanced information and communication technologies

2. to identify/remove social barriers for technology adoption to achieve a wider use of ICT on farms

This will be achieved by selecting and supplying several farms in 5 key geographical areas in Europe with Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) tools. Both qualitative and quantitative surveys will be used to understand farmers' attitudes towards PLF tools to identify barriers to the limited adoption of ICT based technologies. LivestockSense will also involve other actors in the value chain, such as technology developers and policy makers, to explore attitudes towards the PLF and understand the future expectations of the livestock sectors. Recommendations will be made to remove or reduce the impact of those barriers. The potential economic and environmental benefits of technology adoption will also be incorporated in a learning database and associated website using AI-based technologies and ICT tools for decision support.

In summary, the LivestockSense will be implemented to:

1. understand the reasons for the limited use of ICT tools,
2. explore farmers 'attitudes towards PLF systems,
3. document farmers' information needs,
4. assess their knowledge of decision-making processes about the information provided by ICT tools,
5. support farmers in adapting to the PLF through a workshop, mentoring and a web-based application with an open Application Programming Interface (API).