Thematic Smart Specialisation Platforms for Agri-Food / Industrial Modernisation

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1 Contribution ID: 83d6f444-4d5d-420b-863e-018f998c8064 Date: 01/02/ :56:50 Thematic Smart Specialisation Platforms for Agri-Food / Industrial Modernisation Expression of interest for the development thematic sub-areas Fields marked with * are mandatory. EU regions and member states are invited to propose a thematic area that is of their interest and it is linked to agri-food or industrial modernisation and their smart specialisation strategies (RIS3), and in which they wish to collaborate on with other regions or members states in perspective of starting a partnership for co-investment in the development of new value chains. Submissions are welcome from one region or a group of regions which are keen to act as coordinating/leading region(s). To submit your proposal, please fill in the survey below. Title of proposed subtheme/focus area Applying spatial data in data-driven food production and policy-making 1

2 * Please indicate the most relevant Thematic Platform for your proposed area: Agri-food Industrial modernisation * Your name Illar * Your surname Lemetti * Region / country Estonia * Your affiliation and function within the institution Secretary General of Ministry of Rural Affairs in Estonia * Your sirli.pehme@agri.ee Your telephone 2

3 * Description of the proposed subtheme/focus area There is a large and constantly increasing potential in achieving a high level of synergy between different agriculture-related spatial data streams owned and maintained by diverse range of stakeholders. For example, there are region-, farm- and field based data flows about the soil fertility, fertiliser demands and soil types, weather patterns, the spread of pests, crop yields, the areas under environmental restrictions etc. It is technically possible to combine these data flows and to use data analytics to develop support systems, which would help stakeholders on micro and macro levels in their decision making. It is challenging to reach an effective and safe harmonisation, however, not least because of the number of stakeholders involved and their sometimes diverging interests (farms, agricultural and ITsector businesses, public sector, RD institutions and universities). There is a need for a robust framework of collaboration between public and private sector stakeholders to overcome the challenge. As a result, a more datadriven environment will be established that will increase the effectiveness and sustainability of food production and help in applying data-based policymaking. 3

4 * Are you involved in the design and/or implementation of research and innovation strategies for smart specialisation (RIS3) in your region/member State? Please explain. Estonian Research and Development and Innovation Strategy Knowledge-based Estonia ( /estonian_rdi_strategy_ pdf) aims to create favourable conditions for an increase in productivity and in the standard of living, for goodquality education and culture, and for the sustainable development of Estonia. One out of four main objectives of this strategy is: RD makes the structure of the economy more knowledge-intensive. RDI investments selected and managed by the smart specialisation method encourage the development of growth areas at heightened pace. The share of knowledgeintensive entrepreneurship in the economy and the added value of exports will increase significantly. The selected growth areas are: 1. Information and communication technology (ICT), horizontally through other sectors. 2. Health technologies and services. 3. More effective use of resources. The authority responsible for the implementation of the strategy is Ministry of Education and Research together with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications and other ministries in Estonia (including Ministry of Rural Affairs). The achievement of objectives of smart specialisation is, in addition to the RDI strategy, related to the implementation of other field-specific development plans including Rural Development Plan (RDP ) coordinated by the Ministry of Rural Affairs. With RDP activities partly related to smart specialisation targets in the context of Agri-Food sector are supported: 1. Measure 1: Knowledge transfer and information actions", type of operation: Long-term programmes. 2. Measure 16: Co-operation, type of operation: a) Innovation cluster b) Development of new products, practices, processes and technologies. 4

5 * Please explain the transformative nature of your proposal. What are you aiming to achieve? An overview of the framework of collaboration: 1) Primary data collected by the public authorities, inspection bodies, farmers, RD institutions and universities potentially useful in agricultural production (for example, spatial data about soil nutrient levels, crop yields, areas of pests infestation, field restrictions) is located in a harmonised system, in an easily renewable and accessible form with the preparedness for spatial application; 2) User-friendly decision support tools with an open access to the primary data are developed by IT-companies and agricultural technology companies and used by farmers to establish data-based decisions; 3) Secondary data about the way primary data is used in decisionmaking at the farm level and about how the process influences for example the use of agricultural inputs in regional and state level is used in data-based policymaking; 4) RD institutions support in locating potential synergies, calibrating, evaluating and testing the tools and in widening the applicability of data is used. 5) Extension services support in interpreting the data and using the decision support tools in harmonisation with agricultural machinery is shared. 6) A strict allocation of responsibilities is established to ensure data security. The implications of establishing the framework of collaboration: 1) The development of IT and agricultural technology companies offering decision support tools to farmers is further enhanced by granting open access to crucial primary data; 2) The tools for decision-making will allow more data-based decisions, which will increase the sustainability and effectiveness of food production (decreased nutrient run-off, for example); 3) RD institutions and universities together with extension services, public authorities and farmers will be able to deepen their knowledge and research regarding agricultural data-analytics; 4) Data collected by the public authorities is used in a more effective way; 5) A more data-driven food production and policy-making will be achieved. 5

6 * Please detail main challenges in relation to your proposed sub-area that may be addressed through interregional collaboration. On a wider horizon, interregional collaboration helps to ensure that a wide variety of aspects in agricultural production and in related fields of policy development are covered, thus increasing the potential impact the subtheme has on the Agri-Food sector. The wider the variety of the companies, farmers, RD institutions and other stakeholders involved, the wider the circle of competences and issues that can be addressed under the subtheme. Furthermore, interregional collaboration has the potential to address more specific challenges related to the proposed subtheme. Firstly, the sub-area is dependent on data analytics, of which credibility is directly related to the volume and variability of data. This means that the more data sources and data users from different regions are involved in the process, the higher the potential of reaching high-quality analytical outcomes. Secondly, the potential of the sub-theme directly depends on the number and competitiveness of the IT and agricultural technology companies involved in developing the decision support tools. In order to increase the number of interested companies the collaboration should include a sufficient number of regions. Furthermore, because of the highly innovative character of the proposed subtheme, there is a need to involve a sufficient number of researchers who have the knowledge and experience necessary. This is a crucial prerequisite, which most likely cannot be satisfied only by RD institutions in one region. Another argument for establishing interregional collaboration is related to the high probability that the business cases involved with the proposed subtheme will be based on economies of scale. This means that the likely products developed should be useful and practical for consumers in more than one region, which stresses the need to take local conditions in different regions into account when developing the products. Finally, there are geographical factors that enforce interregional collaboration. For example, countries and regions surrounding the Baltic Sea have a common interest to protect the sea from pollution resulting from the surplus of nutrients used in agriculture in which the subtheme has the potential to have a positive impact. 6

7 * Please indicate any commitment and political support (regional/national level) for this proposed sub-area. Please also indicate approximate amounts and sources of funding to be provided during a period of at least 2 years. The goals of the proposed subtheme have political support on the national level. Ministry of Rural Affairs together with representatives of the agricultural sector have agreed to establish a long-term knowledge transfer programme to propagate the use of spatial data in agriculture, data analytics and collaboration between concerned parties. The programme is funded through EAFRD with the total budget of 2.5 million euros. The programme is expected to start in Furthermore, the support has been realised in the form of the state and other stakeholders taking the responsibility of collecting and applying spatial data, for example, monitoring and informing farmers about the spread of pests and monitoring the agronomic indicators and health of agricultural soils. * Which other regions/countries are interested in this proposed sub-area? Describe their interest and current level of commitment as well as complementarities and value added. Also, please add contact details. The increase in the volume of available agricultural data is an overall trend in the European Union as is the trend of lacking sufficient capacity for finding ways to harmonise and process the data flows to establish data-driven production and policy-making. Furthermore, these trends are due to strengthen in years to come as the technology for collecting spatial data becomes more and more available. Because of the general character of the issues that the proposed sub-theme will tackle, the prerequisites for generating interest of other regions are sufficiently fulfilled. However, there is a higher potential of establishing collaboration amongst regions that on overall level share similar environmental characteristics (climate, sectoral structures, production types etc.). Furthermore, as already described before, the sub-theme will have an effect in achieving positive environmental impact in terms of common water resource protection. In the light of this, other regions surrounding the Baltic Sea are the ones with largest potential of having an elevated interest towards the proposed sub-theme. 7

8 * Please describe the extent to which this sub-theme is supported by businesses (clusters) and/or academia and/or civil society in your region. The subject has been discussed with largest Estonian agricultural umbrella organisations, Agricultural Research Centre, Estonian University of Life Sciences and IT-companies active in the field. These organisations have been contacted by the Ministry of Rural Affairs and they have expressed their support to the overall aims of the proposed subtheme. * Please provide some details related to the implementation of your proposal from its conception phase to the development phase of concrete investment projects, including milestones and expected outcomes at each phase. Following implementation plan will be carried out: 1) Ascertain at least two other regions that are interested in developing the proposed subtheme. Ministry of Rural Affairs will contact other countries surrounding the Baltic Sea in the first order. 2) Conduct a detailed study to map the exact needs of the business sector, assess the eligibility of relevant stakeholders in the regions and conduct a legal analysis that includes data protection issues. 3) Identify potential collaboration projects and put together an action plan together with business plans and funding schemes. The priority in identifying projects will be placed on the potential of having a wide impact on the agricultural production and policy-development in the involved regions (including the potential of scaling up). 4) Carry out the collaboration projects. This includes applied research for calibrating, evaluating and testing the tools and the development of pilot products. Please include any additional comments. 8

9 * *Do you agree that your proposal, your name, institution and address are published at the S3 Platform website? Yes No Thank you! S3 Platform Contact 9