Kivnon is participating in AgrarIA, a consortium driving research into the application of AI in the agrifood production chain

NEWS | BY KIVNON

The AgrarIA project aims to investigate the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to the agricultural production value chain in order to facilitate an efficient, productive, and sustainable transformation of the sector

The consortium of 24 public-private organizations, within the framework of the Digital Spain Agenda 2025 and the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, is establishing the AgrarIA project with the ambitious goal of investigating the applicability and viability of artificial intelligence (AI) alongside other Industry 4.0-related technologies in real-world solutions to define new agricultural production methods that will make Spain’s agrifood sector more technologically advanced, innovative, sustainable, and committed to energy efficiency and carbon footprint reduction in the future.

The project is funded through the R&D Missions in Artificial Intelligence Program of theState Secretariat for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence (SEDIA)of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation (File No. MIA.2021.M01.0004), using funds from the Recovery, Resilience, and Transformation Plan. The scope of the project focuses on two strategic lines for the future development of the sector: on the one hand, research across the entire agricultural production value chain using systems driven by artificial intelligence, with the objectives of drastically reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, promoting sustainability and energy efficiency, and improving productivity and competitiveness; and on the other hand, research into the application of various technologies and artificial intelligence in the most efficient and carbon-neutral manner.

The project involves the development of the AgrarIA platform where all the models and components required in the agricultural sector’s value chain—production, processing, and distribution—can be integrated into a single, decoupled computing entity in a standardized manner, enabling the definition of process flows that incorporate the AI technologies necessary for their development, as well as other digital enabling technologies to implement unique initiatives or specific use cases that promote a fast, efficient, productive, and sustainable transformation of the sector in the medium term. Among others, we find solutions ranging from the development of new natural products for pest and disease control that maintain the same effectiveness as those of chemical synthesis and provide a real solution to the production constraints thatFarm to Forkand theGreen Dealentail for farmers, to the use of collaborative robotics to optimize the processing phase of the products. In addition to research using quantum computing in the management of satellite imagery to optimize agricultural production, or the application of digital twins to improve the energy efficiency of refrigeration plants.

Thus, the main focus of the research lies in the potential application of various AI technologies to real-world and representative use cases in the agri-food sector, based on mechanisms related to interoperability, data governance, cybersecurity, storage, computation, and the consumption of intelligent information that may reside on external platforms or accessible services. To this end, AgrarIA will feature a modular and integrated architecture with solutions that have already been developed and proven, each with its own roadmap for evolution and competition in their respective markets. Furthermore, by designing the solution as a platform, it will be possible to address the specific needs of production processes in the most efficient and secure manner, leveraging existing synergies and interacting with external production elements to develop initiatives of varying complexity and heterogeneity in collaboration with different partners and end users.

An Overview of the Spanish Agri-Food Sector

The Spanish agri-food sector consists of some 900,000 farms and more than 31,000 food companies, of which more than 95% are SMEs, with 80% of the companies employing fewer than 10 workers. It has an export potential of more than 50 billion euros; its contribution to wealth creation and employment is estimated at 2.6 million jobs; and its direct link to the success of other sectors, such as tourism and the service sector, makes it a strategic sector for our economy. However, despite these figures, it is a sector with a very low level of digitalization compared to other countries, which is why it requires a transformation of its production model. AI is one of the digital technologies with the greatest capacity for exponential transformation, and although it has been around for more than 60 years, it is only in the last decade that we have seen the greatest growth in its application, thanks to cloud computing, parallel computing, and the emergence—driven by large multinationals—of frameworks for the modeling and development of AI systems.

In this context, the AgrarIA The AgrarIA project will be able to make a significant contribution to bringing about relevant changes in Spain’s socioeconomic structure through the intensive use of AI, strengthening competitiveness through various R&D activities throughout the project related not only to AI but to virtually all digital enabling technologies, thereby enabling not only the development of new business models but also the transformation of the agricultural sector, making it more productive, efficient, and sustainable.

Consortium of participating companies, listed in alphabetical order:

1A INGENIEROS, S.L.P.
AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS
AGERPIX
CASA AMETLLER S.L. (GRUPO AMETLLER ORIGEN)
Celtiberian Solutions S.L.
CODESIAN SOFTWARE TECH S.L.
DRONETOOLS, S.L.
Emergya Group
FLORETTE IBÉRICA, S.L.
GMV
HelixNorth (Lanzadera Digital S.L.)
HISPATEC
CASTILE AND LEÓN TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE (ITCL)
Inteligencia Solagua, S.L.
KIMITEC
KIVNON LOGISTICA S.L.
LB-BAGGING, S.L.
MIGUEL TORRES, S.A.
PRIMAFRIO S.L.
Secmotic Innovation S.L.
Sylentis S.A.
TEPRO Consultores Agrícolas S.L.
University of Salamanca
University of Seville – Department of Physical Geography and Regional Geographic Analysis