The event was attended by 27 participants, including attendees and speakers from various stakeholder groups (cooperatives, farmers, policymakers, technology providers, etc.).
Miguel Ángel García (Vice-Director for Agricultural Infrastructures at ITACyL) inaugurated the event, followed by an insightful opening talk by Emilio Tereñes (from CTIC, GUARDIANS coordination team). He exposed the challenges and opportunities of implementing technology in small, family-owned agricultural and livestock farms. He also highlighted the work of CTIC and the GUARDIANS methodologies for developing and adapting technologies for agriculture. Luis Carlos Fernández, from ITACyL, then described the goals of GUARDIANS, expected impacts, and the nine involved technologies.
The event continued with expert roundtable discussions on key topics, such as farmers’ obligations to the Administration (Digital Farm Notebook, etc.) and investments in Agriculture 4.0 – which provided an excellent opportunity for discussion.
The day concluded with brief remarks from David Nafría, Head of Technological Development at ITACyL, summarizing the event’s conclusions.
The Local Workshop resulted in the following reflections to enhance the project impact:
- Interoperability is needed: platforms and digital tools should be connected
- It is necessary to demonstrate how the digitization of agriculture impacts farmers’ finances
- Tools should be accessible, not time-consuming, and easy to use
- Achieving a shift in mindset and adaptation remains a challenge. To achieve this, technologies should be approached as a farmer’s need, not as an obligation.
The attendees actively participated in the discussion and appreciated this kind of events allowing to connect public institutions and tool developers with farmers and other stakeholders in the sector.
In conclusion, the GUARDIANS Local Workshop provided valuable insights into the future of digital agriculture, fostering meaningful dialogue among stakeholders and emphasizing the need for collaboration to drive innovation and support sustainable farming practices.
