This competition has now closed for entry.
OPPORTUNITY - Intended Tender
ACTIVITY - Kick-Start Activity
OPENING DATE - 01-06-2023
CLOSING DATE - 31-08-2023
WEBINAR - 24 May 2023 - 10:00 BST - Register for this here.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
This opportunity provides funding to European teams who would like to develop a service related to Connected Agriculture. Funding will be provided by the European Space Agency (ESA) for 6-month projects called ‘Kick-Starts’, which can lead to larger scale Demonstration Projects and Feasibility Studies. Kick-Starts are 75% funded by ESA for a maximum of €60K per contract. Proposed services must use satellite data or space-based technologies. Please see the ‘Authorisation of Funding’ section below to check whether your team is eligible for funding.
THE CHALLENGE
The agriculture sector is facing many challenges including the environmental pressure related to climate change and loss of biodiversity, sustainable and efficient management of resources such as water, soil and energy, an ageing farming population in some countries and the shortage of farm labour. The lack of a digitally-skilled workforce is also slowing down the modernisation of the sector.
In March 2022 the German government classified the agricultural and food sector as a systemically important infrastructure. Responding to this decision, the German Federal Office of Agriculture and Food (BLE) stated that a functioning agriculture infrastructure, including logistics and communication facilities, must ensure short- and long-term food supplies. Reliable communications and digital technologies are key elements in supporting the sustainable transformation of the agriculture sector.
There are still many European rural households which have only limited or unreliable internet connectivity. This connectivity gap is unlikely to be solved in the near future by terrestrial networks as these infrastructure projects require a significant lead-time and are expensive. The digital divide between connected and disconnected farms and economically small and large farms must be addressed quickly to unleash the potential of new innovative solutions in the agricultural sector, including irrigation, chemical spraying, seeding, or weeding and their full or partial automation.