Impact

CyCROP’s innovations are foreseen to significantly benefit the involved stakeholders by means of high value products and services which are expected to have a direct, positive economic, social and environmental impact. In the context of the European Union the project’s objectives are aligned with the goals for climate neutrality, resilience and sustainability of food systems. Efficient use of resources is the main vehicle for the project to achieve these goals. The integration of innovative concepts and technologies such as UASs, remote sensing and monitoring, IoT, data analytics, AI and Machine Learning will provide a flexible and adaptable platform for efficient management of irrigation and fertilizer usage. CyCROP also has the potential to greatly impact the way required information will be exchanged, collected and monitored, providing an interconnection of heterogenous components such as sensors, IoT devices and UAVs in combination with human knowledge and experience, through the use of cooperative networks allowing the accurate sensing and quantification of soil and plant status and enabling more efficient, location-specific measures to be taken while providing real time data on demand.

For farmers, CyCROP is expected to generate a significant competitive advantage by strengthening their part in the value chain of food production. By implementing the proposed solution, CyCROP envisions farmers to play a prominent role in the grand scheme of food production including commitment to open innovation and collaboration with other stakeholders to create a new range of farming strategies. For this purpose, the advantages offered by CyCROP to farmers are:

• Better understanding of economic, environmental, social and other factors affecting production and resource management.
• Enhancing the already existing farming systems with CyCROP’s innovative solutions.
• Increasing efficiency leading to significant cost savings.
• Increase productivity and maintain a high level of product quality.

Taking into consideration the major issue of climate change, the project is expected to support climate resilience by introducing optimized strategies for minimizing waste while increasing output, precisely managing valuable resources according to current and forecasted conditions and reducing the carbon footprint of farming activities. System Integrators and Technology Providers benefit from the project by being able to closely work with farmers and other experts in the agriculture domain, thus allowing them to strategically position and gain an early-entrant advantage within the industry, also keeping in consideration the rapid evolution of the farming systems market. In particular, by contributing to the design and prototyping of the proposed tools and components, the industry will get a clear roadmap and exploitation opportunity to place themselves as key proponents in delivering integrated farming solutions. Furthermore, CyCROP seeks to make a measurable positive impact from a societal point of view, by introducing a modern farming system that is capable of providing plentiful, nutritious and affordable food for all. Moreover, the proposed solution is aligned with the vision of promoting social equality by supporting rural development with decent incomes from agricultural activities. Finally, CyCROP aims to contribute to the responsible consumption of natural resources, promoting resource and energy efficiency as well as sustainable infrastructure, thus contributing to the reduction of future economic, environmental and social costs.