Smart Sensors 4 Agri Food

Welcome to
Smart Sensors 4 Agri-food

The agri-food industry is taking its first steps towards Industry 4.0. Larger enterprises with a broad network, connections with Research & Technology Organisations (RTOs) and international affiliations are up-to-date and aware of the most recent technological developments and its opportunities. However, all over Europe the agri-food industry is typically a small and medium-sized enterprises driven sector.

For the agri-food industry the creation of an IoT environment and introducing big data management is a huge challenge. As ‘Smart Sensors 4 Agri-food’ (SS4AF) Partnership we believe that a down to earth, stepwise approach, starting from the challenges and needs of the agri-food companies is needed.

The aim of our SS4AF Partnership is to contribute to the development and roll-out of the Smart Specialisation Strategies of the involved regions. Our objectives are:

  • the set-up of a platform between agri-food clusters and cluster organisations representing the technology- or digital solution providers, relevant RTOs and other related stakeholders, lowering the barriers for agri-food companies to access and implement the newest technologies linked to digitalization;
  • the establishment of a network of living labs, where these newest technologies can be demonstrated and tested;
  • the collaboration between clusters and RTOs to create a trust zone between the involved sectors, facilitating the exchange of know-how and accelerating the introduction of technologies.

As physical backbone of our Partnership we are setting-up a network of shared, open access Living Labs, where new Industry 4.0 related technologies can be demonstrated and tested. Competition and duplication within EU regions limits the development of critical scale. It is clear that collaboration between complementary EU regions is more effective and sustainable than competition.

Vision

Support all the agri-food companies to ensure they make the leap towards Industry 4.0 and that the agri-food sector evolves into an interconnected, resilient and smart agri-food system in Europe.

Who we are

The Thematic Smart Specialisation Partnership 'Smart Sensors 4 Agri-food' was initiated by Flanders’ FOOD, imec and DSP valley from Flanders (Belgium) and Wagralim from Wallonia (Belgium). Today, 38 clusters and research partners from 12 European regions set themselves the goals of boosting the digital transformation of the agri-food sector and facilitating access to applicable solutions for this industry. By connecting competences across Europe the partners as well as their members and stakeholders will gain a better understanding of agri-food´s opportunities, challenges and requirements for digital technologies.