Title: AgriHub made in CzechoSlovakia
Short name: AgriHub CZ&SK
Sub-Grant agreement no: 2282300354-EXPAND-6
Duration: 08/2021 – 07/2022
Total budget: 497,875.00 EUR
Coordinator: Plan4all, Czech Republic
Websites: www.agrihub.cz, www.agrihub.sk
The AgriHub CZ&SK project supports the digital innovation hubs for Czech Republic and Slovakia funded by the SmartAgriHubs (Grant Agreement No. 818182) H2020 project. It will promote digital innovation in the agri-food domain and will facilitate set-up and realisation of Innovation Experiments (IEs) in the region with additional mobilised funding. The main idea of the 12 month project is to integrate activities of existing Innovation Hubs in Czech and Slovakia and to support the interaction of all players in the agriculture production chain (farmers, advisors, machinery producers, researchers, developers) to move Czech and Slovak farming sector towards SmartFarming 4.0.
AgriHub CZ&SK will become a platform inter-connecting various stakeholders from industry, training, start-ups support, farm consultancy and services to support the introduction of SmartFarming 4.0. This platform aims to build a fertile environment for networking of organisations and individuals, mobilisation of talents, in the agri-food chain and facilitate cooperation. These efforts will result in a new, smart, environmentally, socially and economically more sustainable agriculture.
In total, 8 organisations (Czechia – Plan4all z.s., Czech Center for Science and Society, Agricultural Association of the Czech Republic, CzechInno; Slovakia – Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Technical University of Kosice, ADDSEN s.r.o. and AGCO in Germany) offer a wide range of experienced capacities and relevant competence, with appropriate geographical coverage. The main ambition of the project is to boost digital innovation in a relatively immature environment with specific conditions central European space is facing after the recent societal changes. Main strategy of the project is to support efficient and progressive approaches, helping region and domain in smooth and fast transition to period addressing new societal and climatic challenges.
It will be done in line with the main principles and objectives defined by the relevant global and European strategic frameworks. Platform proposes 6 main types of digital innovation hub services and identifies 15 types of target stakeholders groups, foreseen to be approached. Aside from the main focus on the agri-food domain, synergies with other domains and regions will play an important role. This will help to strengthen the end-user driven perspective in design and deployment of the IEs. These will provide the validation of the possible solutions addressing the needs and expectations expressed by the targeted stakeholders.
The project has identified 7 innovation experiments (IE). AgriHub CZ&SK will support communication of ongoing innovation experiments as well as new IEs discovered during organising INSPIRE hackathons with farmers. Its aim is to build bridges between the farming sector and research projects to make a better linkage with current research with farmers’ needs. An important part of the solution will result in defining IPRs and business models for future commercialization of results. AgriHub CZ&SK will provide infrastructure and maintenance for running these services, with potential extension of infrastructure on the base of recognized needs.