Industrial agriculture is promoting a new phase based on the idea that the use of technology and data makes it possible to increase the efficiency of agricultural production by improving the use of resources. Innovation policies at European and global level promote the application of a high-tech approach to the agricultural sector. Most of the technological tools developed for agriculture are directed at large industrial companies that can invest in these technologies. But even the agro-ecological approach needs a great deal of knowledge of local conditions, from interaction with the climate to soil quality and variety choice. So is it possible to develop technological tools that are alternatives to the industrial approach and that can be used by communities that use and conserve agrobiodiversity?
The CAPSELLA project involved IT experts, agronomists, farmer groups and seed networks to develop innovative technological solutions for agrobiodiversity, with the aim of understanding how the use of data can help communities innovate through the use of applications and tools that meet their needs and visions. The project has carried with pilot activities, of which the Rural Seeds Network coordinated the one related to the creation of an app to facilitate the management of data collected in participatory genetic breeding experimental fields, reducing the level of error of data collected in different farms by different people. For the Rural Seeds Network, the Capsella project represented an opportunity to reflect on the theme of digitalisation in agriculture and how this can be developed with a participatory approach and an interactive innovation model. Website: www.capsella.eu Duration: 2016-2018
