The AgrarIA project began to promote digital innovation in Spain’s agro-food sector with cloud services. This strategic initiative aims to accelerate the agro-food chain’s digital transformation with a technology platform based on  Amazon Web Services (AWS), which will enable initiatives to be implemented that improve service for users and new agricultural production methods to be defined.

The AgrarIA project includes research into the development of a platform based on artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things and AWS analytical data services, such as AWS IoT core, Amazon SageMaker and Amazon Athena, among others, which can integrate all the necessary components and models for the agricultural sector’s value chain—production, transformation and distribution. This platform will be able to define process flows that are integrated with the technology needed for its implementation and other digital technologies that enable unique initiatives or specific use cases to be implemented, supporting quick, efficient, productive, and sustainable transformation for the sector in the medium term.

Examples of the project’s objectives include developing new natural products to control pests and diseases, using digital twins in refrigeration and photovoltaic plants—for improved energy efficiency and a reduced carbon footprint—smart global management of large agricultural plots, developing autonomous robotics where the robot’s brain is in the cloud and interacts via 5G (cloud robotics), and  research leveraging quantum computing in satellite imagery management to optimize agricultural production.

In the words of Miguel Hormigo, director of the GMV industry sector, “using AWS services in the AgrarIA project will allow us to utilize more advanced artificial intelligence technologies to progress more quickly in researching its application in the agricultural sector. This will enable us to get better results in the complex use cases in the project. Therefore, in the near future, we will have new solutions and innovative products that will be on the cutting edge of the sector’s digital transformation so Spain can continue being a world leader in productivity, competitiveness, interoperability and sustainability.”

The AgrarIA project is funded through the R&D Missions in Artificial Intelligence Program of the State Secretariat for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence (SEDIA) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation (file no. MIA.2021.M01.0004), corresponding to the funds of the Recovery, Resilience and Transformation Plan.