Data Spaces for enabling AI solutions in AgriFood. The current situation, the opportunities and the forces

The objective of the European data strategy is to establish a single market for data that will ensure the continent’s global competitiveness and data sovereignty. The EU-wide common, interoperable European Data Spaces, including the Agricultural strategic sector, aim to increase the amount of data available to the economy and society while retaining the control of the companies and individuals who generate the data. Moreover, common European Data Spaces will enable AI solutions and support the cloud and edge services market. A key pillar in the European strategy for data is the Data Act, a set of harmonised rules on fair access to and use of data for making more data accessible following EU rules and values. Additionally, DG DIGIT, with its services like European Blockchain Service Infrastructure (EBSI), aim to support Data spaces on interoperability, trust and identity and analytics, leveraging, for example, the power of blockchain technologies to ensure trusted data exchange, use of verifiable credentials, or for track & trace purposes.

The session aims to analyse the dynamic and under-development policy, technological and legal framework in a way to support the audience in understanding the current state, pointing out actual needs or risks coming out from the farming community and the technology providers and identify opportunities for further collaboration and synergies in the AgriFood domain. The speakers represent different stakeholder groups, have different backgrounds and are active in current initiatives and projects related to the data economy, data spaces, data act, code of conduct in agricultural data spaces and AI in agriculture and food.

 Key questions:

• Is there a common understanding of the relation between the data spaces and AI?
• Which actions have been taken, especially by the CSA running project, to support the goal of enabling the development of AI solutions in AgriFood?
• Are there any links with the TEF, and which are those?
• What the industry (SMEs, startups) should expect to receive from the Agricultural Data Space, and when?
• What is the industry’s perspective (tech and service providers) on the Data Spaces, and how can this enable the data-driven and AI solutions?
• What does it mean, in practice, to adopt identity services that ensure trust? Does the upcoming landscape in agricultural data sharing generate opportunities?
• Which are those and for whom in the value chain?
• What is the role of the farmers in a data economy?
• How aware are the Farmers?
• Any up and downs on their expectations in the last few years?
• What controls the expected outcomes of the data spaces most?
• Is Data Act a force?
• Should we focus more on technological, regulatory, or economic issues to achieve sustainability?
• Is there a need for financial support, and by whom?
• Are there existing models we can adopt from other sectors?

The session will be interactive with Q/A from the session facilitators and the audience.