FBK coordinates Sapience project – Eit Climate Kic Pathfinder

10/06/2020 Fondazione Bruno Kessler coordinates the SAPIENCE project. The first experimental installations on the pilot sites, dedicated to the production of grapes in Trentino and agricultural produce in Emilia Romagna, are ready.

Incentivizing sustainable practices in agriculture thanks to the use of new technologies. This is the aim of the SAPIENCE project coordinated by Trento-based Fondazione Bruno Kessler and funded by the European EIT Climate KIC program.

The first experimental installations on the pilot sites have been already set up. Dedicated to the production of grapes in Trentino and to agricultural produce in Emilia Romagna, they are aimed at the efficient use of irrigation water.

In particular, thanks to a capillary monitoring system developed in collaboration with the newly established FBK spin-off TESSA Agritech srl, it will be possible to determine exactly how much water to use for crops based on environmental conditions through sensors and IoT (Internet of things) technologies, wireless communication networks (LPWAN), data collection platforms and artificial intelligence solutions. Through a system based on blockchain technology that will be connected to the sensors, it will also be possible to work out in detail the savings obtained and distribute incentives to the most virtuous farmers.

“With the SAPIENCE project” Raffaele Giaffreda explained, “Fondazione Bruno Kessler literally fielded its advanced IoT technologies skills for the monitoring of production cycles and precision agriculture. The project was prompted by European directives and the effects of climate change which are generating increasing attention to the issue of sustainability in agricultural practices.”

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