Agri-food data spaces: Highlighting the need for a farm-centered strategy

This paper explores the potential of digitalisation in agriculture to improve the sustainability of agriculture production and industrial sectors, contributing to the twin digital and green transition. These systems can facilitate and enhance competitiveness by leveraging on mutually reinforcing transformations. The European Commission has proposed the creation of Common European Data Spaces in specific sectors to support such a transition. We focus on the agri-food domain, considering farmers and other actors in the food chain. The aim is to identify needs, priorities, opportunities, and barriers to a Common European Data Space for agriculture and food systems, thus going beyond the sectoral European Data Space for agriculture already under current development. In addition, this work looks at strategies for introducing the aforementioned novel data space and evidence of benefits for farmers, who are a key component of agricultural and food systems. To accomplish this, the concept of data spaces is presented, analysing main components, functions, and potential challenges and opportunities for data sharing and reuse, with the agri-food context as the main focus. It also presents current and future scenarios for data use at different decision-making levels, focusing on the specific role of farmers in the digital ecosystem. Additionally, it outlines the basic principles for an inclusive agri-food data strategy.