Digital innovation in agriculture: How Digifermes® are shaping sustainable farming

The agricultural context is rapidly evolving in response to challenges such as climate change and the need to ensure the environmental and economic sustainability of farms. In this context, digital innovations offer promising solutions by optimizing farming practices and reducing environmental impacts, while ensuring better resource management. However, the adoption of these technologies by farmers remains a key step in the sustainable transformation of farms. The diversity of tools available raises questions about their relevance, integration, and long-term impact.

Towards open and sustainable innovation

To ensure that innovations truly meet farmers’ needs, it is essential to involve them directly in the innovation process. Over the past decade, pilot farms have emerged as an effective co-design model. These open innovation systems are based on real-world co-creation, involving users at every stage. They create practical environments where stakeholders — farmers, researchers, businesses, policy makers — can test and develop new solutions together.

These farms are rooted in territorial dynamics and adapt their goals and methods to the local context, making them resilient to the specific challenges of each agricultural system. They play a crucial role in the agro-ecological transition and often benefit from political support and mixed public-private funding. This approach ensures that innovations are better adapted to the real needs of farms and farmers.

The Digifermes® example

Since 2016, the Digifermes® network, created by French agricultural technical institutes (Acta, ARVALIS, IDELE, ITB and Terres Inovia), has played a central role in the digital transition of farms. These experimental farms have a dual mission: to evaluate innovative technologies and to support companies in their development up to the operational scale. Today, 19 experimental units and 11 agricultural sectors are spread across mainland, making them key platforms for sustainable innovation.

Map of the 19 experimental Digifermes® farms in France.

On these farms, digital technologies are tested at every stage of the agricultural decision-making cycle: from data collection via sensors, to transmission and processing by AI systems, to decision-making and action, often automated (robotics, precision farming equipment). What sets Digifermes® apart is their ability to work throughout this cycle, always with the farmer needs in mind. This data-driven management process helps to optimise inputs (water, fertilisers, pesticides) directly addressing farmers’ needs by offering practical, tailored solutions to enhance productivity. It fosters the development of technologies that simplify the farmer’s work, improve efficiency, and support sustainable practices, ensuring a balance between economic profitability and environmental responsibility. 

Ready to use innovations

Positioned at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) between 6 and 9, Digifermes® focus on the maturation phase of technologies, before they reach the market. They test ready-to-use solutions in real-world conditions but under strict scientific protocols, ensuring reliable results for farmers. This approach helps mitigate the risks that farmers cannot afford, by validating the efficacy and usability of technologies before they are adopted at scale.

The ARA technology of Ecorobotix company tested on ARVALIS Digifermes® in 2024 as part of the AgRoboConnect project funded by Interreg FWVL; AI-Powered Ultra-High Precision Spraying for Vegetable Crops, Meadows, and Lawns

Three innovation spaces for sustainable agriculture

Digifermes® structure their approach around three innovation spaces:

1. Co-design: This space promotes partnerships with start-ups and innovative companies, particularly in the AgTech field. More than 180 companies have already worked with Digifermes® network to improve and accelerate the development of their technologies. This can take the form of R&D projects with public-private co-financing.
2. Testing: This is where mature technologies are evaluated using rigorous methodologies. Farmers, as end users, expect unbiased feedback based on scientific evidence. Digifermes® network establishes experimental protocols to measure the multiple performance of technologies (economic, social, environmental).
3. Application: This area is dedicated to demonstrating, training, and supporting farmers in adopting technologies. It identifies barriers to adoption (ergonomics, cost, interoperability, data security, etc.) and facilitates feedback for continuous improvement of innovations.

Towards sustainable and responsible digital agriculture

Digifermes® are committed to reducing the environmental footprint of technologies while maximising their benefits for farms. To achieve this transition, it is crucial to take a long-term view, invest in continuous training, and involve social sciences in the innovation process. This will help to create solutions that address the challenges of public goods and bring together public and private interests. Digifermes® provide concrete examples of how digital innovation can contribute to a more sustainable and resilient agriculture at regional, national and European level, by matching farmers’ needs with technological solutions that are practical, economical, and environmentally friendly.

Author: Camille Harel, Bochra Kammoun, ARVALIS

Reference : Jacques-Eric Bergez, Mehdi Sine, Muriel Mambrini. Les voies de l’innovation en agriculture numérique : les living labs et Digifermes®, des dispositifs pour la co-innovation. Annales des Mines – Enjeux Numériques, 2022, 19, pp.103-121. ffhal-03773267

To receive additional information regarding the Digifermes® concept, kindly email Bochra Kammoun, digital program manager at ARVALIS and an AgriFood4Future consortium participant. b.kammoun@arvalis.fr

In the AgriFood4Future project, the aim of the Open innovation test farm program led by ARVALIS and FRCumaOuest is to roll out the concept of experimental farms and Digifermes® on a European scale. France, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, and Italy are already taking part in this program. To find out more, click here: Open Innovation Test Farm Program – AgriFood4Future