From November on, the Science for Development Center in Digital Agriculture (CCD-AD/Semear Digital), coordinated by Embrapa Digital Agriculture and funded by the São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Fapesp) will develop digital inclusion activities in ten municipalities scattered across Brazil’s five regions. The initiative has the potential to reach up to 14,000 small and medium rural properties. Research, development and innovation activities relating to emerging technologies will be conducted in production environments called Agricultural Technological Districts (DATs, short for Distritos Agrotecnológicos). Pilot projects have been in progress for two years at Caconde and São Miguel Arcanjo in São Paulo state. Three more will be established in the same state, at Jacupiranga, Lagoinha and Alto Alegre, as well as another at Ingaí in Minas Gerais state, also in the Brazilian Southeast. The other regions will be integrated into the project via Breves, in Pará (North), Boa Vista do Tupim, in Bahia (Northeast), Guia Lopes da Laguna, in Mato Grosso do Sul (Center-West), and Vacaria, in Rio Grande do Sul (South). Each DAT will be subject to socio-economic diagnosis to identify focal points and to benchmark rural properties (see below for the production chains involved in each municipality). “It’s pointless to build a digital inclusion project without engaging with farmers and listening to their demands,” said Silvia Massruhá, the president of Embrapa, who idealized the initiative and is the lead researcher for the center. “SemeAr Digital will work with farmers’ associations and co-ops on an interdisciplinary basis, fostering collaboration with partner institutions in research and innovation, connectivity and training,” she asserted. Semear Digital's operational model explores inclusive digital agriculture's potential to reduce market asymmetries, improve the welfare of communities involved, and become a pilar for the sustainable development of the many stakeholders in target production chains, Massruhá stated. “The center will offer smallholders and mid-scale farmers connectivity and digital technology, providing them with income increases and online technical support”, said Marcio de Castro Silva Filho, Fapesp's scientific director. Semear Digital will propose solutions suited to the diversity of rural conditions in the country and through partnerships, it will identify connectivity bottlenecks and propose communications solutions; and research, develop and validate digitally enabling technologies. It will also provide training for agricultural technicians, digital technology consultants and farmers through trade associations, co-ops, and public or private rural extension offices. Potential project partners, depending on the stage of each DAT, will include farmers or their co-ops and major suppliers, startups and programs that support entrepreneurship and open innovation, financial agents in the federal, state and municipal spheres, as well as higher education and research institutions. COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH Fostering dialogue among institutions and disciplines, creating methodologies involving similar approaches to different areas and cultures, and a lack of familiarity with digital agriculture are some of the challenges faced by the scientists, who aim to deploy novel tools for digital inclusion of small and medium farmers, according to Durval Dourado Neto, the center’s chief scientist and University of São Paulo’s Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (Esalq/USP) professor (in yellow, at the center of the picture). As coordinator of the Public Policy Group at the college, he stressed the contribution of the center in that arena, based on the teams' expertise in agricultural research. “Contact with production environments is extremely important to help identify the best way to advance scientific knowledge and develop solutions to meet the needs of each of the DATs,” he says. Alongside the University of São Paulo’s Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (Esalq/USP), the consortium includes the Campinas Institute of Agronomy (IAC/SP), do Instituto de Economia Agrícola (IEA/SP), the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), the National Institute of Telecommunicationss (Inatel), and the Center for Research and Development in Telecommunications (CPqD). Initially, eight of Embrapa’s units will be involved so as to encompass all regions and relevant knowledge areas: Embrapa Eastern Amazon, Embrapa Grape and Wine, Embrapa Western Agriculture, Embrapa Cassava and Fruits, Embrapa Cerrados, Embrapa Environment, Embrapa Southeast Livestock, and Embrapa Instrumentation. Agrotechnological District locations and production chains Art by: Flávia Fiorini/Embrapa, translated by Agência Fapesp Municipalities were selected for DATs in accordance with technical criteria such as socio-economic indicators, population density, education, infrastructure, internet use and computer literacy. According to the Esalq professor, the project enlisted municipalities with a median score from a technology adoption standpoint, with potential to benefit from the infrastructure to be installed there as part of the DATs. The final choice was based on logistics, technical support, and diversity of biomes and agricultural activities. The survey used statistics from public institutions with recognized technical capabilities, such as the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), with data from the latest agricultural census, conducted in 2017. The researchers considered 34 indicators applicable to municipalities in all five regions of Brazil, ensuring that the choice would be aligned with the aims of the center, according to IEA Technical Director Priscilla Fagundes, who designed the methodology. “Studies conducted in pilot municipalities gleaned useful information for application in the other DATs, including a vision of different scenarios to facilitate expansion under the aegis of the center,” she said. PILOT DATs INDICATE PRIORITIES Art by: Flávia Fiorini/Embrapa The production chains selected based on the pilot DATs are coffee in Caconde, and fruit and veget ables in São Miguel Arcanjo. When the projects arrived the rural communities concerned were at different stages of connectivity. Caconde had internet access, whereas São Miguel Arcanjo's vegetable growers did not. Value aggregation is at the core of demands the rural communities submitted to the pilot DATs. According to Semear Digital's partnership coordinator and researcher at Embrapa Digital Agriculture, Luciana Romani, connectivity was provided for 63 grape and produce growers through the experimental DAT in São Miguel Arcanjo, which is run by CPQD. A survey of the farmers involved showed average income growth of 28% and average cost savings of 24%. About 60% of such farmers said product quality improved. In September, the project won the ABDI Anatel Award for private networks in agriculture. For Ademar Pereira, who heads the farmers’ worker's union and local DAT focal point, the positive effects of the project are already visible, including the attraction of public and private investment in agriculture there. “We need sensitive technicians and depend on public policy. They’re arriving now, thanks to SemeAr Digital. We now have connectivity in Caconde, with 73 antennas and 1,350 internet subscribers. Being organized has done us good,” he said. NEXT STEPS After the other municipalities are brought in, a socio-economic survey and analysis of the main agricultural activities will be conducted in each locality in order to align the needs of production chains there with the producers’ digital requirements and the technological solutions offered. The surveys will also show which properties can serve as benchmarks in each DAT. The initial identification of needs and demands is a key step to ensure positive results, according to Dourado Neto. “Local institutional relationships must also be built so that the results of the survey can validate strategies and technological solutions with a positive impact in each locality,” he said.