German region sets up digital strategy for agriculture

According to the The European Innovation Partnership ‘Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability’ (EIP-AGRI) there is a pressing need for overarching digital strategies to unlock the potential of digitisation in the agricultural sector.

Increase profitability

Digital technologies can help European farmers increase their profitability and reduce their environmental impact, however they are more effective when supported by public policy, says EIP-AGRI.

In the northern part of Germany, the region of Schleswig-Holstein has just set up a digital strategy which takes farming into account. What are the benefits of such a strategy for agriculture?

_{Text continues underneath tweet}

German region #Schleswig-Holstein @Land_SH has set up a #digitalstrategy that also takes into account #farming. Read how they did this and the benefits for #agriculture #digitisation: https://t.co/HzhVah0gPI pic.twitter.com/BU56L4QeiA

— EIP-AGRIServicePoint (@EIPAGRI_SP) 19 April 2019

Digital flagship region of Germany

“In Schleswig-Holstein we want to keep the region modern and up-to-date. We decided to set ourselves the goal to become the digital flagship region of Germany. In doing so, we have set up a so-called ‘Digitisation Cabinet’ that ensures a clear and comprehensive digitisation strategy for Schleswig-Holstein”, says Heinrich Terwitte. Heinrich is head of unit in the regional ministry and in charge of the digital strategy for agriculture.

_{Heinrich Terwitte:}

Agriculture is part of this digital strategy because farmers are still the backbone of our rural areas

“To set up a digital strategy, our government hired a consulting firm from Berlin. In less than 1 year, they managed to set up a strategy, working together with different stakeholders in Schleswig-Holstein, including our regional ministries. Agriculture is part of this digital strategy because farmers are still the backbone of our rural areas. In 2018, the regional government agreed on the strategy, so we can now start with implementing the actions that are on the agenda.”

_{Text continues underneath image}

Digital technologies can help European farmers increase their profitability and reduce their environmental impact, however they are more effective when supported by public policy, says EIP-AGRI. – Photos: Innovationsbüro EIP Agrar Schleswig-Holstein

Workshop

To involve farmers in their digital strategy, Schleswig-Holstein organised a workshop to gather the main ideas. Terwitte: “We invited farmers via institutions such as the Farmers Union. Besides the workshop, we have established a permanent group of interested experts. Their role is to give us (the ministry/administration) feedback and background information on agricultural topics.”

Data security and rural internet availability

“We are particularly aiming to involve farmers that are participating in EIP-AGRI Operational Groups and already have a digital agenda. We are trying to compile the existing expertise so that we can find solutions together for problems in the field of, for example, data security and rural internet availability.”

_{Text continues underneath image}

To involve farmers in their digital strategy, Schleswig-Holstein organised a workshop to gather the main ideas.

Bad mobile connection

Benefiting from digital solutions efficiently in the agriculture works the best when there is a reliable mobile network available. Terwitte: “We already heard from several farmers that they have to deal with a bad mobile connection, which causes trouble when they are working with, for instance, automatically driven tractors. Therefore, we decided that by 2025, fibre-optic connections should be available to all households and buildings in Schleswig-Holstein. However, as a regional authority you depend also on nationwide decision-making”.