Launch of Dutch international campus on precision agriculture
During the Precision Days in Reusel, The Netherlands, the VDBORNE Campus was officially launched. An international campus where farmers, technical companies, governments and chain partners work together to give direction to the (precision) agriculture of the future.
The campus is an initiative of Dutch potato grower Jacob van den Borne to enable future generations to (continue to) farm by accelerating the adoption and knowledge development around precision agriculture.
Precision agriculture gives agricultural sector perspective
The agricultural sector is under great pressure. This is partly caused by changing legislation and increasingly strict environmental requirements. It is becoming increasingly complex to produce good, safe food at an affordable price and with minimal impact on the environment.
Precision agriculture is the solution for a future-proof agricultural sector. It is a way of farming that uses data and technological solutions to make data-driven decisions about applying the right cultivation measure in the right place at the right time. Smart, technical solutions within precision agriculture, such as sensors, robots, drones and robots, make our food system more efficient, effective and sustainable.
Accelerate adoption of precision farming
Although precision agriculture offers great opportunities, the development is not going fast ebough. For example, farmers often lack knowledge and experience and precision agriculture startups lack development facilities. “With this campus, we really want to help the sector further and support farmers to accelerate the application of precision agriculture to their own farms”, says Van den Borne. “We give the sector perspective and help farmers to (continue to) farm future-proof”.
Brabant deputy Elies Lemkes-Straver (Agriculture, Food, Soil and Broad Prosperity) endorses this ambition: “The use of data is an important key for the agricultural sector to make business operations more sustainable, but also to show what the origin of a product is and how it is produced. The future for the agricultural sector is also digital. The province Brabant therefore wants to help all farmers to be digitally strong in the chain. With a strong agricultural sector and world-class top technology, we have everything we need for that digital agricultural future. We are therefore proud that the campus is developing here, is connected to other living labs in Brabant and builds on the knowledge, experience and entrepreneurship of Jacob van den Borne.”
