Precision farming
The Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) has released a report on the potential use of precision agriculture in the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
It proposes awareness-raising and information campaigns among farmers, appropriate guidelines, and an EU ‘precision-farming calculator’ tool that would bring decision-support value to farmers and advisers.
It also calls for research and development to assess the impact of precision agriculture on the environmental footprint.
Precision agriculture includes auto-guiding systems and variable-rate technology that allow for precise tillage, seeding, fertilisation, irrigation, herbicide and pesticide application, harvesting and animal husbandry.
Crop management and animal rearing are optimised, thanks to information collected from sensors mounted on board agricultural machinery (soil properties, leaf area, animal internal temperature) or derived from high-resolution, remotely sensed data (plant physiological status). The benefits include increased yields and profitability (mainly for arable farmers), increased animal welfare, and improvement of environmental management.
Precision agriculture utilises information technology, satellite-positioning systems and remote sensing. Precision agriculture can play a role in meeting the increasing demand for food, while ensuring sustainable use of natural resources and the environment.
