Over half of Irish farmers are using smart technology

The majority of Irish farmers believe smart farming technology can simplify work and give useful information.

Over half of Irish farmers are using smart farming technology, while a further third plan on using it in the future, a study has found. 

The majority of Irish farmers believe smart farming technology can simplify work and give useful information.

Providing better information to manage on-farm activities is the biggest driver of smart farming technology adoption, according to the recent survey from the Horizon 2020 project, DEMETER. 

The DEMETER project is a large-scale deployment of farmer-driven, interoperable, smart farming-IoT (internet of things)-based platforms, delivered through a series of 20 pilots across 18 countries. 

The online survey was conducted across November and December 2021 and in total, 484 responses were received from farmers across 46 countries. 

The DEMETER project is led by the Walton Institute in South East Technological University. 

Forty eight per cent of farmers who responded said they were already using smart farming technology on-farm, with a further 37% indicating they would use it in the future. 

However, 15% doubt they will ever use it. 

Analysing the results from Irish farmers, 53% of respondents are already using, it while a further 34% plan on using it in the future. 

The majority of Irish farmers believe it can simplify work and give useful information. 

Data security concerns

However, data ownership was a key concern, with 50% of respondents claiming they do not think smart farming technology keeps data secure and private. 

Overall, Irish farmers perceive the barriers — cost, data privacy, lacking resources — to smart farming technology adoption to be higher than other countries participating in the survey.

Farmers already using it have a much more positive attitude regarding the cost-benefit analysis of adoption than non-users.

The higher the farmer’s education level, the more likely they are to see positive benefits associated with SFT adoption compared to those with a lower level of education. 

Similarly, farmers with a larger-sized farm were more likely to believe SFT can help simplify their work and increase yield compared to farmers with a smaller land mass.

Sustainability arose as a key issue for all farmers. 

According to the results of the survey, the majority of farmers do not currently see clear environmental benefits associated with using smart farming technology. 

However, they believe such technologies can improve their environmental impact and help them to cope with climate change.

Speaking about the report, Kevin Doolin, DEMETER project coordinator, said understanding farmers' needs, interests, and concerns regarding smart farming technology adoption was important.