The project, led by Familia Torres, aims to apply digital twins to optimize the water and nutritional management of crops.
SmartCrops 5.1 is a collaborative R&D project whose main objective is to research and develop new digital, technological and agroecological tools for the sustainable and resilient production of woody and horticultural crops in semi-arid climates under climate change conditions.
The consortium is composed by eight companies from the agrotechnology and agricultural production sector (Torres Family -project leader-, Trops, Hispatec Erpagro, Pulverizadores Fede, Cortijo Guadiana (Castillo de Canena Group), Prima Ram, Florette Ibérica and Bodega Matarromera) and 7 national research centers (Centre for Research on Desertification-CIDE-CSIC, University of Almería, Institute for Research and Agro-Food Technology-IRTA, FIDESOL Foundation, Air Institute Foundation, University of Burgos and Experimental Station of the Subtropical and Mediterranean Horticulture Institute “La Mayora”-IHSM La Mayora-CSIC).
SmartCrops 5.1 aims to apply digital twins to optimize the water and nutritional management of crops under the current conditions of climate change and on the monitoring and estimation of sustainability indicators of agricultural production systems to achieve sustainable, efficient, intelligent and regenerative. Digital twins make it possible to reproduce on a computer what happens in the field, simulating the behavior of the plant and its interaction with the environment, to check the efficiency of the processes before they are carried out in the crop. For this project, it is especially relevant to measure the results achieved in irrigation, nutrition and fertigation and the application of phytosanitary products.
The project has a duration of four years and is led by Familia Torres. It has a budget of €5,879,574 for its execution, co-financed by the European Union and the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI Innovación) with FEDER funds, through the Multi-regional Operational Program for Smart Growth 2021-2027, within the framework of the Strategic Program of National Business Research Consortia (CIEN).
