Clust-ER is partner in the TRACK COSME project (2018-2020): “Tracking opportunities to develop and strengthen big data in the agri-food chain to increase the competitivity of SMEs” which involves 5 other clusters from France, Spain, Romania and the Netherlands; more info at: www.trackgrowingdata.eu (EU-funded, Grant Agreement Nº 822067).
Clust-ER is a Digital Innovation Hub stakeholder in the Horizon 2020 SmartAgriHubs project (2018-2022): “Connecting the dots to unleash the innovation potential for digital transformation of the European agri-food sector” which gathers over 100 partners from 22 countries; more info: http://smartagrihubs.eu/ (EU-funded, grant agreement Nº 818182).
In 2018 Clust-ER Agrifood implemented a number of international missions, to strengthen our network of partners worldwide for the promotion of innovation. Particular attention was devoted to the missions in Ethiopia and Brazil. Concerning Ethiopia, three missions have been made so far, of which two in Ethiopia and one of Ethiopian partners in Italy. A framework collaboration has been agreed between the Emilia-Romagna Region and the Ethiopian government to identify some priorities and implement a number of development projects. One of them is related to the tomato value chain for which the parties are currently working on the feasiblity study of the creation of a sustainable tomato value chain in Ethiopia with the support of the Clust-ER Agrifood.
With regard to Brazil, in December 2018 the Clust-ER Agrifood implemented a working mission in three states, Sao Paulo, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, in order to start a collaboration with public and private subjects, on some shared priorities, including sustainable agriculture and precision farming. A first pilot project has been activated near Porto Alegre, concerning the application of precision farming tools on a rice/soya field, in order to develop a software that will provide solutions for the reduction of inputs like water, fertilizers and treatments. Other pilot projects are under evaluation, also concerning the crop diversification in Brazil and the reuse of by-products and waste.
