Sustainable and Smart Farming: Precision Agriculture Solutions and EU Funding Opportunities
How can farms reduce costs, use resources more efficiently, and prepare for future investment opportunities? These questions were explored during the webinar “Sustainable and Smart Farming”, organised by the Sustainability Cluster, where experts presented precision agriculture technologies, sustainable farming principles, and European Union funding opportunities.
The webinar placed particular emphasis on practical solutions that help farmers adapt to rising production costs, labour shortages, and changing weather conditions.
Precision Agriculture — An Opportunity to Reduce Costs and Improve Efficiency
In the first part of the webinar, Edvards Freimanis, a representative of SIA “AgTech”, introduced precision agriculture technologies and their practical application in everyday farming operations.
Rising costs of mineral fertilisers and plant protection products, together with difficulties in predicting yields and market prices, are forcing farmers to assess resource use more carefully. Precision agriculture solutions enable data-driven decision-making and more targeted use of available resources.
The presentation covered several technologies:
Sensors and multispectral cameras, which help assess plant nutrient levels and identify weeds, allowing fertilisation and plant protection measures to be adapted to specific needs.
Yield mapping, which enables farmers to analyse productivity across different parts of a field and plan future operations more effectively.
Tractor navigation and automated guidance systems, which improve operational accuracy and help make more efficient use of machinery.
Weather stations and monitoring solutions, which enable farmers to monitor weather conditions and analyse collected data.
Agricultural drones and robots, which can be used for field monitoring, fertilisation, spraying, and other agricultural operations.
The implementation of these technologies can help reduce resource consumption, improve operational efficiency, and identify problems at an early stage. At the same time, each farm should assess the suitability of a particular solution, its investment costs, and its expected economic benefits.
Sustainable Farming Starts with the Needs of Each Farm
During the next part of the webinar, Armands Gūtmanis, a representative of the Sustainability Cluster, introduced the sustainable agriculture guidelines and explained their importance for farm development.
Sustainable farming is not a single technology or a universal solution for all farms. It is an approach that helps maintain the economic viability of a farm, use resources more efficiently, and adapt to risks arising from climate change.
The guidelines identify six key areas of action:
Use of renewable energy sources — for example, solar energy, energy storage systems, and biogas or biomethane production.
Carbon management — solutions related to soil quality and emissions reduction.
Financial sustainability — financial planning, more efficient cash flow management, and strengthening the resilience of the farm.
Preservation of soil quality — maintaining soil fertility and long-term production potential.
Water resource management — assessing water availability, use, and related risks.
Utilisation of EU funding opportunities — investment planning and identifying suitable sources of financing.
The key is to select a combination of technologies that meets the needs of the individual farm, determine the implementation sequence, and assess financing opportunities. For example, one farm may prioritise solar panels and energy storage, another may focus on more precise fertilisation, while a third may prioritise water resource management or the energy efficiency of agricultural buildings.
EU Funding — An Opportunity to Develop Farms
The webinar also explored European Union funding opportunities for the development of agricultural businesses. Farms should identify their investment needs in advance and assess which financial instruments may be suitable for their planned projects.
Several areas of support were discussed:
Cooperation in innovation — projects in which farmers collaborate with researchers and consultants to develop new products, processes, or technologies.
Investments in farm competitiveness — farm modernisation and improvements to production processes.
Emissions reduction and climate change adaptation — investments in solutions that help reduce the environmental impact of agriculture and improve resilience to climate-related risks.
Renewable energy and energy efficiency — support for improving energy efficiency and using renewable energy sources.
Business start-up support for young farmers — opportunities for young farmers to establish agricultural businesses.
Investments in agricultural product processing — opportunities to develop processing activities and create products with higher added value.
The availability of specific programmes, their conditions, and application deadlines must be verified for each relevant funding call. Therefore, it is important not only to follow current funding opportunities but also to prepare investment plans and the necessary documentation in good time.
Planning Today — Competitiveness Tomorrow
The main takeaway from the webinar was that sustainable farming and the adoption of new technologies are not only about reducing environmental impact but also about strengthening the economic stability of farms.
Precision agriculture solutions, more efficient resource use, financial planning, and well-considered EU funding applications can help farms make better-informed investment decisions and prepare for future challenges.
The Sustainability Cluster continues to organise informative events on agricultural development, funding opportunities, and practical solutions to strengthen farm competitiveness.
Explore the Sustainable Agriculture Guidelines!
Farmers are invited to explore the guidelines developed by the Sustainability Cluster for achieving sustainability goals in agriculture to assess their farm's needs and identify future development priorities.
The guidelines are available for download here:
The event was organised within the framework of the project “Informing Latvian Agricultural Professionals and Developing Guidelines for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals in Agriculture” (EKII-9/26). The project is implemented by the Latvian Rural Advisory and Training Centre (LOSP) and the Sustainability Cluster Association. The project is funded by the Emission Allowance Auction Instrument.
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