Adoption of smart technology for animal welfare and sustainable livestock systems

Project summary

Smart farming technologies (SFT) and herd health programmes (HHP) have emerged as tools for enhancing animal health and welfare (AHW) to meet societal demands and support the sustainability of dairy farms. However, the impact of these developments is inhibited by the lack of systematic knowledge about the factors that affect the adoption of SFTs and the interrelationship of this process with the development and adoption HHPs, and the economic and social outcomes of both in the con-text of improving sustainability of variety of dairy farming systems characteristic to the EU agriculture. Better understanding is needed about the use and determinants of SFTs and HHPs for AHW management in dairy farms. By combining desk studies, expert interviews, case studies, farm survey, Living Lab discussions, and international workshops this research will study dairy farmers’ and value chain actors’ perceptions about the main incentives and barriers to SFT adoption for AHW management. It will assess their views on the role of SFTs in AHW management and status, adoption of HHPs in the farms, and the usefulness of these programmes from AHW and socioeconomic perspectives as perceived by farmers. The project will analyse the existing HHPs by comparing their data protocols, data collection methods, data flows, and incentive and/or payment schemes. Additionally, the project will research how public and private sectors could incentivize farmers to adopt SFT for improved AHW management, farm in-come, and sustainability.

A high level of interdisciplinary expertise, stakeholder involvement, and effective communication and dissemination will ensure that the results of this project will support the development of impactful technologies, increase technology adoption, enhance the adoption and effectiveness of HHPs, and support the creation of public and private policies that promote sustainable livestock production systems.