H2020 project, DEMETER, organised a webinar called 'The Farmer's Voice' to share the results of their survey which examined the drivers and barriers to farmers using Smart Farming Technologies. The webinar was organized in association with SVG Ventures | THRIVE and the World Farmer's Organisation (WFO). The results of the survey are shared, as are presentations from Ambra Raggi, Policy Officer (WFO) and Danny O'Brien, Managing Director of EMEA at THRIVE. The key issues uncovered from the survey were discussed with farmers, technology providers and experts in the domain. https://h2020-demeter.eu/the-farmers-voice-speakers-confirmed/

6. The Farmer’s Voice:
Survey Results

7. Place
Pilot
icon Intro
DEMETER Multi-actor approach
Gauge barriers and drivers to
adoption of digital technology
• Further improve DEMETER
technology
• Inform technology providers
• Improve farmer communications
and trust

8. Place
Pilot
icon
Who participated?
Demographics

9. 484
Farmers participated from across the globe.
Survey Demographic

10. Georgia – 3.51%
Spain – 2.48%
Serbia – 4.96%
Greece – 3.93%
Slovenia – 3.51%
Czech republic – 1.45%
Germany – 1.86%
< 5% Respondents
Participant Country Breakdown

11. Place
Pilot
icon
Male
82%
398
Gender
Female
17%
83
Other
1%
3

12. Place
Pilot
icon Age
4 14
94
115 114 117
26
Under 18 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
25-64

13. Place
Pilot
icon Education
Primary
3%
13
Secondary
23%
112
Apprenticeship
17%
84
University Degree
57%
275

14. Place
Pilot
icon Agricultural Sector
Dairy
98
Vegetables
129
Cattle
232
Bees
13
Tillage
189
Forestry
48
Poultry
17
Sheep
58.
Fruit
121

15. Place
Pilot
icon Farm Size

16. Place
Pilot
icon
Barriers & Drivers
Results

17. Place
Pilot
icon Biggest Drivers
Simplify Work
Increase Profitability
Provide information to better
manage my farm
Improve environmental impact
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Simplify work
Increase farm's
profitability
Increase crop
or grass yields
Provide
information to
better manage
farm
Improve work-
life balance
Make my farm
future-proof
Improve
environmental
impact
Cope with
climate change
impacts
Connect with
other farms

18. Place
Pilot
icon
22%
30%
33%
16%
38%38%
34%
44%
18%19%
9%
13%14%
9%
15%16%
19%
15%
6%
13%
29%
40%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Biggest Barriers
*What are the main reasons that would prevent you from adopting new smart-farming technology?

19. Place
Pilot
icon
22%
30%
33%
16%
38%38%
34%
44%
18%19%
9%
13%14%
9%
15%16%
19%
15%
6%
13%
29%
40%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Biggest Barriers
*What are the main reasons that would prevent you from adopting new smart-farming technology?

20. Place
Pilot
icon
22%
30%
33%
16%
38%38%
34%
44%
18%19%
9%
13%14%
9%
15%16%
19%
15%
6%
13%
29%
40%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Biggest Barriers
*What are the main reasons that would prevent you from adopting new smart-farming technology?

21. Place
Pilot
icon
22%
30%
33%
16%
38%38%
34%
44%
18%19%
9%
13%14%
9%
15%16%
19%
15%
6%
13%
29%
40%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Biggest Barriers
*What are the main reasons that would prevent you from adopting new smart-farming technology?

22. Place
Pilot
icon Sustainability
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Do not simplify my work
No profitability increase
No yield increase
Not helpful to manage my farm
No work-life balance improvement
Do not make my farm future-proof
No better value chain integration
Too costly
Lack of resources
No access to financial resources
Do not meet real needs
Too complex
Not enough skills
No time for learning
Lack of support and training
Poor internet connection
Concerns on data misuse
No return from data sharing
No trust in calculations
Too small farm
No environmental benefit
No climate change benefit
BARRIER PROFILE TO PRECISION AGRICULTURE
less than 5 ha from 5 ha to 19.9 ha from 20 ha to 49.9 ha from 50 ha to 99.9 ha 100 ha to 199.9 ha more than 200 ha

23. Almost
80%
Said they were
already using or
planned to adopt
smart technology
Female Farmers
Younger
In Age
Female respondents
were generally younger
Lower
SFTs
Lower adoption rate of SFTs

24. “
Sustainability
Farmers believe that SFTs could help further improve their environmental
impact and somewhat agree that they would help meet climate change
impacts

25. Place
Pilot
icon Sustainability
3.5

26. Place
Pilot
icon
A look at differing results
Top 5 Countries

27. Place
Pilot
icon Norway
22% - doubt they will use smart
farming tech
Cost-Benefit and having the necessary
skills being a high reason why
*n=78

28. Place
Pilot
icon South Africa
Only 1 in 5 using SFTs
However 50% believe they will in the
future
Internet Connectivity being a key
concern , followed by cost
Internet Connectivity rated as 4.5 out of
10
*n=31

29. Place
Pilot
icon Italy
39% using SFTs
47% planning too in the future
Skills and Cost are the main barriers to adoption
Usability and ease of use are important decision
making factors when choosing SFT
*n= 44

30. Place
Pilot
icon Ireland (Republic)
High rate of adoption (53%) with 34%
planning on using SFTs in the future
50% of respondents claims data ownership
as a key concern to adoption
However they believe that SFTs can simplify
work and give useful information
They don’t feel that SFTs keep data secure
and private
*n= 96

31. Place
Pilot
icon Romania
2/3’s already using SFTs (highest per
respondent)
28% planning to in the future
Strongly agree that SFTs simplify work ,
increase profitability and yield
Disagree that SFTs complicate work or make
them excluded from the wider community
Farm sizes are large (over 200ha) and have
strong internet connectivity (8/10)
*n=78

32. Norway, Ireland, and Greece see higher
barriers to the adoption
Serbia, Georgia, and Germany have a more
positive opinion
• Strongly agree that SFTs simplify work ,
increase profitability and yield
Greek farmers seem to be the most
concerned about the lack of educational
support and training
poor cost-benefits from adopting smart
farming solutions, followed by poor
improvements in work-life balance are
main barriers.

33. Place
Pilot
icon
A look at different attitudes
Farming Sectors

34. Place
Pilot
icon
18% of dairy farmers say they would
never use SFTs
Price and data security are the main
reasons
Tech providers rarely approach them to
collaborate on ideas
Dairy Farmers

35. Place
Pilot
icon
60% already using SFTS with almost 30%
saying they will in the future
Strongly Believe that SFTs provide useful
information and future proof the farm
Aside from cost, difficulty in usage is the
main concern when adopting
Tillage Farmers

36. Place
Pilot
icon
Only 45% using SFTs
A further 35% planning to use in the
future
Usability and flexible products rate high,
however tech providers do not approach
to collaborate
Livestock Farmers

37. Place
Pilot
icon
Crop production farmers have a
lower perception of barriers
Cattle farmers seem to perceive
barriers higher than other sectors
Other sectors including bee-keeping,
forestry etc. have a negative view on
support and training.
Farming Sectors

38. Conclusion
For our farmers voice survey

39. Place
Pilot
icon Conclusions
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Do not simplify my work
No profitability increase
No yield increase
Not helpful to manage my
farm
No work-life balance
improvement
Do not make my farm future-
proof
No better value chain
integration
Too costly
Lack of resources
No access to financial
resources
Do not meet real needs
Too complex
Not enough skills
No time for learning
Lack of support and training
Poor internet connection
Concerns on data misuse
No return from data sharing
No trust in calculations
Too small farm
No environmental benefit
No climate change benefit
Already user No user
User type
The perceived barriers
to adoption are much
higher for farmers who do not
use them
Technology benefit
They are not seeing the benefits
from technology providers or
their peers

40. Place
Pilot
icon Conclusions
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Do not simplify my work
No profitability increase
No yield increase
Not helpful to manage my farm
No work-life balance
improvement
Do not make my farm future-
proof
No better value chain integration
Too costly
Lack of resources
No access to financial resources
Do not meet real needs
Too complex
Not enough skills
No time for learning
Lack of support and training
Poor internet connection
Concerns on data misuse
No return from data sharing
No trust in calculations
Too small farm
No environmental benefit
No climate change benefit
Poor Internet Good Internet
Location
Outside of Europe Internet
connectivity is a big barrier
Adoption
Overall, better internet
connectivity increased the
likelihood of adoption

41. Place
Pilot
icon Conclusions
Training
Farmers clearly agree that tech
providers should offer training
• This should be a blended
training structure
Feedback
• Usability ranks of high
importance for adoption
• Collaboration is very
important
Drivers
Provide useful information to
better manage their farm and
that they simplify work.
Governance
In Europe data governance rates
higher as a barrier.
Farm size
Larger Farms have a better
adoption rate

42. TheFarmers’Voice
Discussing Drivers and Barriers to Technology Adoption
Ambra Raggi – World Farmers’ Organisation
31-03-2022

43. ABOUT WFO
AN ORGANISATION MADE BY THE FARMERS FOR THE FARMERS
ROME:
Our Headquarters
✓ 6 Constituencies
Europe, Asia, Oceania,
Africa, Latin America
and North America
✓ Over 70 farmers’
organizations from more
than 50 countries
✓ More than 1.5 billion
farmers
WFO is a GLOBAL FARMERS’ ORGANISATION
that brings together independent national
farmers organisations and agricultural
cooperatives from all over the world

44. WHAT WE DO
ADVOCATE FOR A FARMER–DRIVEN, SCIENCE-BASED, SOLUTION-ORIENTED APPROACH
Farmers
Food
Systems
Climate
Change
Food
Security
Value
Chain and
Trade
Livestock,
One Health
and AMR
Cooperatives
Innovation
Youth and
Women
Empowerment

45. INNOVATION IS KEY
WFO has recognized that “R&I
in agriculture is a driver of
sustainable transformation of
food systems and represents a
huge opportunity to enable a
food systems shift towards
sustainability.”
“Particular attention should be
devoted to digital technologies
and their impact on the
agricultural transformation.”
WFO policy on sustainable food systems
https://www.wfo-oma.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/WFO-Policy-Paper-on-Sustainable-Food-Systems_approved-by-the-WFO-2020-GA_EN.pdf

46. DIGITAL INNOVATION
FARMERS TOP CONCERNS
Enabling environment with financial investments and policy coherence among Countries
Infrastructures availability both physical and digital
Education and skills both formal education and training systems in schools and universities; and most relevant training for farmers as education systems on the
ground, such as farmer field schools
ROI (Return on Investment): solution developers should demonstrate a return on any investment of time and resources for the farmers.
Data management: The ownership of data remains a huge constraint and concern for farmers. Too often, they feel they are serving somebody else’s interests
Source: WFO consultation processes 2020-2021

47. WHAT WE ADVOCATE FOR
FARMER - DRIVEN INNOVATION
IT’S NOT ABOUT TECH PROVIDERS “PRESCRIBING”
INNOVATION RECIPES TO FARMERS!
FROM A FARMER- RESPONSIVE
APPROACH
TO A FARMER-DRIVEN
APPROACH
A ONE-SIZE-FITS ALL APPROACH
CANNOT WORK FOR AGRICULTURE

48. THANK YOU!

49. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
Advancing the Future of
Food and Agriculture through Innovation
SVG Ventures | THRIVE
Voice of the Farmer Presentation

50. 40+
Corporate clients
100+
Countries reached
1 billion
Valuation created
5,000+
Global founder private
network
#1
Most Active AgTech Investor
Crunchbase, 2020
#1
Top Agrifood Accelerator
AgFunder Awards, 2019
SVG | THRIVE
is a global
investment &
innovation
platform.
Our Vision
To advance the future of food & agriculture through innovation.

51. Several Global Trends Will Continue Driving Investments in
Agrifood
Climate Population
Health
Resource
Scarcity
Food Security
COVID
Global Warming
Weather volatility
Natural disasters
New pests & diseases
27% Increase by 2050*
Growing middle class
+50% Gen X and Z
Higher demand for food
Increased food insecurity
Global growing inequality
Obesity & Diabetes
Epidemic of diseases
associated with food
consumption
Arable land
Water
Labor
Lack of supply chain
resiliency
Poverty
Waste
* Compared to 2020
Emerging Tech
‘Digitization of everything’
Foodtech/ Alternative
proteins
Robotics & Automation

52. 4
Disruptive innovations are growing in agrifood
Accelerating venture capital investment in agrifoodtech
$0.6 $1.0 $1.1 $2.0
$6.5
$9.3
$16.0
$9.6
$25.7
$20.5
$24.2
$48.8
124
197
305
403
621
897
941
1034
1305 1310
1585
2002
$0
$10
$20
$30
$40
$50
$60
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021*
Deal Value ($B) Deal Count
* 2021 actuals through Sept 30, 2021, projected through end of year
**Pitchbook AgTech Q3 2021 Report, Pitchbook FoodTech Q4 2021 Report, THRIVE Analysis

53. $120B $78B $66B $65B $38B
AgriFood Incumbents
5
Accelerated by global
mandates for
sustainable, just,
resilient, and
healthy agrifood
systems.
AgriFoodTech Unicorns Jan 2022

54. 6
AgTech
THRIVE TOP 50 AgTech Landscape
Plant Breeding Platforms
Marketplaces
Farm Management
& Insights
Crop
Nutrition
Robotics &
Automation
CEA
Animal Tech
Crop
Protection

55. Innovators Must Focus on the Customer
- Voice of the Farmer Survey in Canada
Pain Points of Farmers

56. 8
8 Lessons Learned
THRIVE Research with Farmers
1. Few farmers are willing to try solutions before they reach the market and/or have been proven to work.
Hesitancy increases with farmer age.
2. Larger operations and crop-only farms are the most likely to adopt technology
3. ROI and uncertainty are top of mind. Upfront costs, lack of information on solutions, and time
constraints are also key barriers to adoption.
4. In North America, farmers typically learn about new solutions through online research and from friends
and family, with lower use of online resources amongst older farmers.
5. The end user isn’t always the customer – education levels should be taken into consideration
6. Business models should be aligned to success with farmers, not exploitative and startups should
consider financing options for farmers
7. Go-to-market strategies should consider peer influence, locally relevant trials, bundling through
existing channels, and online marketing.
8. Crop consultants, Local co-ops and Crop input distributors are some of the most trusted when offering
technology

57. Contact Us
750 University Ave #260
Los Gatos, CA 95032
(408) 380-7200
https://thriveagrifood.com/
THRIVE@svgventures.com
LET’S ADVANCE THE
FUTURE OF FOOD AND
AGRICULTURE
TOGETHER.

59. For more information visit:
www.h2020-demeter.eu
or Email us at :
info@h2020-demeter.eu