Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CODECS (Maximising the CO-benefits of agricultural Digitalisation through conducive digital ECoSystems)
Période du rapport: 2024-04-01 au 2025-09-30
Digital technologies are transforming European agriculture, but their benefits remain uneven and not automatically sustainable. Farmers still face barriers such as limited skills, uncertain returns, fragmented data systems and differing regional contexts. CODECS addresses these challenges by analysing how digital tools influence economic, social and environmental outcomes at farm, digital-ecosystem and socio-ecological levels. Through 20 Living Labs across Europe, the project co-develops methods, evidence and demonstrations to understand real digitalisation pathways. Its objectives are to assess costs and benefits, identify enabling conditions, strengthen advisory and innovation systems and support policies that foster fair, inclusive and sustainable digital transitions.
During the reporting period, CODECS made substantial progress in understanding how digitalisation affects agriculture and how its benefits can be maximised. The project refined its systems-based, actor-centred conceptual framework and developed practical tools for analysing digital impacts. Updated guidelines for environmental, economic and social assessments were produced, alongside a multi-criteria evaluation approach and new methods to capture stakeholder priorities. These advances now provide a coherent structure for analysing digitalisation across diverse regions and farming systems.
Work in the Living Labs progressed strongly. Each Lab collected extensive data on socio-ecological conditions, digital practices, business processes and stakeholder perceptions. Researchers and practitioners developed process models, mapped digital ecosystems and analysed how resources, capabilities and collaborations shape adoption. More than one hundred AKIS actors took part in workshops, interviews and validation sessions, ensuring that evidence reflects real needs. Early environmental, economic and social cost-benefit results were generated for selected cases, supporting initial comparative analyses. Demonstration activities expanded through on-farm events, virtual tours, farminars and cross-visits, involving over 900 participants and offering practical insights. The demonstration handbook was finalised to ensure consistent organisation. Platform development also advanced: the meta-inventory grew, early calculators and assessment-tool prototypes improved, and virtual tours and storybooks were integrated. CODECS also delivered the first broad analysis of policy environments shaping agricultural digitalisation, identifying governance gaps such as fragmented support schemes, uneven advisory capacities and unclear data-sharing rules. Through its science–policy interface and external events, the project is already influencing policy discussions. Dissemination intensified with an updated communication strategy, new articles, videos and newsletters, and strengthened collaboration with EU initiatives. The expanding Knowledge Accelerator community fostered peer learning and increased the project’s visibility.
Work in the Living Labs progressed strongly. Each Lab collected extensive data on socio-ecological conditions, digital practices, business processes and stakeholder perceptions. Researchers and practitioners developed process models, mapped digital ecosystems and analysed how resources, capabilities and collaborations shape adoption. More than one hundred AKIS actors took part in workshops, interviews and validation sessions, ensuring that evidence reflects real needs. Early environmental, economic and social cost-benefit results were generated for selected cases, supporting initial comparative analyses. Demonstration activities expanded through on-farm events, virtual tours, farminars and cross-visits, involving over 900 participants and offering practical insights. The demonstration handbook was finalised to ensure consistent organisation. Platform development also advanced: the meta-inventory grew, early calculators and assessment-tool prototypes improved, and virtual tours and storybooks were integrated. CODECS also delivered the first broad analysis of policy environments shaping agricultural digitalisation, identifying governance gaps such as fragmented support schemes, uneven advisory capacities and unclear data-sharing rules. Through its science–policy interface and external events, the project is already influencing policy discussions. Dissemination intensified with an updated communication strategy, new articles, videos and newsletters, and strengthened collaboration with EU initiatives. The expanding Knowledge Accelerator community fostered peer learning and increased the project’s visibility.
CODECS moves beyond previous research by delivering the first integrated, multi-level analysis of the economic, social and environmental effects of digitalisation in European agriculture. Unlike earlier studies that assumed automatic sustainability gains or focused narrowly on technology performance, CODECS shows that outcomes depend on local contexts, actor interactions and governance structures. Its systems-based, actor-centred approach offers a new lens for understanding digital transitions. Innovations include a comprehensive conceptual framework linking farm processes, digital ecosystems and socio-ecological systems; harmonised impact-assessment guidelines; an operational multi-criteria evaluation method; and the VARI tool for identifying stakeholder priorities. The project also generates unique empirical evidence from 20 Living Labs, combining bottom-up data, process modelling and socio-ecological mapping to show how digitalisation unfolds in practice. Demonstrations—on-farm trials, virtual tours and farminars—bridge scientific assessment with real-world testing. The CODECS Digital Platform further advances digital advisory support by integrating a meta-inventory of more than 2,300 technologies with assessment tools, interactive storybooks and virtual tours.