Data Cube and Copernicus data for Food Security and European Independence

Project Information

Nostradamus

Grant agreement ID: 101134888

DOI

10.3030/101134888

EC signature date 21 May 2024

Start date 1 September 2024

End date 31 August 2028

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 4 998 667,50

EU contribution

€ 4 998 667,50

Coordinated by

ERATOSTHENES CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE
Cyprus

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Nostradamus (Data Cube and Copernicus data for Food Security and European Independence)

Reporting period: 2024-09-01 to 2026-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Nostradamus, in line with the Farm to Fork strategy, the Common Agricultural Policy, and the European strategy for data, aims to design, develop, and evaluate a scalable and robust platform for the online and real-time harvesting of valuable information derived from different data sources for developing several agricultural applications. Based on European and four national multidimensional datasets, an automated pipeline regarding the data acquisition, storage, and pre-processing, the developed platform will handle several open and commercial satellite datasets while employing in (near) real-time several server-side algorithms for time-series analysis and value added geospatial maps. To enhance sustainability performance and competitiveness of the agricultural sector through a multi actor approach, Nostradamus will develop a number of open-source-based digital applications for farmers considering both edge and cloud solutions, as well as a combination of the two, taking into account the potential of advanced Internet of Things solutions and Earth Observation data. Leveraging data from various sources that enable real-time data collection and analysis, farmers will be provided with actionable insights to optimize their operations and improve their yields, reducing agricultural inputs' utilization, which will boost EU resilience, independence, and ecological ambitions for agriculture. Nostradamus adopts a multi-actor approach across the entire period of the project that will continuously engage a variety of stakeholders, such as farmers, farm advisors, IT experts, and scientists, to reflect the knowledge, gaps, and needs of different groups properly and maximize the potential of deployment of the developed digital solutions and applications.
Nostradamus’ main objective is two-fold: (1) to operate as a centralized data “SILO” to guard EU Food Security and ensure EU independence in agricultural inputs. This centralised-data-based silo, Data Cube Ecosystem (consisting by 5 data cubes), will serve as the backbone of online and real-time harvesting of valuable information from multiple data sources to provide key actors with an aggregated, well-structured and easily accessible data silo; (2) to develop multi-functional open-source digital applications to transform the EU agricultural sector into a modern, highly efficient, inclusive, resilient, and competitive sector. Towards this direction and in alignment with the partnership “Agriculture of Data (AgData)”, scalable and robust digital solutions for providing access to real-time analysis of aggregated data for digital applications will be developed. These will substantially improve (efficiency and effectiveness): the farm technology and economy, the adaptation to new EU policy, and the overall system of policy creation and evaluation in agriculture and rural development.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During RP1, Nostradamus achieved substantial technical and scientific progress across its core work packages, moving from concept definition to the implementation of key platform components, data services and pilot-ready solutions. Activities focused on establishing the technological backbone of the project, integrating heterogeneous agricultural data streams, developing analytics and decision-support tools, and preparing validation activities in the selected pilot areas.
A major achievement was the specification and implementation of the overall Nostradamus system architecture. The consortium defined a modular, interoperable platform structure combining cloud and edge computing resources to support scalable agricultural data processing. Significant progress was also made in data acquisition, harmonisation and management. Connectors and ingestion workflows were developed for multiple data sources, including Copernicus Earth Observation products, weather and climate datasets, in-field IoT sensors, machinery-generated data and farm management records where available. Automated pipelines were implemented for data retrieval, cleaning, standardisation and storage. Geospatial data handling capacities were strengthened through the deployment of GIS-enabled services capable of processing raster and vector datasets required for agricultural monitoring and modelling. Initial models and algorithms were developed for crop monitoring, vegetation status assessment, field variability analysis, environmental indicators and resource optimisation. Satellite imagery and proximal sensing data were combined to improve temporal and spatial monitoring capacity and early machine learning approaches were explored. Furthermore, technical work advanced on decision-support functionalities and user-facing applications. Prototype dashboards and service interfaces were designed to present processed information in a practical and understandable manner. The consortium also refined pilot use cases, identified data availability conditions, mapped stakeholder requirements and prepared technical integration plans for demonstration sites.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

A key result beyond the state of the art is the successful development of the project’s modular system architecture and the first integrated platform components. Unlike many existing agricultural solutions that operate as closed or standalone systems, Nostradamus has established common interfaces, data flows and interoperable services enabling multiple technologies developed by different partners to function within one ecosystem. This is an important advancement toward scalable and vendor-neutral digital agriculture solutions.
Another significant outcome is the implementation of automated data ingestion and harmonisation workflows for multiple data sources already addressed during the reporting period. Technical work has enabled the structured integration of satellite imagery, meteorological datasets, sensor observations and farm-related geospatial data into common processing pipelines. This reduces manual intervention, improves data availability and creates the basis for near real-time analytics. Existing market solutions often rely on isolated datasets, whereas Nostradamus has already demonstrated the practical value of multi-source data fusion.
The project has also progressed beyond current practice through the first generation of analytical and monitoring services developed during the period. Initial algorithms and models for crop status assessment, field monitoring, anomaly detection, sustainability indicators and resource-use optimisation have been produced and tested within the platform environment. These developments show how data can be translated into actionable recommendations rather than remaining as raw information. In addition, prototype user applications and dashboards have been created to present complex outputs in a practical form for farmers, advisors and pilot stakeholders. This user-centred translation of advanced analytics into accessible tools is a critical innovation step, as many existing systems fail to bridge the gap between technical capability and operational usability.