How to improve farmers' capacity to adopt smart farming technologies? What kind of barriers are involved, and how can the barriers be dismantled? Responses to this were sought at the two-day Innovation Camp, which was attended by a group of farmers, representatives of advisory organisations, other experts from the agricultural sector, and students from the natural resources sector.
news 12.12.2025
Smart matchmaking solutions and the development of support systems to promote the uptake of smart farming on farms
How to improve farmers' capacity to adopt smart farming technologies? What kind of barriers are involved, and how can the barriers be dismantled? Responses to this were sought at the two-day Innovation Camp, which was attended by a group of farmers, representatives of advisory organisations, other experts from the agricultural sector, and students from the natural resources sector.
The best idea was rewarded with a proposal from the Matchmaking group, a new field rental service. In this concept, Finnish under-productive fields would be leased for efficient use, which would benefit both landowners and tenants. At the core of the solution is the idea that scattered small parcels of arable land are collected for professional cultivation through the contracting service, utilizing dynamic pricing to maintain the condition of the field and ensure security of supply.
The participants of the innovation camp formed four teams, each looking at the topic from slightly different perspectives. For example, how could peer learning be strengthened? How should support systems be developed to promote smart agriculture? What kind of smart matchmaking solutions could be developed for farm problem solving? How to identify farms that utilize smart farming solutions and could serve as an example to others? The perspectives were selected based on a preliminary survey, and the participants were divided into teams based on both interest and expertise.
The field rental service takes advantage of the opportunities of smart farming
"The ideas of all the teams were tremendously good, and there are opportunities to move forward," says Senior Researcher Gilbert Ludwig from JAMK University of Applied Sciences. "TechCoach's main goal is to strengthen farmers' ability to evaluate, adopt and apply smart farming technologies on farms. The field rental service of the Matchmaking group supports this goal in many ways.”
The winning team included (in the photo from left) Miska Haapalainen, Tiina Vuolteenaho, Aija Hytönen and Aleksi Kuuva. Due to strict legislation and controls, Finland has the cleanest and safest conditions in the world to cultivate. The luxury food approach could also attract foreign companies to rent fields and employ in Finland. This would allow us to develop exports and still retain farming expertise in Finland. The focus of the work on the contractor would also increase the opportunity to invest in machines utilizing smart technology and thus, among other things, to make precision farming more widely available,” the team describes.
"We came to a solution after considering the problems of farms in Finland. Small farms have no continuity, producer prices are low and food exports are low. On the other hand, research has shown that Finland produces the safest food in the world, and the number of species cultivated due to climate change is even diversifying”, the team says.
"Our goal is to connect globally those who want the purest possible food to the conditions of production of the purest food. Finnish products are not worth competing with mass production, but honestly admit that we produce luxury raw materials here. By branding the service well, even domestic appreciation for the safest raw materials in the world could rise.”
Smart agriculture as a criterion in the development of agricultural support systems
Honorable mention was given to the team working on the development of support systems. They were especially praised for identifying challenges in legislation and politics and for bravely tackling the topic.
"The idea is to try to influence policy programmes during the preparation phase by offering a comprehensive solution," says Project Manager Maria Suomela from the Association of ProAgria Centres. "Despite the challenging and multifaceted nature of the subject, they developed an idea that is feasible."
Innovation camp results for use and preparation for the following camps
"We hope that the field rental service will be piloted by, for example, a startup to be established," envisioned the Matchmaking team. “The new operator is required to have technological know-how, knowledge of primary production, and excellent cultural and marketing know-how, so that Finnish food is truly seen as a luxury in the world. In addition to this, local knowledge and practical skills are also required. This model therefore has its place both for those who understand the big picture and for practical professionals. The model could also be used to increase cooperation within Finland. In this way, we were able to produce luxury food that has been produced in Finnish fields and enjoyed at the top of the world!”
The international TechCoach project promotes the capacity of farmers to adopt smart farming technologies. One of the measures is the Innovation Camps, the first of which was now implemented in Siuntio, Finland. The following camps are held in Hungary, the Netherlands, Italy and Greece. The camps aim to find ideas to promote the uptake of smart farming across Europe, and to identify the factors that slow it down.
Jyvaskyla University of Applied Sciences and ProAgria are Finnish actors in a project with eight partners across Europe. The two-million-euro project is funded by Horizon Europe and will run until January 2028.
More information
Gilbert Ludwig
Senior Researcher
[email protected]i
tel. +358 503408508
Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences
Maria Suomela
Project Manager
[email protected]
tel. +358 504433954
Association of ProAgria Centres
Keywords
bioeconomy
smart farming
innovation camp
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