鈥淲e need new technology to secure the food supply, address climate threats, and make production more profitable. At the Innovation Arena, we showcased the breadth of new concepts being developed within the sector鈥攊deas that could prove crucial for the future of food production,鈥� says Per Frankelius, director of both Agtech Sweden and the Knowledge Hub for the Digitalization of Agriculture at Link枚ping University.
A meeting place for farmers, researchers, and companies
Held for the second time, the Innovation Arena was organised jointly by Agtech Sweden and Elmia. It served as a meeting place for farmers, researchers and companies. Visitors could explore solutions first-hand in areas such as crop production, animal husbandry and energy use, meet the people behind the ideas and discuss how the technology can be applied in practice.
Cam-Bot was one of the innovations on display: an autonomous robot that travels through potato fields at night and monitors plant health using fluorescence technology. Another was Spectral Blue MWHI, which uses blue light to reduce microbial risks during grain cleaning and in hygiene zones within livestock buildings. In the field of animal husbandry, VetVise presented BarnBuddy, an AI-based camera system that monitors and analyses animal behaviour in pig and poultry barns and provides farmers with automated, real-time advice.
Members of Parliament on a visit
During the trade fair, Agtech Sweden also welcomed members of parliament from several parties to the Innovation Arena. The visit provided an opportunity to showcase concrete examples of technological development and to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the agricultural sector with political decision-makers.
Agtech Sweden/Link枚pings universitet
Knowledge and technological development should go hand in hand
Agtech Sweden, together with the Knowledge Hub for the Digitalization of Agriculture, participated in several presentations during the trade fair. The sessions covered topics such as the importance of knowledge, future agricultural technology, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
鈥淭echnological development in agriculture is moving fast. For new technology to be truly beneficial, farmers need to understand the opportunities it presents and how it can be applied in practice. Knowledge and technological development must go hand in hand,鈥� says Karolina Muhrman, director of Agtech Sweden and the Knowledge Hub for the Digitalization of Agriculture.
Technology on a pig farm
At the stand of the Knowledge Hub for the Digitalization of Agriculture, visitors could watch two films from the series Technology on Pig Farms. The films show how camera-based technology can be used to assess sows鈥� body condition and weigh growing pigs automatically. This can give farmers a better basis for adjusting feeding, monitoring pigs鈥� growth and making decisions throughout the rearing process.
New project in precision irrigation
A highlight of the stand was a remote-controlled firefighting robot, which illustrated how a future precision irrigation machine could move around a field and apply water according to local needs. The demonstration was linked to a new Agtech Sweden project being carried out in collaboration with 脜hmans Traktorcentrum, 脰sterg枚tlands Hush氓llningss盲llskap, Link枚ping University, ACC Innovation and 脛lvestadstanken. The project aims to use detailed maps of water requirements across different parts of a field to control this new type of irrigation machine.
Agri Living Lab Sweden
Visitors also had the chance to meet Anna Lundberg, who presented the national platform Agri Living Lab Sweden. The platform brings farmers, researchers and companies together to develop and test new solutions for agriculture in real-world farm settings.
