Andalucía Agrotech European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) has come to an end. This project, made up of 24 promoting entities, including CTA, along with seven other associated knowledge-sector organisations such as universities and public and private research and technology centres, and coordinated and led by the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development of the Regional Government of Andalusia, has presented its final report, concluding that it has driven the digital transformation of more than 950 agri-food sector companies over its three years of implementation.

During the Strategic Steering Committee meeting, the main results achieved over the past three years were highlighted. Andalucía Agrotech EDIH has consolidated a digital innovation ecosystem that has brought together more than 230 entities and provided support to more than 2,400 agri-food business users in the region.

In this regard, a total of 544 specialised services were deployed, a figure that has helped mobilise close to three million euros in investment aimed at the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises in Andalusia’s agri-food sector.

The final report also showed that the project went beyond its technical objectives to generate a tangible impact: more than 40% of participating companies implemented digital technologies after taking part in the programme, while nearly 80% are either in the process of adoption or have expressed their intention to do so. Companies also reported a satisfaction rating higher than 4.3 out of 5.

The results show significant improvement in the digital maturity of companies in the region, particularly in areas such as automation and artificial intelligence, where increases reach close to 50%—a figure higher than the average progress recorded across the National Network of European Digital Innovation Hubs, according to data compiled by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) based on information from the European Commission’s Digital Transformation Accelerator (DTA).

STRENGTHENING EUROPEAN LEADERSHIP

The project has also strengthened Andalusia’s European standing in agri-food innovation. During its implementation, ten bilateral agreements and collaborations were formalised with more than 21 European Digital Innovation Hubs.

Andalucía Agrotech EDIH has also co-moderated the European Agrifood group, aiming to reinforce Andalusia’s presence within the main European digital innovation networks. A total of 17 Andalusian companies benefited from their connection to the Agrifood Testing and Experimentation Facility (TEF), facilitating access to European technological experimentation infrastructure.

CTA’S CONTRIBUTION

Within the project, CTA focused its participation on WP4 Funding Support Services, a work package dedicated to public and private funding advice for business digitalisation. This service was delivered through three types of support: advice on deploying digital solutions, management of public funding applications, and management of private funding applications, covering tasks such as identifying calls for proposals, assessing their suitability for the company and its project, and, in some cases, helping to prepare and submit proposals.

Over the project’s 42 months of implementation, CTA delivered a total of 19 services: 10 related to advice on deploying digital solutions, 8 related to managing public funding applications, and 1 related to managing private funding applications.

As a result of this work, in the services where companies advised by CTA went on to submit proposals to calls for funding, a total of €830,419.01 was requested, of which €774,799.01 was ultimately awarded. Of that amount, €459,620 came from European calls through cascade funding mechanisms.