Across Europe, digital and robotic solutions are advancing rapidly — yet their uptake on farms remains uneven. While most farmers already use basic digital tools in their daily work, the adoption of more advanced technologies such as robotics, automation and AR-based systems is progressing at a slower pace. Recent EU research shows that this gap is not driven by resistance to innovation, but by limited access to training, uncertainty around real-world benefits, and a lack of hands-on support tailored to everyday farming practices.
At the same time, farmers are far from sceptical about digitalisation. The majority expect digital tools to bring economic, environmental and social benefits, but adoption increases significantly when technologies are easy to understand, affordable, and supported by targeted education. This highlights a clear message: supporting farmers through learning and confidence-building is just as important as developing the technologies themselves.
Building skills and confidence through AGROBOOST
AGROBOOST is a pilot-driven, five-year, multi-disciplinary EU project designed to respond directly to these challenges. By combining agro-robotics, artificial intelligence, automation and augmented reality, AGROBOOST aims to transform agriculture into a more attractive, sustainable and inclusive sector, while addressing labour shortages and reducing environmental impacts.
The project places strong emphasis on people. It is specifically designed to support women, young professionals, and farmers with mobility limitations, ensuring that technological innovation contributes to safer working conditions and broader participation in agriculture. AGROBOOST validates its solutions through six diverse pilot campaigns across Europe — covering activities such as pruning and thinning, selective harvesting, automated weeding, gentle fruit picking, livestock management and crop monitoring in challenging environments.
Alongside technological development, AGROBOOST focuses on training programmes, flexible business models and decision-making tools to support the widespread adoption of these solutions. By integrating scientific, industrial and social perspectives, the project works to ensure that innovation remains closely aligned with the needs of farmers and agricultural workers.
A shared vision with AgRibot
AgRibot and AGROBOOST share a common understanding: successful digitalisation in agriculture depends on confidence, usability and skills — not technology alone. While AgRibot focuses on AR/XR-based training, explainable AI and human-centred interfaces to make robotic systems safer and easier to use, AGROBOOST complements this approach through pilot-based validation, structured training and inclusive design. Together, the two projects work towards lowering barriers to advanced digital solutions and supporting farmers in adopting new technologies with clarity, trust and confidence.
As sister projects, AgRibot and AgroBoost will collaborate on knowledge exchange, training-oriented dissemination and joint visibility activities, ensuring that lessons learned from pilots, farmer feedback and educational tools reach wider farming communities across Europe.
Through these collaborative activities we hope to support farmers to adopt new technologies and use them with confidence.