Motivated to offer practical, real-life solutions, the AgRibot project is working to break this pattern.
AgRibot’s AI-powered robotic systems are designed to take on high-risk tasks like targeted weeding and spot spraying, dramatically reducing the use of pesticides and fertilizers. By minimizing direct exposure to hazardous substances, these technologies help protect farm workers’ health while also being environmentally sustainable.
Why Farming Remains High-Risk
According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), agriculture and forestry consistently have some of the highest fatality and injury rates in the EU. Common causes include:
Accidents involving tractors and machinery
Injuries from animal handling
Slips, trips, and falls
Exposure to pesticides and hazardous substances
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) from repetitive or strenuous tasks
In addition, over 60% of the agricultural workers are reported to suffer from chronic illnesses, with a higher chance of developing work-related health problems.
These risks have a long lasting affect on the health, livelihoods, and longevity of Europe’s ever deteriorating rural workforce, already having dropped from 6.4 % of total EU employment in 2005 to 4.2 % in 2020.
Why It’s Hard to Improve Safety
While safer tools and innovations exist, they’re not always accessible. Many smaller farms lack the financial resources, digital infrastructure, or technical support needed to adopt modern solutions. For example, only about 50% of rural EU areas currently have reliable broadband access — a key requirement for many digital farming tools.
Without targeted support and tech that fits the reality of everyday farming, real safety improvements remain out of reach.
Bringing Safety to the Field
AgRibot bridges this gap by introducing autonomous, AI-powered robots that work for farmers, keeping them out of harms way while improving their daily tasks.
Our robots tackle tasks like weeding and spot spraying with precision, cutting down the need for heavy machinery and manual chemical application. This prevents farmers from sustaining injuries and lowers exposure to harmful substances.
Fewer hours in dangerous conditions. Less physical strain. Fewer long-term health risks.
Behind the scenes, deep learning models analyze soil and plant health to give farmers better insight into what their crops really need. That means smarter fertilizer use, higher yields, and healthier fields.
With remote operation and smart controls, farmers stay in command while staying out of harm’s way. This ensures that the technology is also accessible for users with physical impairments.
And with our interactive learning kits, AgRibot’s technology is easy to adopt, simple to use, and built to work for every farmer.
Because no farmer should be left behind and agriculture shouldn’t be the last dangerous job.
