Jems
The kick-off meeting of the cross-border project Dig4Soil – Development of Agriculture 4.0 Tools for Sustainable Soil Management was held in Slavonski Brod, Croatia. Over the next two years, the project will focus on developing innovative digital solutions to support sustainable agricultural soil management.
The project is implemented under the Interreg VI-A IPA Croatia–Serbia 2021–2027 Programme and brings together two research institutions: the Regional Centre for Biotechnological Research and Development of Brod-Posavina County (BIOTECH), acting as the lead partner, and the BioSense Institute in Novi Sad, Serbia, as the project partner.
The total project budget amounts to €528,335.27, of which €449,084.97, or 85%, is funded by the European Union. The project started on 15 July 2026 and will run until 14 July 2028.
The main objective of Dig4Soil is to develop innovative digital and green services for the agricultural sector by facilitating knowledge transfer and applying advanced information technologies in agroecology and environmental protection.
One of the project’s key outputs will be a digital platform designed to give farmers easier access to soil analysis data, enable them to keep records of fertiliser applications, monitor weather conditions and receive timely information on the agronomic measures required for their crops.
The project will also upgrade the BioSense Institute’s existing digital platform, including its fertilisation calculator. These improvements will help farmers plan nutrient applications more accurately and use available resources more efficiently.
Precision agriculture technologies will play an important role in the project. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with advanced cameras will be used to map agricultural land in detail. The collected data will support the development of soil management maps, the optimisation of soil sampling and more precise fertilisation planning.
The project will also develop models to assess the environmental impact of agricultural production. Particular attention will be paid to estimating the potential leaching of nitrogen into groundwater, as well as monitoring soil fertility and humus content.
By applying these solutions, farmers will be better equipped to make data-driven decisions, use fertilisers more efficiently, potentially reduce production costs and minimise the environmental impact of agricultural activities.
Dig4Soil also highlights the importance of cross-border cooperation between Croatian and Serbian research institutions. By combining their expertise and experience, the partners aim to bridge the gap between scientific research and the practical needs of agricultural producers.
Project activities will include the development of digital tools, research, pilot activities focused on optimising fertilisation, and workshops and professional events for farmers, businesses and other stakeholders in the agricultural sector.
Through these activities, Dig4Soil aims to promote the wider adoption of digital and precision agriculture solutions, contributing to more sustainable soil management and a more resource-efficient agricultural sector in the Croatia–Serbia cross-border region.
