The Role of Farmers in Co-Creation: Building Digital Agriculture That Works in the Real World
Why farmers matter in digital agriculture
Digital agriculture is often described in terms of technology: sensors, algorithms, drones and platforms that promise to transform how food is produced. Yet the true test of any innovation lies not in the sophistication of the code or the hardware, but in whether farmers actually use it. This is where many digital tools falter. Designed in labs or offices, they often fail to reflect the realities of day-to-day farming and end up as impressive demonstrations that never take root in the soil.
OpenAgri begins from a different premise. Farmers are not viewed as passive end-users to be trained at the end of the process, but as co-designers whose knowledge and routines shape the solutions from the start. This approach, known as co-creation, ensures that digital tools are not simply technically impressive, but are genuinely useful, trusted and relevant in the field.
Beyond consultation: building with, not for
The importance of co-creation lies in the diversity of European farming. A vineyard in southern Europe, a cattle farm in the French countryside and a potato field in Belgium each operate under very different conditions. Climatic realities, available infrastructure, labour patterns and market pressures all differ, meaning that a one-size-fits-all tool is unlikely to deliver value across such contexts. By involving farmers directly, the project avoids the trap of producing generic solutions and instead develops tools that respond to specific needs.
Co-creation is more than consultation. Asking for feedback at the end of development may capture opinions, but it does not allow those opinions to fundamentally influence design choices. In OpenAgri, co-creation begins with problem framing. Farmers and advisors help define what matters most to them, which challenges require digital support, and what kind of outputs are most useful. Their input continues throughout prototyping and field trials, where they assess whether a tool fits into their workflow or whether it creates unnecessary complications.
Shaping tools for real-world use
This process changes the outcome in subtle but important ways. For example, when a spraying operation can be automatically recorded into a farm calendar rather than entered manually, the benefit is not just time saved but also compliance support and easier traceability. Farmers emphasise that tools must work even when connectivity is poor or when power supply is limited, leading to the design of solutions that can operate both online and offline. They also stress the importance of interfaces that are clear and intuitive. Small design choices—whether a report is generated in a farmer-friendly format or whether an alert is delivered at the right moment—can make the difference between adoption and abandonment.
OpenAgri’s Sustainable Innovation Pilots provide clear illustrations of how co-creation works in practice. In vineyards, growers shaped how data from scouting activities is displayed, making sure it was easy to interpret in the middle of a busy season. In livestock farming, breeders highlighted the need for monitoring devices that can function autonomously in remote pastures, where electricity and internet connections are unreliable. In potato fields, farmers guided the focus toward pest detection systems that could truly alter spraying decisions on a plot-by-plot basis rather than simply confirm what they already knew. In irrigation systems, co-creation revealed hardware constraints that required redesign, ensuring that the controller matched the realities of existing infrastructure. In composting facilities, operators influenced the thresholds and alerts, so the technology supported rather than complicated routine management practices.
A cultural shift in agricultural innovation
These examples point to a broader cultural shift in agricultural innovation. For decades, the dominant model was linear: scientists and engineers developed technologies, companies packaged them, and farmers were expected to adopt them. Today, this model is being replaced by multi-actor collaboration in which farmers are recognised as innovators in their own right. Their tacit knowledge, accumulated over years of working the land, is not supplementary but essential to the success of digital tools.
The results of co-creation are already visible. Tools designed with farmers are more streamlined and targeted, which makes adoption easier. Farmers who see their own input reflected in a system are more inclined to trust it, particularly in relation to sensitive issues such as data ownership and privacy. And because solutions are shaped by those who know the constraints of rural areas, they are inherently more resilient. They function under weak connectivity, they adapt to energy limitations, and they provide real value rather than abstract potential.
From pilots to broader impact
The philosophy of co-creation also extends beyond the core pilots. OpenAgri’s open call has expanded the approach to new regions and new types of farming, allowing lessons learned in one context to inform others. In each case, the same principle applies: technologies should not be imposed from above, but built with the people who will ultimately use them.
As the project progresses, this commitment will continue to guide the work. Co-creation is not a one-off exercise but an ongoing dialogue, one that adapts as conditions change and as farmers articulate new needs. It represents a recognition that digital agriculture is not about technology for its own sake. It is about providing farmers with tools that save time, reduce uncertainty and support more sustainable food systems.
Conclusion
By placing farmers at the centre of the design process, OpenAgri demonstrates that digitalisation can be democratic, inclusive and effective. When tools are co-created, they cease to be abstract innovations and become practical allies in the field. That is why co-creation is not just a method for OpenAgri. It is the foundation of everything we do.