SIP8
Agricultural Digital Twin for Intelligent Decision-Making (AgriTwin)
Sector: Almonds, Pistachios, and Maize – Precision Irrigation / Resource Management
Country of the Pilot: Spain
About the SIP
AgriTwin introduces an AI-powered digital twin that helps farmers make smarter, data-driven decisions while coping with poor connectivity and high resource costs. The pilot, located in Salamanca (Castilla y León), supports almond, pistachio, and maize production on farms that face water scarcity, fragmented data, and the limited affordability of proprietary smart-farming systems.
The SIP develops a low-cost, open-source decision-support system (DSS) that integrates field sensors, satellite data, and weather models into a real-time digital replica of the farm. Designed for both cloud and edge operation, the system continues functioning even when internet connectivity drops helping farmers optimize irrigation, fertilisation, and pest control in all conditions.
The Problem
In Spain’s irrigated crop systems, decision-making on water, fertilizer, and energy use is often based on manual routines and experience rather than data. This results in up to 15% avoidable overuse of inputs and unnecessary operational costs. At the same time, poor network coverage and reliance on expensive, vendor-locked tools have slowed down the adoption of precision agriculture among medium-sized farms.
Farmers need a reliable, open, and connectivity-resilient solution that can reduce input costs while increasing environmental sustainability and compliance with EU standards.
The Solution
AgriTwin delivers an intelligent digital twin platform that merges real-time field data with AI-based forecasting:
- Cloud-based ADS – Integrates IoT sensor readings with Copernicus and OpenAgri Weather/Irrigation services to forecast water stress, pest pressure, and nitrogen needs. Farmers can visualize these insights in a 2D/3D interactive map and receive tailored irrigation and fertilization recommendations.
- Edge-based ADS – Runs simplified AI models locally through a Jetson-Nano edge gateway, enabling offline operation when 4G connectivity fails. Once the connection is restored, data synchronize automatically with the cloud for full-scale analytics.
The system uses OpenAgri OS services—including the Weather Data Service, Irrigation Service, and Pest & Disease-Risk Service, to generate accurate forecasts and ensure interoperability through the OpenAgri Gatekeeper. By providing actionable insights and real-time digital visualizations, AgriTwin helps farmers cut water and fertiliser use by at least 15% while maintaining yield and reducing environmental impact.