Challenge of implementing Horticulture 4.0 innovations in the value chain

Robotics, sensor-based solutions and artificial intelligence in interaction with data management and decision support systems offer the opportunity to meet the current challenges in horticulture. To accelerate the integration of these technologies into the horticulture sector, the German Ministry of Agriculture established a program to promote Horticulture 4.0 innovation in 2019 (funding of 12 research and development (R&D) projects). Additionally, the networking and transfer project HortiCo 4.0 was funded against this background to ensure international competitiveness and increase sustainability of German horticulture. Based on HortiCo 4.0 activities horticulture 4.0 innovations are clustered according to their function: they can simplify or replace operations in the production systems, optimize production processes, help coordinating between value chain actors or facilitate information transfer. Based on the 4.0 technologies in the R&D projects, a use case “digital insect traps” was developed. Subsequently the stakeholders affected by changes induced by adopting this technology were identified by means of a literature analysis and expert interviews with representatives of the R&D projects. The use case “digital insect traps” emerged from this database and is structured around the steps “Automated identification of insect pests and their antagonists”, “Automated counting of insects” and “Digital pest control decision support systems”. Similarly the impact of this “digital insect traps” on horticultural farms and along the value chain were assessed and described. The key actors involved in this digitization process are the horticultural farms, which are intended to implement new technologies. However, upstream industries are affected as well. Results show that advantages of the use case “digital insect traps” can be found in horticultural farms (e.g. optimized use of resources, lower production costs) and in the society as a whole (e.g. lower environmental impact). For horticultural farms, the costs of integrating a new technology into existing production processes is an important factor. The study also identified limitations for the implementation of the use case in practice, including the need for legal frameworks (e.g. autonomous platforms) and standardization (e.g. data formats).