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22 June 2023, at 10:00 a.m., room L 2

Against a backdrop where the Earth’s population will grow from 7.5 to 9.7 billion by 2050, stimulating demand and thereby increasing agricultural output, and putting pressure on natural resources, it is imperative that agricultural investment and technological innovation keep pace with this growth. At the same time, although agriculture remains the main activity in many countries, there is a decrease in the share of agriculture in total production and employment.

Romania, with an agricultural capacity of 14.7 million hectares, out of which 6.8 million hectares are not exploited or are insufficiently used, could play a major role in Europe’s strategic autonomy, food security and sustainability. At the same time, Romania’s agricultural capacity is not sufficiently exploited, due to the use of outdated technologies, soil fragmentation/erosion, desertification and the difficulty of accessing funds.

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based systems and applications have significant potential for agriculture. The European Union’s “Copernicus” programme which provides free access to accurate Earth Observation (EO) data supplied by Sentinel satellites, opens up huge possibilities for research and applications based on artificial intelligence for the sustainable development of agriculture in Europe.

Thus, the researchers from Transilvania University of Brașov, coordinated by Prof. Dr. Eng. Mihai Ivanovici, set out to create a centre dedicated to artificial intelligence for the agricultural sector. The project implementation team will conduct their research alongside teams from two other prestigious universities in Western Europe, namely “Paul Sabatier” University of Toulouse, France and “Tor Vergata” University of Rome, Italy.

The Romanian Centre of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence on Earth Observation Data for Agriculture will thus become a reference for the training of young scientists in the field of AI for agriculture. At the same time, based on Earth observation data using artificial intelligence, the centre will offer farmers, farmers’ associations, but also interested public institutions, various maps regarding agricultural crops (for example, maps regarding the state of vegetation or health of agricultural crops, or maps with agricultural crops – AI-identified maps).

The AI4AGRI project also aims to develop the administrative and management skills for research and innovation of Transilvania University of Brașov. In order to achieve these objectives, several meetings, exchange of experience, expert visits, summer schools and joint workshops, as well as participation in international scientific conferences on topics of common interest, will take place together with the partners in France and Italy.

The inauguration of the Romanian Centre of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence on Earth Observation Data for Agriculture within the Research and Development Institute of Transilvania University of Brașov will take place on 22 June 2023, at 10:00 a.m., in room L2.

More details are available at: https://ai4agri.unitbv.ro/