Agriculture and Space Day, to be held in Brussels on September 5, will showcase how Europe’s space programme is revolutionising agricultural production, making it more efficient and reducing the environmental impact of the sector.
The Agriculture and Space Day event, which will take place in the garden of the Belgian Natural Science Museum from 12:00 to 14:30 on Wednesday September 5, will include live demonstrations of farming technology that uses the European satellite systems to increase productivity, preserve biodiversity and minimise the use of herbicides and pesticides.
Participants in the event will have the opportunity to take a seat in the latest farming equipment and see for themselves how the precision farming sector is benefitting from space technology. They will also learn how European GNSS signals are being combined with Earth Observation data from Copernicus to provide farmers with the information they need to make their operations more efficient.
Many benefits
“As an early adopter of EGNOS, agriculture was one of the first sectors to benefit from the European space programme. Now, thanks to precision farming powered by Galileo and EGNOS, European farmers are maximising yields, increasing productivity, and lowering their environmental impact through optimised use of fertilisers and herbicides,” GSA Executive Director Carlo des Dorides said, adding that Agriculture and Space Day would showcase state-of-the art technology that will ensure that farmers continue to reap the benefits of space.
Pekka Pesonen, Secretary General of Copa and Cogeca, the united voice of EU’s farmers and agri-cooperatives added: “Enhanced use of satellites and new technologies will fuel the advancement of precision farming in the EU, bringing many benefits for the farmers and rural economies, agri-cooperatives, the environment and ultimately for the consumer. Further development of precision farming will also help modernise the sector and cut the administrative burden. We are therefore very happy to further develop our collaboration with the GSA to make the EU’s agriculture sector more resilient and dynamic.”
Amazing accuracy
The event will showcase how the EU space programmes, particularly EGNOS and Galileo, are being used to track livestock with amazing accuracy, to precisely steer machinery autonomously in the field, and to help farmers reduce their use of agrochemicals. The space programmes also contribute to sustainable supply chain management by helping track the exact origin of food from farm to fork, and much more.
With its hands-on demonstrations and presentations, Agriculture and Space Day will provide a comprehensive overview of how the synergies between Europe’s space programmes are being leveraged to the benefit not only of farmers, but also of the wider community, by helping to protect our countryside.
Registration for the event is now open.