Page 15 - Digital Agriculture: A Standards Snapshot

Digital Agriculture: A Standards Snapshot

The FG-AI4A created a Standards Roadmap that consolidates existing international standards,
highlighting the technologies and agricultural themes covered within these standards (See
Figure 3).

Figure 3: Summary of standards associated with various technologies and themes in
digital agriculture

Standards addressing the ethical use of AI and IoT technologies, data privacy, and environmental
sustainability are essential to ensure that technological advancements contribute positively
to the agricultural sector. To align with Sustainable Development Goal 2, it's essential to
combine these technologies with traditional agricultural practices, boost climate adaptability
and resilience, and ensure that farmers worldwide have access to them. These efforts are vital
for securing food security, promoting sustainability, and building resilience to climate change.

During the course of developing this Roadmap, it was noted that the majority of existing
standards (42%) focus on farming systems, while other areas, such as disease and pest detection,
are not addressed by current standards. As per this standardization landscape, digital twin and
DLT are not also extensively leveraged for agriculture.

The FG-AI4A Standards Roadmap paves the way forward to identify these gaps in terms of
standardization that need to be filled through the activities of the Focus Group.

Navigating Ethics in Digital Agriculture

As digital technologies can significantly impact agricultural practices by increasing efficiency
and productivity, ethical considerations ensure that these advancements do not compromise
the welfare of farmers, consumers, and others within the food supply and production chain.
By fostering trust and accountability, ethical practices not only enhance the acceptance
and integration of these technologies into agricultural systems but also promote social and
environmental sustainability, ensuring that the advancements contribute positively to food
security and agricultural resilience.

FG-AI4A developed a Report focussing on the ethical, legal, and regulatory considerations
for data privacy, transparency, and fairness in AI systems for agriculture. This Report analyzes
the European Union AI Act, Rome Call for AI Ethics and other EU regulations related to data
protection, intellectual property rights, and liability along with the principles of territorial
application, and risk-based categorization of AI systems in the agricultural sector such that
equitable distribution of benefits is ensured for all stakeholders.

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