How does SAGE help to protect pollinators and promote sustainable agriculture and beekeeping?
By Maciej Zacharczuk (PCSS) – Use Case: Pollinator Monitoring Data Space (PMDS)
The SAGE project addresses the protection of pollinators and the enhancement of agricultural and beekeeping practices primarily through the Pollinator Monitoring Dataspace (PMDS). This initiative utilizes advanced data integration to stimulate a transition towards sustainable, pollinator-friendly agriculture.
How Data Protects Pollinators
The project shifts from traditional, invasive and resource-intensive monitoring methods, such as physical traps and visual estimates, to a digital toolset.By combining images, sounds and environmental data, the system can help detect the presence of pollinators and track how they interact with plants.This makes it possible to better understand which crops and conditions are most beneficial for them.
The data allows for an objective assessment of how different agricultural practices affect pollinator diversity over time, helping to validate assumptions about nectar production and habitat quality.
Enhancing the Work of Farmers
The PMDS provides practical tools that integrate directly into modern farming workflows:
- Informed Decision-Making:Farmers gain access to real-time data to monitor the presence of pollinators and understand their impact on specific crop yields.
- Automated Recommendations: The toolset can be integrated with farm management systems to provide automated, pollinator-friendly recommendations for field and crop management, especially for using chemical plant protection products.
- eDwin Platform Integration: In Poland, these models and data will be integrated into the eDwin platform.This public service assists farmers with pest reporting, plant protection management, and field management, with plans to reach thousands of farmers by 2028.
Benefits for Beekeepers and the Agricultural Industry
The gathered data serves as a decision support system that benefits the broader agricultural ecosystem:
- Biodiversity Compliance: The toolset helps agricultural businesses and beekeepers gather the necessary data on biodiversity impacts to meet strict EU reporting obligations.
- Improved Management: By identifying exactly which crop varieties support specific pollinator populations, the project allows for better-targeted conservation efforts and more efficient management of natural resources.
- Scaling and Synergies:The project fosters collaborations between research institutions, technology providers and policy makers to ensure that the findings lead to actionable insights and new sustainable market opportunities.
SAGE (the Data Space for a Sustainable Green Europe) is a Digital Europe co-funded project that will develop a federated, secure, and interoperable data space to support key pillars of the European Green Deal — biodiversity, climate adaptation, circular economy, and zero pollution.