Farmer-in-the-loop heritage-aware AI and Robotic Mechanisation for Agricultural Resilience

FARMAR helps farms cope with climate shocks, labour shortages and rising costs by turning everyday know-how and the local heritage of how fields are walked, weeds are managed and crops are cared for into practical and safe automation. Our goal is to capture how work is done on different farms, teach small robots to repeat those skills gently around crops and show that the approach is affordable, lawful, socially acceptable and useful in day-to-day work. We also build people’s skills through international staff exchanges so the benefits last beyond the project.FARMAR works with farmers and not just for them. On each site, farmers show and explain their routines. Short demonstrations, observations and spoken narrative notes are turned into clear step-by-step instructions that robots can follow. A simple app lets farmers review and adjust suggestions in plain language, with clear explanations. A small field computer coordinates teams of lightweight ground vehicles and drones that scout fields, flag issues and carry out gentle tasks under strict safety limits and human oversight. Trials compare FARMAR-assisted work with current practice to track measures that fully evaluate the outcomes of the project.Results feed into open guides, training materials and starter legal packs that explain ownership, consent and fair ways to share value from farm-trained models. Business cases by crop and farm size show costs, savings and payback options including shared services for smallholders. FARMAR fits the MSCA Staff Exchanges work programme by linking universities, SMEs and farmer networks across countries and disciplines. Staff co-develop shared tools, learn in real field settings and take that experience back to their home teams. The outcome supports EU goals on sustainable food, trusted digital tech and rural resilience, including safer tasks, reduced inputs, preserved heritage knowledge and a practical path from promising prototypes to everyday use on farms.