One of the central lessons from the GAIA pilot is that digital farming tools need to be practical, explainable and aligned with the farmer’s real decision workflow.
During the deployment of GAIA at the GGS almond plantation, farmer feedback confirmed that the system is most useful when it supports a specific operational decision. In this pilot, the priority was irrigation-oriented decision support, because irrigation is a relevant controllable factor in almond farming and is closely linked to water use, energy use, operational cost and crop condition.
The farmer also confirmed the importance of clear and concise interfaces. A digital system should not require the user to interpret complex technical layers before taking action. For this reason, GAIA presents field indicators, environmental data, satellite-derived information and AI recommendations through dashboard views, field views and concise recommendation cards.
Another important point is trust. The farmer needs to understand why a recommendation is made before using it. GAIA therefore keeps the farmer in control and presents AI outputs as decision-support guidance, not as autonomous control. Recommendations are supported by visible context, including field data, weather information and spatial interpretation.
This feedback will guide the final refinement of GAIA and will be used in the project’s dissemination and replication material. The result is a more credible agricultural digital solution: technically advanced, but still grounded in farm practice.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under project Farmtopia (grant agreement No 101083541).
Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Farmtopia consortium.