An R&D project will develop 4.0 technological solutions for predicting vineyard yield

BigPrediData: developing 4.0 technological solutions for long-term vineyard yield prediction

• BigPrediData, a public-private collaborative project focused on the long-term prediction of vineyard yield and health in the context of climate change, gets underway.
• Viñedos del Río Tajo, Bodega Matarromera, Bodegas Martín Códax, Dcoop, AFEPASA and RawData are the six business partners forming the BigPrediData consortium, together with six research groups.
• The initiative has a budget of nearly €5 million, co-funded by the EU and CDTI Innovación through ERDF funds.

The development work on BigPrediData has now begun. This strategic project, part of the National Business Research Consortium Programme (CIEN), aims to develop 4.0 technological solutions for long-term vineyard yield prediction and the prevention of damage caused by disease, drought and frost resulting from the effects of climate change.

Through a multidisciplinary approach, the project aims to generate knowledge that can benefit the wine industry by enabling the prediction of vineyard behaviour under different climatic conditions that affect crop yields, the emergence of pests and diseases, water availability and the occurrence of frost. This will make it possible to offer producers alternatives that ensure the sustainability and efficiency of their crops and, consequently, their long-term competitiveness in a context shaped by climate change and economic uncertainty.

Participants

The public-private consortium developing BigPrediData comprises six business partners: Viñedos del Río Tajo —the project leader and coordinator, belonging to González Byass—, Bodega Matarromera, Bodegas Martín Códax, Dcoop, RawData and AFEPASA.

The consortium also includes six research groups: the Centre for Studies and Research for the Management of Agricultural and Environmental Risks (CEIGRAM) at the Technical University of Madrid, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), AINIA Technological Centre, the Chemical Institute of Sarrià at Ramon Llull University, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) and the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV).

The project also has the institutional support of four business associations closely linked to the Spanish wine sector: the Spanish Wine Technology Platform (PTV), the Food for Life Platform (PT4FL), the Spanish Wine Federation (FEV) and the Spanish Wine Interprofessional Organisation (OIVE).

Project challenges and development

The Spanish wine-growing sector currently faces major challenges related to significant production imbalances across the country as a result of droughts and high temperatures recorded during spring and summer. These conditions lead to substantial reductions in yields which, combined with rising transport, energy and glass costs, among others, increase production costs and reduce producers’ margins.

This situation highlights the need to address climate change, protect the environment and promote the development of integrated digital solutions that can improve the industrial and technological competitiveness of the national wine sector. The sector also plays a key role in supporting regional development and creating quality employment.

In this context, BigPrediData has been launched with the main objective of generating knowledge and innovative solutions to predict vineyard behaviour under different climatic conditions, ensuring long-term competitiveness and sustainable and efficient agricultural production. To achieve this goal, the project addresses the following digitalisation and sustainability challenges:

• How to predict vineyard behaviour using disruptive intelligent technologies based on the integration of agronomic, meteorological and climate models, complemented by historical climate data.
• How to address the importance of water availability in vineyards in the face of drought risk, with the aim of achieving more sustainable, intelligent and efficient viticulture.
• How to analyse possible alternatives for addressing the impact of frost on vineyards and mitigate its effects through sustainable, intelligent and efficient methodologies.
• How to prevent pest-related damage in vineyards while ensuring the sustainability of growing systems and the efficient use of resources.
• How to provide the sector with climate change projections that facilitate the development of contingency plans for adverse climate events, applying R&D&I while ensuring the traceability and food safety of agricultural production.

From a technical perspective, the BigPrediData work plan will be structured around two main technical activities. The first, industrial research, is called INVESPRED and will focus on developing an innovative method for evaluating grape harvest yields, as well as drought prevention and risk assessment, which can be transferred to accurate prediction models.

The second activity, experimental development, is called VALIDPRED. It will focus on validating the results obtained through the development of a crop yield assessment platform capable of providing accurate predictions and applying them to technological operating systems.

Funding

The initiative has a budget of €4,951,974, co-funded by the European Union and the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI Innovación) through ERDF funds, under the 2021–2027 Smart Growth Multi-regional Operational Programme and within the framework of the National Business Research Consortium Programme (CIEN).

About the BIGPREDIDATA project

BigPrediData is a public-private collaborative R&D project aimed at developing 4.0 technological solutions for long-term vineyard yield prediction and the prevention of damage caused by disease, drought and frost resulting from the effects of climate change.

The consortium behind this initiative comprises six business partners —Viñedos del Río Tajo, the project leader, Bodega Matarromera, Bodegas Martín Códax, Dcoop, RawData and AFEPASA— and six research groups.

BigPrediData has a budget of €4,951,974, co-funded by the European Union and the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI Innovación) through ERDF funds, under the 2021–2027 Smart Growth Multi-regional Operational Programme, within the framework of the National Business Research Consortium Programme (CIEN).