NEW TECH FOODS

Cropin has been awarded a €700,000 contract under EIT Food’s Impact Funding Framework to roll out an AI-powered initiative aimed at promoting regenerative potato farming across Europe.

The project – called FIRST Potato (Field Intelligence for Regenerative Agriculture and Sustainability in Potato Farming) – will bring together food processors, research institutions and sustainability organisations to accelerate the shift from conventional to regenerative agricultural practices.

Cropin’s decision support system (DSS) uses crop-specific intelligence, real-time field data from sensors, satellite imagery, weather stations and IoT devices, alongside predictive analytics, to provide plot-level daily advisories tailored to each farm’s soil and microclimate. The system is designed to optimise irrigation, input use and residue management, helping farmers improve soil health, reduce environmental impact and maintain yields.

The initiative will be piloted on farms in Denmark and in partnership with two potato processors in Germany and the UK. Aarhus University will conduct scientific validation of the platform’s performance.

Krishna Kumar, CEO and founder of Cropin, said: “As regenerative agriculture gains momentum, the absence of verifiable, measurable outcomes poses a real challenge to meaningful, scalable impact. Without robust digital systems, farmers struggle to consistently uphold regenerative principles. Through AI, data intelligence, and real-time decision-support, we are bridging this critical gap, bringing precision, accountability, and scale to regenerative agriculture. With FIRST Potato, our goal is to help farmers adopt climate-smart practices that are both profitable and scientifically validated.”

Potato processors typically seek high solid content to improve the quality of chips and fries, but regenerative practices can initially reduce yields. Cropin says its technology can address this by optimising inputs and improving both yield and quality, while restoring soil health.

The company is in advanced talks with several agri-food brands in the UK and Europe and expects to launch further regenerative agriculture pilots before the end of the financial year.