In a context marked by economic pressure, generational change and administrative complexity, the survival of many farms depends on their ability to adapt without losing their essence. The European project GUARDIANS, coordinated from Asturias by the Technological Center CTIC, was born with this objective: to put technology at the service of small and medium farms, making it accessible, useful and aligned with their real needs.
Far from a technocentric or disruptive vision of the field, GUARDIANS bets on digital solutions developed together with farmers and ranchers, aimed at facilitating their daily lives, improving productive efficiency and strengthening environmental and territorial sustainability. The farmer is not a mere end user, but a key player in the process, thus reinforcing his role as guardian of the European territory.
With 21 partners from nine countries and funding close to five million euros, the project is part of the European strategy for the digitization of the primary sector. In this ecosystem, Asturias has become one of the main nodes of activity, concentrating pilots, co-creation and validation activities in real environments.
Asturias, a living laboratory of rural innovation
The leadership of CTIC as coordinator of the consortium is reinforced by a prominent regional presence. Cooperatives such as Campoastur and CLAS act as a direct link with farms, offering them comprehensive support in digitization and sustainability. CAPSA Food plays a key role as a multiplier entity, facilitating the dissemination and adoption of the project results in the sector. SERIDA, for its part, acts as a test bed for the technologies before their actual deployment on farms.
This multi-stakeholder approach is having a direct impact on the territory. More than a hundred participants - including producers, cooperatives and rural agents - have taken part in the co-creation sessions held in Asturias, actively influencing the development of the solutions. The result is a technology that responds to concrete problems and reduces the usual gap between innovation and real application.
The European Commission has recognized this collaborative approach, highlighting the strong coordination of the project and its clear commitment to social innovation applied to the rural environment, which positions GUARDIANS as a reference initiative for future rural development policies.
Technology with CTIC stamp
In addition to coordinating the consortium, CTIC actively participates in the technological development. Two of the nine core solutions of the project are being tested in Asturian farms and bear its signature.
One of them is Chainspector, a comprehensive traceability tool that allows documenting the entire cycle of meat products, from the farm to the final consumer. Tested at the Casa Bartuelo farm, the solution improves food safety and reinforces consumer confidence, bringing transparency to the value chain.
The second is EcoWard, a sensor-based emissions monitoring system being tested at Carbayeda Cattle Farm. This technology makes it possible to measure CO₂ levels in the facilities and adjust ventilation, anticipating health problems and contributing to healthier and more sustainable production.
Both solutions illustrate the focus of the project: advanced technology, easily integrated into the daily work of the livestock farmer.
An Asturian proposal manages to break through among 192 European applications
Last May, the European GUARDIANS project launched its first call for new digital solutions to be incorporated into the program. The response exceeded all expectations: 192 applications from all over Europe, a figure that doubles the usual participation in this type of process and confirms the sector's interest in technologies adapted to small and medium-sized farms.
The proposals were submitted by consortia formed by technology companies and farms, with the aim of designing and validating digital solutions in real conditions. After a demanding external evaluation process, only nine European initiatives were selected to join the project and receive up to 81,000 euros of funding per project, destined to the development and validation of the solutions during a period of fifteen months.
In this highly competitive context, Asturias stood out with nine proposals submitted, placing it above the regional average in this type of calls. Of these, two managed to reach the final phase of the external evaluation, and one was finally among those selected, which highlights the quality of talent and the Asturian innovative ecosystem applied to the primary sector.
LIVET, an Asturian solution for livestock management
Among the selected initiatives is LIVET, an Asturian consortium aimed at improving the daily management of livestock in small and medium-sized farms. The project is driven by the technology company Ewala IT Services and the livestock farm of Aránzazu Freije Mesa, which will work together on the design and validation of a digital tool adapted to the reality of the field.
The solution is conceived as a Decision Support System (DSS) that combines sensors - such as GPS collars and calving control devices - with intelligent algorithms. The information gathered will make it possible to track animals in real time, plan vaccinations, anticipate health problems and manage the farm more efficiently, optimizing resources and reducing unnecessary movements.
The aim of LIVET is to simplify the daily work of livestock farmers, improve animal welfare and increase productivity, bringing technologies such as the Internet of Things and machine learning to farms that have traditionally been left out of digitalization.
From the Asturian consortium, they underline the opportunity that GUARDIANS represents for the Asturian rural environment. "We believe in the importance of bringing innovation where it can really transform day-to-day life. With LIVET we want to bring technologies such as IoT and machine learning closer to the livestock farms that sustain our territory, working alongside them to create a tool that truly responds to their needs and contributes to making their work simpler and more efficient."
The consortium is also confident that the project will allow the model to scale beyond the regional level. "GUARDIANS offers us the possibility to consolidate with LIVET a rural innovation model that can grow from Asturias to Europe, demonstrating that even the smallest farms can benefit from secure and advanced digital solutions. We also hope to strengthen collaboration with the program's research centers and contribute to the professionalization and revitalization of a sector so closely linked to our land as is the agro-livestock sector."
Towards the replication and scaling of the solutions
With the start-up of the selected projects and the signing of the funding agreements, GUARDIANS begins a new phase focused on the development and testing of these solutions in real environments, in direct contact with farmers and ranchers.
The project is now preparing its next stage, aimed at replicating and scaling the set of solutions being developed under GUARDIANS - the nine core technologies and the nine incorporated through this call - through a new call scheduled for April 2026, with the objective of extending the benefits of digital innovation to the whole of the European countryside.