Cost, trust and a generational gap remain the biggest obstacles to digitalising Italian agriculture, according to speakers at Synergy Days Italia, the first Italian edition of this European event, held on 3-4 September 2026 at the Department of Agriculture of the University of Naples Federico II. Trust-IT took part both as a member of the organising committee and on stage.
The two-day event brought together companies, researchers and public bodies working on the digitalisation of agri-food, with plenary sessions, pitches and workshops built around one central question: the technology largely exists, so why is adoption still so slow? Trust-IT joined the organising committee alongside agrifoodTEF, Schuttelaar & Partners, the University of Naples Federico II and Coldiretti.
Data, AI and competitiveness
Access to infrastructure, not just technology, is what determines whether agri-food companies can actually put data and AI to work: that was the thread running through the plenary session Trust-IT led on the first morning. Moderated by Rita Giuffrida, "Digital innovation for agriculture: data, artificial intelligence and services powering sector competitiveness" brought together Sergio Cinnirella (CNR), Raffaele Giaffreda (agrifoodTEF), Fabio Antonelli (Fondazione Bruno Kessler) and Andrea Cruciani (Agricolus).
Sergio Cinnirella opened the session pointed to the AgData (Partnership Agriculture of Data) and how much work is already underway, calling events like Synergy Days a rare chance to connect it across teams. Raffaele Giaffreda followed by presenting agrifoodTEF, the testing and experimentation facility that helps agri-food companies validate new technologies in real conditions before scaling them up - several exhibitors at the Synergy Market had, in fact, worked with agrifoodTEF to bring their own solutions to that stage. Fabio Antonelli then described how infrastructures such as the IT4LIA AI Factory give companies access to powerful computing resources, including the Leonardo and LISA supercomputers, for uses like predictive irrigation and crop monitoring - support that matters most for smaller businesses that couldn't afford it alone. Andrea Cruciani explained how Agricolus collects data through sensors, machinery and direct farmer input, stressing that these tools support decisions rather than replace them.
The discussion kept returning to the same point: most Italian farms are small businesses, so cost is a real barrier to adoption, and trust in how AI systems work matters as much as whether they work at all.
Across the programme
Similar themes ran through the rest of the two days. The opening session, with the European Commission and FederUnacoma, looked at Europe's approach to agricultural data. Later sessions covered the gap between agronomic research and field practice, financing for the green and digital transition, with speakers from MIMIT, FAO and the EU Commission, and why agritech SMEs still struggle to reach farmers. MEP Dario Nardella also joined online to discuss investment priorities for the next Common Agricultural Policy.
Six start-ups pitched their ideas, from satellite-based water management (Ariespace) to blockchain traceability (pOsti) and precision spraying (Spray Logics). Afternoon workshops let companies meet directly with the IT4LIA AI Factory and learn about Horizon Europe funding through the ReSTART Sustainability Week initiative. The event closed with a visit to ARCA, the Agritech Research Center Arena opened in April 2026, and to the university's newly upgraded agricultural labs - both funded under Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).
What emerged
Taken together, the two days pointed to a few clear priorities for closing the gap between what agritech can do and what farms actually use:
- Make infrastructure genuinely accessible: Facilities like agrifoodTEF and the IT4LIA AI Factory only help if companies know they exist and can reach them without a steep learning curve.
- Keep people in the loop: AI tools work best as decision support, not decision-makers - and adoption depends on people trusting how a system reaches its conclusions.
- Tackle cost directly: With most Italian farms small in scale, funding schemes and shared infrastructure matter more than technology alone.
- Invest in training, not just tools: Closing the generational gap means helping people understand why a new technology matters, not just how to use it.
- Push for data interoperability: Data locked in separate systems is far less useful than data that can move between them, a recurring frustration across sessions.
For Trust-IT, Synergy Days Italia was a chance to bring its experience connecting European research and innovation projects to a sector where the technology is often already there, and where the real work now lies in making it affordable, usable and trusted.
Want to explore these opportunities with us? Get in touch with Trust-IT to find out how we support European research and innovation projects in communication, dissemination and stakeholder engagement.
