Smart Sustainable Farming Research Program
The Smart Sustainable Farming Research Program aims to contribute to sustainable, innovative and competitive agricultural production and increase transparency from agricultural production to consumers.
The program enables interdisciplinary projects at the interface of agriculture, sustainable production systems, robotics and artificial intelligence. With the establishment of the Smart Sustainable Farming Research Cluster, industry partners are welcome to participate in the research initiative.
Funded Projects
The predictive power of smartphone imaging to increase sustainability of crop production
Project Webpage
Download Project Factsheet (English) (PDF, 635 KB)
Download Project Factsheet (German) (PDF, 634 KB)
Genetic and robotic technologies for pest detection in vineyards
Project Webpage
Project Factsheet (English)
Download Project Factsheet (German) (PDF, 469 KB)
ChemiResistive sensors for effective agricultural nitrogen management and N2O mitigation
Project Webpage
Download Project Factsheet (English) (PDF, 780 KB)
Download Project Factsheet (German) (PDF, 701 KB)
Artificial intelligence for sustainable soil microbiomes
Project Webpage
Download Project Factsheet (English) (PDF, 244 KB)
Download Project Factsheet (German) (PDF, 245 KB)
Spatio-temporal patterns of environmental impacts in Swiss agriculture
Project Webpage
Download Project Factsheet (English) (PDF, 509 KB)
Download Project Factsheet (German) (PDF, 510 KB)
News
May 2025: An innovative research project is underway, focusing on tackling N2O emissions with low-power, low-cost sensors. News item
April 2025: First results show potential of drone-based eDNA analysis approach for early detection of invasive species in viticulture. News item
January 2024: New ways to measure nitrous oxide emissions from soils as well as detect invasive pests in vineyards are the foci of two new interdisciplinary projects starting in 2024. News item
July 2022: Smartphone imaging to increase sustainability of crop production: A newly funded interdisciplinary project will focus on using smartphone images of fields to create visualizations of past and future crop development. News item
October 2021: World Food System Center of ETH Zurich and fenaco launch research collaboration in the field of smart sustainable farming. News item
fenaco supports this Research Program of the World Food System Center with a total donation of 1.2 million Swiss francs to the ETH Foundation.
Recent calls for the program closed in October 2024. Download Call for Proposals 2024 Information (PDF, 172 KB)
Direct funding is restricted to ETH Zurich World Food System Center members.
World Food System Center Research Programs
The Center's Research Programs support new cross-disciplinary and solution oriented research to address food system challenges. The Center administers these competitive programs in coordination with the Research Commission of the ETH Zurich.