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DigiTool4Agri

Digitization of Internal Processes for SMEs in the Food Industry in Portugal

Challenge

The agro-industrial sector, throughout its entire value chain, requires compliance with a specific set of standards and requirements regarding food legislation and good practices. Although these are essential for ensuring product quality, the sector’s sustainability, and its continuous innovation, they can be particularly demanding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In fact, limited human resources, the complexity of standards, a lack of knowledge, and even a lack of the tools and resources needed to automate and manage the processes for implementing these standards limit these companies’ ability to pursue strategies based on certified management systems.

Solution / Main Objective

The Digitool4Agri project is specifically designed to address this challenge by digitizing production processes and, in particular, the processes required to implement standards for the certification of companies in four key areas: quality, food safety, innovation, and environmental sustainability

Objectives, Activities and Expected/Achieved Results

The project is based on four key pillars: 1. Identifying the needs and challenges of agro-industrial SMEs regarding the digitization of processes and the implementation of standards; 2. Raising awareness among companies about the importance of process digitization, as well as the relevance of standards related to quality, food safety, innovation, and sustainability for the sector’s growth and competitiveness—through seminars, workshops, webinars, and training sessions; 3. Development of a platform with integrated features to support SMEs in the digitization process associated with the implementation and monitoring of regulatory standards for quality, food safety, and the environment. This platform will feature functionalities including document centralization, process automation, performance monitoring, as well as a virtual assistant that will support users through every step of standard implementation; 4. Organization of training sessions on the use of the platform at hubs for agri-food sector companies across the country, where participating SMEs will be able to receive feedback and technical support, while also providing input for incorporating improvements into the platform.

Project Reference

COMPETE2030-FEDER-03124600

Funding

Intervention Region

Portugal

IPN Investment

219.740,43

Total Eligible

693.204,80

EC Funding – Total

589.224,08

EC Funding – IPN

186.779,37

Duration

24 Months

Start Date

01/01/2026

End Date

31/12/2027

Approval Date

2025-10-07

Consortium

CATAA – Associação Centro de Apoio Tecnológico Agro-Alimentar
INOVCLUSTER – Associação do Cluster Agro-Industrial do Centro
Instituto Pedro Nunes (IPN)
NERE – Núcleo Empresarial da Região de Évora
NERVIR – Associação Empresarial

Keywords

Agrifood;
Digitalization and certification;
Artificial Intelligence.