GreenFit Focus Group: Barriers and Incentives in Adopting Green and Digital Technologies for Agriculture

While we represent the Maltese agricultural landscape and farmers in the GreenFit project, we are constantly reminded of how diverse farming truly is - even within our islands. From climate responses to field conditions and the way technology is used - or not used - every farmer carries a unique set of knowledge and a special way of cultivating the land.

Our recent GreenFit Focus Group made this very clear. Farmers and stakeholders gathered to reflect openly on climate, digital innovation, and the everyday realities of farming in the Maltese islands. What stood out most was that there is no single story. One farmer may experience a weather event one way, while another feels its effects very differently. One believes climate change is clearly impacting production, another feels management plays a bigger role. These differences are real - and they matter.

When we spoke about green and digital technologies, the atmosphere was pleasantly open and the idea is far from being rejected. In fact, many participants welcomed technologies that could improve efficiency, protect crops, or help manage water better. But the hesitation is understandable; costs are high, farms are small, margins can be tight, and when technology feels complicated or difficult to maintain, the risk simply becomes too big. If innovation is to work here, it needs to make life easier and fit into existing systems, not replace it, and it will take less theory and more tangible examples to convince.

The challenge now lies with GreenFit developers and our collective partners’ skilled researchers from across the EU. How can this Horizon Europe respond to Maltese farmers’ needs, farmers who are not only limited by finances and farm size, but who also have strong views on how farming should be done in an already competitive environment?

But perhaps that is exactly the opportunity: a diversity of cases worth celebrating, by which we are offered the chance to give greater visibility to farmers who are often overlooked in wider debates, and to deliver meaningful outcomes for small-scale producers sustaining local short supply chains.

This focus group was only the first step of a long journey to understand and capture field-based perspectives, realities, and the people behind them. A big thanks to all participants for sharing your experiences so openly. Meeting, reflecting, and discussing together is where real solutions begin. We look forward to continuing the conversation!