Towards a common data space for agriculture in the European Union. A perspective of sustainable development

In February 2020, the European Commission announced a new data strategy, presenting an innovative proposal to create a single European data space consisting of a number of sectoral common data spaces, including in the agriculture sector. The common agricultural data space is expected to support the development of a smart, innovative and sustainable food system from farm to fork. Based on an analysis of the framework conditions for collecting and sharing agricultural data in the EU and the Commission’s initiatives in this field, the article aims to discuss how and to what extent the common agricultural data space will support environmental, economic and social sustainability in the EU. It concludes that achieving the SDGs through the planned common data space remains a challenge, especially in the context of the rapid but uneven pace of digital transformation in the EU agri-food sector. Overcoming legal, technical and other barriers to data sharing in the EU will not address the fundamental problem of the limited representativeness of the current agricultural data resources in the EU. Therefore, the design of a common data space in agriculture, as well as the rules for access to and use of this data, should be carefully considered. Specific and data-related interventions would also be needed, for example in the framework of the CAP, both to reduce the fragmentation of agricultural data resources in the EU and to respond to the growing needs for collecting and sharing private agricultural data, which are key to achieving wider societal and sustainable development goals.