About us
Image of Farmer using his smart device to analyse the crop. MAGDA will exploit the untapped potential of assimilating datasets, into very high-resolution weather forecasts.

Climate Change is expected to produce an increase of severe weather events in Europe, including torrential rain, heat and cold waves as well as weather conditions that favour agricultural pests and diseases. MAGDA will improve site-specific weather forecasts as well as irrigation advisories which will proactively contribute to protecting crops from severe weather impacts, decreasing both food production losses due to adverse weather, but also water consumption due to mismanaged irrigation. MAGDA is contributing to the Sustainable Development Goal 12 (“Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns”) and 13 (“Climate Action”), as well as to the EU´s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). 

These targets will be achieved by setting up a database of variables of interest, and an assimilation system to feed a numerical weather prediction model, which in turn drives a hydrological model for irrigation performance and water accounting to assess water use and related productivity. In addition to already existing observational networks, new dedicated networks of sensors, including GNSS and drones, to monitor atmospheric variables at high spatial resolution will be deployed in the vicinity of large farms and cultivated areas, to provide data with high spatial and temporal resolutions for the assimilation into the weather model. The delivery of the augmented forecasts and irrigation advisories to farmers will be enabled by a dedicated dashboard and APIs to already existing Farm Management Systems.

The MAGDA project aims at developing a toolchain for atmosphere monitoring, weather forecasting, and severe weather/irrigation/crop monitoring advisory, with GNSS (including Galileo) at its core, to provide useful information to agricultural operators. Specifically, MAGDA will deal with the assimilation of different satellite-borne, drone-borne, ground-based weather radar, and in-situ weather observations into very high-resolution numerical weather prediction models, and with the delivery of meteorological products for severe weather warnings and advisories to farmers by either a dedicated dashboard or by interfacing with a Farm Management System. The tools developed within MAGDA will represent the technical and methodological components based on which services to support agricultural operations will be defined.

Duration: 11/2022 to 04/2025

Programme: Horizon Europe

Call: HORIZON-EUSPA-2021-SPACE

Topic: HORIZON-EUSPA-2021-SPACE-02-51

Type of action: IA – Innovation Action

Reference: 101082189
Impact 01

Improved site-specific weather forecasts and irrigation advisories will contribute to limiting both food production losses due to adverse weather and water consumption due to mismanaged irrigation

Impact 02

Widened adoption of cost-effective GNSS technology, as well as of meteodrones, in the context of agriculture and farming sites to mitigate increasingly severe weather conditions

Impact 03

Improved management of water for irrigation, based on the observed current conditions of the soil as well as on forecasted hydrological processes

Impact 04

Enhanced commercial exploitation and funding capabilities of the organizations providing space-tech by raising awareness and interest among the relevant stakeholders

Impact 05

Increased scientific understanding of measuring and modelling techniques in the context of high-resolution and short-time weather prediction as well as hydrological models and irrigation advisories

This project is designed as an innovation action. To reach all described aims and objectives of the MAGDA project, with a total duration of 30 months, an integrated project plan and overall work plan strategy consisting of 7 different structured work packages and strategically positioned milestones will be followed.

WP1 – PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The main objective of WP1 is the coordination and management of the consortium partners. 

WP2 – IMPACT MANAGEMENT

The main objective of WP2 is to maximize the impact of MAGDA by using a user-based design methodology and effective dissemination, communication, and networking strategies.

WP3 – SYSTEM DESIGN

The main objective of WP3 is to specify, document, and maintain the complete set of requirements from the perspective of the involved stakeholders. 

WP4 – FARM MANAGEMENT SYSTEM INTEGRATION, INTEROPERABILITY AND ACTIVE DASHBOARD

The main objective of WP4 is to design and develop several efficient and interoperable ways to make MAGDA data and advices reach the end user (farmer, advisor) using demonstrators.

WP5 – WEATHER FORECAST & EXTREME EVENT WARNING

The main objective of WP5 is to demonstrate and validate a very-short range/nowcasting system for the prediction of severe weather in support of precision agriculture activities. 

WP6 – HYDROLOGICAL MODELLING & IRRIGATION ADVISORY

The main objective of WP6 is to develop reliable irrigation advice based on hydrological water balance models.

WP7 – OBSERVATION SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

The main objective of WP7 is to design and develop a reliable system that collects the needed data from various sources, processes them by suitable procedures and provides the results to the data assimilation system.