Digital technology at the heart of ecological transitions
septembre 2024
The France Nation Verte project led by the General Secretariat for Ecological Planning (SGPE) has ambitious plans to put digital technology and data at the service of ecology. ‘Ethical, humanist, civic-minded and sovereign digital technology is essential for the collective implementation of an effective and fair ecological transition.’ Indeed, ecological planning is impossible without reliable and shared data. A consultation was launched between January and May 2024, and a major effort to identify actions and structure data was undertaken to co-develop a roadmap entitled ‘France Nation Verte - Numérique et Données’ (France Green Nation - Digital and Data).
Shared data as a common good: the example of the Adonis map
To produce the Adonis pesticide map, Solagro spent months compiling statistical data from various sources and making it available in map form. The association was thus able to give local authorities and researchers access to reliable information on pesticide use on agricultural land in French municipalities and overseas departments and regions. The map has been viewed more than 500,000 times. More than 250 research organisations have downloaded the data compiled on the map to cross-reference pesticide use on agricultural land with their research topics, such as health and biodiversity. The benefits are clear. For Solagro, as for many other engineering, research and forecasting organisations, this roadmap is essential, with a twofold objective: to structure and harmonise all the data made available by the State and to ensure fair access to information for all those involved in the transition.
Proposals to move the lines
Solagro’s DATA team, which specialises in database creation and analysis, responded to the call for consultation and put forward 35 proposals to complement the initial 250, for a ‘Digital and Data’ roadmap that matches the ambitions, including:
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Data interoperability in France and Europe (on the sale of plant protection products (BNVD), for example).
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Source traceability, by regulating information dissemination practices, with greater transparency on data publishers and greater visibility on metadata.
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The implementation of safeguards, particularly on the management of emerging data (incorporating considerations on artificial intelligence and satellite image analysis).
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Consolidating data through field observation missions with a view to adapting public policies.
Among the needs identified in the agricultural sector, Solagro also proposes to:
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Catalogue all agricultural statistical data, which is currently scattered across different platforms and difficult for NGOs, associations and companies to identify.
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Characterising agricultural practices in detail (effluent management, time spent indoors by animals, fertilisation practices, use of cover crops, etc.) to provide consistent information across the territory, by expanding the sample and easing statistical confidentiality constraints.
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Systematically distinguish between organic and conventional farming practices for all published agricultural statistics (yields, etc.) in order to understand the differences in a clear and objective manner and be able to propose new indicators.
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Map ammonia (NH3) in the air in order to calculate emissions and link them to air quality observatories.
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Refine data formatting to make it usable (e.g. distinguish the origin of waste on the ‘Ma Cantine’ platform to provide an analysis of food waste rates between establishments (schools, hospitals, etc.).
Solagro director Christian Couturier welcomes this initiative: ‘For those working in the field, quick and easy access to data is essential in order to establish diagnoses and action plans that are commensurate with today’s challenges and enable us to grasp their full complexity. On many issues, the information available is sometimes incomplete, contradictory, obsolete, inaccessible or partial. The roadmap is to be welcomed, including in its intention as expressed in its manifesto and governance: to put digital technology at the service of a fair and radical ecology, in its rightful place, combining the role of the state and the involvement of civil society.’