CAPSELLA · Project

Data Platform Connecting Local Farmers With Consumers Through Agrobiodiversity Intelligence

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Imagine farmers in your region growing dozens of traditional crop varieties, but nobody tracks what grows where, or how to get it to local consumers. CAPSELLA built open data tools and community platforms that map this agricultural biodiversity and connect small-scale farmers directly with people who want quality local food. Think of it as a shared digital notebook for farming communities — capturing what's growing, what's working, and who wants to buy it. The platform was tested with real farming communities across Europe to cut out the long supply chains that squeeze farmers' incomes.

By the numbers

consortium partners across Europe

countries represented in consortium

SME partners in the consortium

total project deliverables produced

EUR 2,056,750

EU contribution to the project

platform software iterations delivered

The business problem

What needed solving

Small-scale farmers and local food producers are trapped in long supply chains that eat into their incomes, while consumers who want quality regional food have no easy way to find it. At the same time, valuable knowledge about what traditional crop varieties grow well in which regions is scattered and undigitized, making it nearly impossible for food businesses to source diverse local produce efficiently.

The solution

What was built

CAPSELLA built an open data platform with community-driven data collection tools for mapping regional agrobiodiversity, delivered across 3 software iterations. The team deployed working prototypes and ran pilot trials with real farming communities. In total, 36 deliverables were produced including demonstrator deployments, pilot trial results, and platform software with data catalogues and services.

Audience

Who needs this

Farm-to-table food platforms and short supply chain operatorsAgTech startups building crop diversity or farm management toolsRegional food cooperatives and organic producer networksFood traceability and provenance verification companiesMunicipal and regional authorities managing agricultural land use

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Local and Organic Food Distribution

SME

Target: Short supply chain food distributors and farm-to-table platforms

If you are a local food distributor struggling to source verified regional produce — this project developed an open data platform that catalogues agrobiodiversity by region and connects smallholder farmers with buyers. The platform was piloted with real farming communities across 6 European countries. It could help you identify available local varieties and build direct sourcing relationships with producers.

Agricultural Technology

SME

Target: AgTech companies building farm management or crop diversity tools

If you are an AgTech company looking to integrate regional crop diversity data into your software — CAPSELLA built open data repositories on agrobiodiversity from scratch using both bottom-up community data collection and top-down data integration. The platform and data management software went through 3 development iterations with 36 total deliverables. This dataset and platform architecture could accelerate your product development.

Food Quality and Traceability

any

Target: Food quality certification bodies and traceability solution providers

If you are a food traceability provider seeking to verify origin and variety of regional produce — this project created community-driven ICT solutions that track agrobiodiversity data at the local level. Pilot trials engaged small groups of real users in realistic deployment conditions across an 8-partner consortium. The data infrastructure could support provenance verification for short supply chain products.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to adopt or license this platform?

The project was publicly funded with EUR 2,056,750 in EU contribution under an RIA (Research and Innovation Action). The platform and data repositories were built as open data tools, which typically means low or no licensing costs. Specific commercial licensing terms would need to be discussed with the coordinator.

Can this scale beyond pilot communities to regional or national level?

The platform was deployed and tested in pilot trials with small groups of users across 6 countries. The project explicitly included incubation activities for selected pilots, suggesting the team considered scaling paths. However, moving from community-scale pilots to regional deployment would require additional infrastructure and data collection effort.

Who owns the intellectual property and data?

As an EU-funded RIA project with a strong open data focus, the platform was designed around open data repositories built from scratch. IP is typically shared among the 8 consortium partners. Specific licensing and data usage terms should be clarified with the coordinating organization in Greece.

How does this integrate with existing farm management or ERP systems?

The platform used a combination of bottom-up participatory data collection and top-down data integration, suggesting it was designed to work with existing datasets. Three iterations of Platform and Data Management software were delivered, each including a data catalogue and available services. Integration specifics would need technical discussion with the development team.

What happened after the project ended in 2018?

The project closed in June 2018 after 2.5 years. The incubation activities for selected pilots suggest some results may have been carried forward commercially. Based on available project data, current operational status of the platform would need to be verified directly with the consortium.

Is this compliant with EU food safety and data regulations?

The project was designed within the EU research context and addressed food system sustainability. As an EU-funded initiative, it would have followed applicable data management standards. Specific compliance with current food safety regulations (post-2018) would need to be re-evaluated given regulatory changes since the project ended.

Consortium

Who built it

The CAPSELLA consortium brings together 8 partners from 6 countries (Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, UK), with a notable SME presence — 5 out of 8 partners are small or medium enterprises. The consortium includes 2 industry partners and 2 universities alongside a research center and 3 other organizations. The coordinator is a Greek research center (not an SME), which provides institutional stability. The 25% industry ratio is moderate, suggesting a balance between research depth and practical application. For a business looking to adopt these results, the multi-country spread means the solutions were designed for cross-border applicability, though the dominance of research and non-commercial partners means commercialization may require additional business development effort.

ATHINA-EREVNITIKO KENTRO KAINOTOMIAS STIS TECHNOLOGIES TIS PLIROFORIAS, TON EPIKOINONION KAI TIS GNOSISCoordinator · EL
AGRO-KNOWparticipant · BE
RETE SEMI RURALIparticipant · IT
SCUOLA SUPERIORE DI STUDI UNIVERSITARI E DI PERFEZIONAMENTO S ANNAparticipant · IT
ZUIDELIJKE LAND- EN TUINBOUWORGANISATIE VERENIGINGparticipant · NL
ASTON UNIVERSITYparticipant · UK

How to reach the team

The coordinator is a Greek research and innovation center (ATHINA). Use the CORDIS contact form or search for the project coordinator via the project website.

Order a report on this consortium See ATHINA-EREVNITIKO KENTRO KAINOTOMIAS STIS TECHNOLOGIES TIS PLIROFORIAS, TON EPIKOINONION KAI TIS GNOSIS profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to connect with the CAPSELLA team or explore how their agrobiodiversity data platform could work for your food supply chain? SciTransfer can arrange an introduction and help you evaluate the technology fit.

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