2023/11/11 by Masselin-Silvin, Sylvie, Wissocq, Adelaïde, Samie, Jean-François +5
#Data exchange #Decision support system #Environment #Environnement #Normalisation #Outil d’aide à la décision #Reference #Référentiel #Standardization #Échange de données
paper · doi:10.17180/8apk-nv53
The GI-E-EA two years project on environmental information has been conducted by a group of French organisations including R&D institutes, a standardisation body and the association of French agricultural software programmes editors. We define environmental information as information about environmental factors impacting the agricultural production at farm level (e.g. weather data) and information describing the impact of agricultural activities on the environment (nitrogen leaching, chemical residues, manure, etc.). First, we developed an inventory of environmental information as above defined, by analysis of relevant regulatory documentation. Second, we established lists of variates necessary to run many DSS and evaluation tools. We observed that these DSS and evaluation tools are not very much used. A reason for this situation seems to be the quantity of data to input. In this context, we investigated the potential of EDI links between farm management information systems (FMIS) used by farmers themselves and the above DSS and evaluation tools. Test beds were performed: the information exchanges between FMIS and DSS proved to be quite efficient to make easier the use of DSS. We analysed the limits of this approach: (1) it implies a strong co-operation between DSS producers and FMIS producers, (2) DSS producers have to use information already input by farmers in their FMIS, and (3) information exchange messages must be defined and normalised. As examples, we used e-Daplos message and Agronomical Observations Report Message, two UN/CEFACT XML messages developed by Agro EDI Europe. Our conclusion is that, providing a strong co-operation between DSS and FIS producers, information exchanges dealing with environmental data could be very useful for farm management, and could increase very quickly. Exchanges of environmental information should thus become far more important than transmission of traceability information to co-operatives and industrial clients.