Romanian Agency Adopts AI for Farmers’ EU Fund Access

A Romanian state agency dedicated to rural investments has adopted the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to assist farmers in applying for European Union funds, marking a pioneering step in one of the EU’s digitally underdeveloped economies.

The Agency for Financing Rural Investments (AFIR) informed Reuters that it adopted robots developed by software automation firm UiPath just over two years ago.

These robots now handle the labour-intensive tasks of accessing state databases to retrieve land registry and judicial records for farmers, entrepreneurs, and governmental entities seeking EU funding.

George Chirita, director of AFIR, emphasized the significant role of AI-based automation in expediting crucial processes for farmers and enhancing their efficiency.

Since the introduction of these robots, the agency has managed funding requests totalling 5.32 billion euros ($5.75 billion) from over 50,000 stakeholders, including farmers, businesses, and local institutions.

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According to AFIR’s written statements to Reuters, the robots have saved approximately 784 days’ worth of document searches for agency staff. Over the past two decades, the agency has allocated 21 billion euros in funds.

Despite Romania’s emergence as a prominent technology hub in Europe, boasting a highly skilled workforce, it still trails behind many other European nations in providing digital public services for its citizens and businesses, and struggles to access billions of euros in EU development funds.

Eurostat data from 2023 revealed that only 28% of Romanians possess basic digital skills, falling below the EU average of 54%.

UiPath, the Romanian company valued at $13.3 billion following its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, informed Reuters that it has also supplied automation services to farming agencies in other countries, including Norway and the United States.

REUTERS