The Smartz4milk project, for which an investment of 25 million euros is planned and which brings together 19 companies from the industry, technology and knowledge centers, aims to promote research and subsequent implementation of improvements in the production processes of the sector in Galicia. It is a teamwork, a multidisciplinary collaboration that involves areas such as research and digitization or technological development for the optimization of the quality and quantity of dairy production.

Smartz4milk is characterized by public-private collaboration between organizations from different communities in Spain (Asturias, Cantabria, Catalonia, Valencia and Andalusia, as well as Galicia) and from different areas of activity: dairy industry companies such as Leche Río, Clun, Leche Celta, Naturleite, Quesería Prestes, Queizuar, Bico de Xeado, Capsa Food or Cooperativa Ganadera del Valle de los Pedroches; and companies and technology and knowledge centers such as the Instituto Tecnológico de Galicia (ITG), the University of Vigo and the Aula de Produtos Lácteos e Tecnoloxías Alimentarias of the USC, the Centro Tecnológico, Embalaje, Transporte y Logística de Valencia (Itene), Amslab, Plexus Tech, ASM Soft, Sixtema, Inédit and Kersia.

The project was created with the aim of promoting the competitiveness of a strategic industry for the Spanish economy, key for a region such as Galicia, which is the national leader in milk production and one of the top ten in Europe, as well as having the largest number of dairy business groups in the country. Smartz4milk seeks to boost the modernization and digitalization of the sector, provide it with competitive tools to effectively address climate change adaptation and mitigation by meeting the objectives for 2030 and 2050, automate processes as far as possible and manage plants efficiently through predictive models.

The intention is to develop a new comprehensive traceability tool that enables the integration of sustainability and digitization through robust process analysis, in addition to other data linked to quality, food safety and environmental indicators, to automate decision making. It is also to provide companies in the industry with shared value mechanisms thanks to the development of a data platform in which to know the availability of raw materials for the prediction of production scenarios.

The Perte Agroalimentario encompasses a set of grants aimed at strengthening the development of the agri-food chain and providing it with the necessary tools to meet the environmental, digital, social and economic challenges of the next decade. This is a unique opportunity for Smartz4milk to obtain funding for this project that aims to modernize and digitize the dairy sector.