Innovative Training Approaches to Codevelop Digital Technologies to Foster Agroecological Practices: Insights from the OccitANum Living Lab

Digital technologies can strongly support agroecology transition of the agri-food system as they help optimise inputs, understand complex diversified systems, redesign agroecosystems, and connect farmers with citizens. But adoption remains low, largely due to poor adaptation to real needs, low digital literacy, and lack of trust. Living labs offer an interesting promise to better allow digital technologies use thanks to their structure based on participatory approaches and codesign of solutions with farmers in real-life conditions. Launched in 2020, OccitANum aims at this dual transition, agroecology via digital transformation. It is structured as an archipelago of 15 local Living labs grouped into 7 Open Labs by production sector (livestock, arable crops, vineyard, fruits, vegetables, beekeeping, local food supply) and supported by a central hub (CORE) providing services as facilitator training, data governance support, methodological tools, links with AgTech providers, evaluation frameworks. However, early results of OccitANum were limited because facilitators lacked skills in participatory design, digital maturity among farmers and advisors was low, farmers’ needs were misunderstood or poorly elicited, time and funding constraints hindered engagement. Therefore, to overcome these barriers, OccitANum pivoted toward capacity building through two main systems: (1) the MobiLab, a mobile fablab for hands-on digital learning travelling workshop enabling farmers to discover sensors, to prototype low-cost tools, and to build equipment themselves (so far over 500 participants, ~10 tools developed, dozens of prototypes built); (2) NUMAEE, a digital education for future farmers based on a “digital briefcase” for agricultural teachers to train students in building and using agricultural IoT tools and therefore increase confidence and practical understanding of digital technologies. Based on this momentum, two illustrative achievements are given: (a) the PiLowTech, a DIY soil moisture sensor co-designed with vegetable growers to improve irrigation and (b) the CentipOC network, a farmer-led initiative to deploy an open-source RTK geolocation network across multiple French departments, enabling affordable precision positioning and agriculture. These examples show how low-cost, accessible technologies can catalyse adoption and stimulate collective innovation dynamics. On a step forward, low-tech digital tools can greatly support On-Farm Experimentation, helping farmers test agroecological practices themselves and generate contextualised knowledge. In return, OFE provides real conditions to improve digital tools through iterative, bottom-up design. Thanks to OccitANum, we demonstrate that successful rural digitalisation is not primarily a technical challenge but an ecosystem challenge requiring sustained capacity building, long-term facilitation, alignment of actors, user-centred co-design practices, and tools adapted to real-world agroecological problems. Low-tech, DIY, and participatory approaches emerged as powerful levers to empower farmers and support both the digital and agroecological transitions.