Major investment across South West Wales will help narrow the digital divide between urban and rural areas in a boost for agriculture and remote communities.
Forming part of the Swansea Bay City Deal’s £25m digital infrastructure programme, a dedicated rural workstream is committed to delivering high-quality connectivity to places where the cost of connecting homes and businesses would otherwise be too high for commercial investment alone to be viable.
Investing in high-speed broadband in rural communities across Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and Swansea would help enable the introduction of Internet of Things (IoT) technology to benefit businesses including farms.
This technology would help farmers monitor crops, livestock, machinery and environmental conditions remotely and in real time, potentially leading to improved decision-making, resource efficiency and cost savings.
Supporting initiatives such as UK Government’s Project Gigabit is also a key aspect of the digital infrastructure programme’s rural workstream. Local digital champions are on board to ensure communities are aware of when applications for voucher schemes are being accepted.
In addition to Government initiatives, the programme has developed the ‘Better Broadband Infill Project’, and a commercial partner is now being sought to build a gigabit-capable network to serve rural communities with broadband speeds of less than 30mbps which are not in existing commercial plans or interventions such as Project Gigabit.
With the rise of IoT in agriculture paired with the increased pressures to reduce waste and meet sustainability goals, access to high-speed internet will be critical for seamlessly connecting these technologies.
Rhys Jones, of Arwain DGC, said: “By collaboratively supporting investment in rural network connectivity, will help to enhance livestock health, raise production efficiencies and harness the future economic sustainability of local Welsh farmers. Innovation and Technology will be invaluable to secure the reputation of Welsh agriculture as leaders in animal health and welfare”.
“Rural connectivity is essential for long-term economic growth. When rural areas have access to reliable high-speed internet, it opens up a world of opportunities, and empowers rural communities to become more resilient in the face of future challenges”
Cllr Rob Stewart, Chair of the Swansea Bay City Deal’s Joint Committee, said: “As we look to a future where every industry, including agriculture, is seamlessly integrated into the digital economy, rural digital connectivity plays a pivotal role.
“The Swansea Bay City Deal digital infrastructure programme’s approach of working together with both the public and private sectors, alongside the UK and Welsh governments, is providing vital support to ensure that farmers and rural communities
are equipped with the tools needed to overcome the challenges of transitioning to an increasingly connected world.”
Forming part of the Swansea Bay City Deal’s £25m digital infrastructure programme, a dedicated rural workstream is committed to delivering high-quality connectivity to places where the cost of connecting homes and businesses would otherwise be too high for commercial investment alone to be viable.
Investing in high-speed broadband in rural communities across Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and Swansea would help enable the introduction of Internet of Things (IoT) technology to benefit businesses including farms.
This technology would help farmers monitor crops, livestock, machinery and environmental conditions remotely and in real time, potentially leading to improved decision-making, resource efficiency and cost savings.
Supporting initiatives such as UK Government’s Project Gigabit is also a key aspect of the digital infrastructure programme’s rural workstream. Local digital champions are on board to ensure communities are aware of when applications for voucher schemes are being accepted.
In addition to Government initiatives, the programme has developed the ‘Better Broadband Infill Project’, and a commercial partner is now being sought to build a gigabit-capable network to serve rural communities with broadband speeds of less than 30mbps which are not in existing commercial plans or interventions such as Project Gigabit.
With the rise of IoT in agriculture paired with the increased pressures to reduce waste and meet sustainability goals, access to high-speed internet will be critical for seamlessly connecting these technologies.
Rhys Jones, of Arwain DGC, said: “By collaboratively supporting investment in rural network connectivity, will help to enhance livestock health, raise production efficiencies and harness the future economic sustainability of local Welsh farmers. Innovation and Technology will be invaluable to secure the reputation of Welsh agriculture as leaders in animal health and welfare”.
“Rural connectivity is essential for long-term economic growth. When rural areas have access to reliable high-speed internet, it opens up a world of opportunities, and empowers rural communities to become more resilient in the face of future challenges”
Cllr Rob Stewart, Chair of the Swansea Bay City Deal’s Joint Committee, said: “As we look to a future where every industry, including agriculture, is seamlessly integrated into the digital economy, rural digital connectivity plays a pivotal role.
“The Swansea Bay City Deal digital infrastructure programme’s approach of working together with both the public and private sectors, alongside the UK and Welsh governments, is providing vital support to ensure that farmers and rural communities
are equipped with the tools needed to overcome the challenges of transitioning to an increasingly connected world.”
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NewsTranscript
00:00Well, I'm Stephen James and this is Gelliole, here near the village of Clindurwen, which
00:07is just a mile or so away. We live, believe it or not, on the Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire
00:12boundary and one time we lived in Carmarthenshire, at this very place here, and now we live in
00:18Pembrokeshire and we're still in the same place. I'm a dairy farmer and I've been farming
00:23here for 40 years. Part of where I was brought up, I was brought up on a farm called Llancelli
00:29in just across the valley from here. Joyce and I got married and we moved here. My mother's
00:37family were farming and my father's farming, so it's in my genes, I suppose.
00:45Farms have expanded over the years, but technology has really advanced. We've got electronic
00:51identification in their ears, which allows us to manage the cows individually. Then the
00:57technology that we've brought in, we use collars around the cow now, which if the animal
01:02has increased in activity, it shows up and tells us the cow is on heat. It shows the
01:08movement of the animal and can tell whether it's lame or not. And then it also looks at
01:13its body condition, so body condition scoring, we call it, and if the animal is losing weight
01:19or if a number of animals are losing weight, then we can say, well, the diet is wrong.
01:24Those are the little bits of productivity that improve, that make us more productive.
01:29The impact is the improved technology and more efficient use of that technology on farm.
01:36I'm Rhys Jones and I'm the technical lead for Arwine DGC. So we look at ways of responsible
01:42use of antimicrobials on farms, looking at ways of utilising technology to reduce antibiotic
01:49usage and anthelmintic usage, to avoid having antimicrobial resistance within the farm,
01:59in the animals and also in the environment. For productivity and for enhanced health within
02:06animals, having technology is crucial to improve efficiency and the sustainability of farms.
02:13So we have wearable devices available for animals that condenses into an algorithmic
02:20analysis and that is brought back to the farmer and accessible through his smartphone. The
02:26sticking point is having correct connectivity and upload speeds that are sufficient to have
02:33real-time actionable alerts for the farmers. So you're reducing your inputs, you're reducing
02:39your costs, but you're utilising the product in the right places. 84% of landmass in Wales
02:47is a rural area of farming, with over 58,300 people working within the industry. Getting
02:56an efficient and productive industry requires that we're not on the back foot with regards
03:03to technology. I'm a Digital Project Manager on the Digital Infrastructure Programme, which
03:13is part of the Swansea Bay City Deal. We're looking at connectivity across the entire
03:17region, so from Pembrokeshire to Carmarthenshire, Swansea and Neath Port Talbot. There's quite
03:21a diverse range of businesses within rural areas. We've got a real danger if they're
03:26not connected in the same way as our towns and cities, that they'll get left behind.
03:30So the Digital Infrastructure Programme has got a dedicated workstream to connecting people
03:35and businesses that live in rural areas. We've got a team in each of the local authorities
03:41who are there to work with communities and businesses to help them understand the different
03:45technology they can use whilst they're waiting to get better broadband. On top of that, we've
03:49got our own infill project, which is our capital investment via this workstream, and that's
03:55looking to kind of plug the gaps where commercial rollout isn't going to be delivering better
04:00broadband and UK government interventions such as Project Gigabit aren't going there
04:05either. If we don't do something to support these communities and businesses, we're in
04:09a real danger of being left behind. When you live in somewhere like this area, it's not
04:14commercially viable for people to actually deploy infrastructure to these areas, so collaborative
04:19working is absolutely key in that respect. Programmes such as the Shared Rural Network,
04:23which is deploying shared infrastructure where you've got one mast which can serve
04:28all of the mobile operators, benefiting a broader amount of people, is really, really
04:33helpful and is something we'd like to see more of as we move forward with connectivity
04:38in rural areas. Digital connectivity or smart farming is crucial for the longevity of agriculture,
04:46I believe, because I know there are constraints with regards to infrastructure, network connectivity
04:53at present, but once that is sorted, I can see a fruitful and prosperous agriculture
05:00going forward. Better broadband is an absolute priority in rural areas, because out here
05:05on the farm, we need that technology to be more effective, to be more efficient. That's
05:10a critical part of it. That's what we're looking for in rural areas, is far better broadband.