Copernicus Data and CAP Subsidies Control

This chapter integrates the results of three pilots developed within the framework of the Horizon 2020 DataBio project. It aims to provide a broad picture of how products based on Earth Observation techniques can support the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy requirements, whose fulfillments are supervised by National and Local Paying Agencies operating in Romania, Italy and Greece. The concept involves the use of the same data sources, mainly multitemporal series of Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery, but through three different Big Data processing chains, tailored to each paying agency’s needs in terms of farm compliance assessment. Particularities of each workflow are presented together with examples of the results and their accuracy, calculated by validation against independent sources. Business value aspects for each use case are also discussed, emphasizing the way in which the automation of the CAP requests verification process through satellite technologies has increased the efficiency and reduced cost and time resources for the subsidy process. We end the chapter by highlighting the benefits of continuous satellite tracking as a substitute, but also complementary to the classical field control methods, and also the enormous potential of Earth Observation-based products for the agri-food market.