In a first for one of the EU‘s least developed digital sectors, a Romanian state agency for rural investments said on Monday that it is assisting farmers in applying for subsidies from the European Union through the use of artificial intelligence.
A little more than two years ago, the Agency for Financing Rural Investments (AFIR) informed Reuters that it started utilizing robots from the software automation startup UiPath.
The laborious duties of searching through state databases for property register and court records for farmers, business owners, and government organizations requesting EU funding have been replaced by robots.
“AI-based automation plays an extremely important part in speeding key processes for farmers and making them more efficient,” AFIR director George Chirita said.
Since it began using robots, the agency has handled financing requests worth 5.32 billion euros ($5.75 billion) from more than 50,000 farmers, companies and local institutions, it told Reuters in written comments.
Robots have saved roughly 784 days worth of document searches for AFIR staff, it said. The agency has disbursed 21 billion euros worth of funds over two decades.
Although Romania has emerged as one of Europe’s most active technology hubs, with a highly skilled labour pool, it still lags many other European nations in offering digital public services for citizens and business and has struggled to tap billions of euros in EU development funds.
Eurostat data showed only 28% of Romanians had at least basic digital skills in 2023, below the EU average of 54%. Digital public services for citizens and businesses ranked at 45 compared with the EU average of 84.
UiPath, the Romanian company valued at $13.3 billion after going public on the New York Stock Exchange, told Reuters it has delivered automation services to other farming agencies including in Norway and the United States.
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