Atfield Technologies: Real-Time Vineyard Intelligence for Resilient Agriculture
Through its WineSense platform, Atfield Technologies is helping winegrowers use real-time data to manage vineyard risks, improve resource efficiency and build resilience to changing growing conditions.
Every day, winegrowers make decisions that affect vine health, grape quality and business performance. Yet many of these decisions still rely on manual inspections and incomplete information.
Atfield Technologies is working to change this. Its WineSense platform combines sensor technology, weather intelligence and predictive analytics to help growers understand what is happening in their vineyards, identify risks earlier and make more informed decisions.
Tackling uncertainty in the vineyard
Viticulture has always involved uncertainty because grape production depends closely on environmental conditions. Droughts, heatwaves, frosts and intense rainfall can affect grapevine development, fruit quality and yield. They can also increase the risk of pests and diseases, making vineyard management more complex [1].
Climate change is intensifying these pressures, with growers facing more frequent extreme weather events and shifting growing conditions [2].
Precision viticulture offers ways to respond. Technologies including remote sensing, artificial intelligence and computer vision can support earlier detection of vine stress, disease and environmental risks, helping growers take more timely and targeted action [3].
Atfield Technologies [4] aims to make these capabilities accessible to growers through WineSense. By combining vineyard monitoring with real-time insights and early warnings, the platform is designed to help growers manage risks while improving productivity and resource efficiency.
From a Serbian startup to an international agritech company
Atfield Technologies has expanded internationally as more winegrowers seek tools to manage changing and unpredictable vineyard conditions.
In 2026, the company supports more than 150 wineries across 10 countries: Serbia, Spain, Croatia, Romania, Slovenia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Alongside its headquarters in Bečej and operations in Belgrade, Atfield established WineSense Atfield SL in Bilbao, Spain. The new company received €50,000 in initial funding and formed a strategic partnership with a local consultancy to support business development and access to Spanish and wider European markets.
The company has also continued developing its technology. In 2026, it completed development and testing of a new wireless soil-moisture sensor that works with its vineyard decision-support and advisory platform, with initial commercial deployments already under way.
Atfield has completed two regional service contracts and is exploring similar models in other regions. In Croatia, it has expanded its distribution network to three value-added resellers. Its customer base includes wine producers in Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia, while three universities use Atfield's hardware and software solutions in their work.
Delivering benefits for growers and the environment
Atfield reports that use of its technology has contributed to an average 30% reduction in chemical spraying over three years, with estimated savings of around €200 per hectare each year. The company also estimates that more efficient water management can save 1,000 litres of water per hectare annually.
According to Atfield, improved timing of vineyard operations can reduce monitoring efforts by 50%. Fewer field visits can also reduce fuel use, while the monitoring technology itself is solar powered.
For smaller winegrowers, these efficiencies have the potential to support both resilience and profitability. During one pilot deployment in the 2025 growing season, a Serbian wine producer reported a 40% increase in yield after using recommendations generated by the system to avoid disease-related losses.
Impact in numbers
How EIT Food helped accelerate growth
EIT Food has supported Atfield Technologies at several stages of its development, helping the company test its technology in real farming conditions, strengthen its commercial capabilities and build visibility within Europe's agrifood innovation ecosystem.
Through EIT Food's Test Farms programme, Atfield tested and validated its technology with growers in real vineyard environments. This enabled the company to gather direct feedback from end users and assess its microclimate and disease prediction models under different growing conditions.
Atfield also participated in Sales Booster, EIT Food's commercialisation programme for agrifood startups, and received recognition through the EIT Food Innovation Prize Awards, supporting the company's commercial development and visibility.
EIT Food Test Farms program helped us to validate the reliability and accuracy of our micro-climate and disease prediction models under the specific climatic conditions of Northern Spain, known for their unique humidity patterns and disease dynamics.
Lessons learned
- The best innovations are developed alongside the people who will use them.
- Real-world testing is essential for building solutions that deliver practical value.
- Collaboration across the agrifood sector can accelerate innovation and growth.
- International networks can create routes into new markets and partnerships.
- Digital tools are most valuable when they address practical challenges for farmers.
Looking ahead
Atfield Technologies is continuing to develop its technology and expand internationally, with the aim of helping more winegrowers make timely, evidence-based decisions in increasingly unpredictable growing conditions.
Its journey also demonstrates the role that real-world testing and collaboration can play in bringing agricultural innovation closer to market. Test Farms forms part of EIT Food's wider work in resilient agriculture, supporting innovations that can help farmers respond to changing conditions and strengthen the resilience of Europe's food system.
About EIT Food's Resilient Agriculture Portfolio
Resilient agriculture offers one of the greatest opportunities to help Europe address human and climate health, along with the financial well-being of farmers.
We have created a series of activities for farmers, agrifood businesses and consumers to scale regenerative practices in Europe. The aim is to spread knowledge and outcomes of our project to build a European regenerative farming community.
As part of this work, Test Farms connects innovative startups with farmers to test, validate and showcase agritech, livestocktech and aquatech solutions in real farming environments across Europe. By enabling innovators to work directly with farmers and local agronomists, Test Farms helps bridge the gap between technological innovation and practical agricultural application, generating real-world evidence and accelerating the adoption of sustainable, efficient and effective solutions.
Learn about the latest opportunities, research and innovations shaping the food industry.
References
- Food and Agriculture Organization. (2024). Digital technologies for sustainable grape production. https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/d5d99685-b925-404f-b457-33a685333a23/content/cd7067en.html
- van Leeuwen, C., Destrac-Irvine, A., Dubernet, M., et al. (2022). Climate change impacts and adaptation in viticulture. OENO One. https://oeno-one.eu/article/view/5438
- Fuentes, S., Tongson, E., Gonzalez Viejo, C., & Torrico, D. (2023). Artificial intelligence and digital technologies in viticulture: Current applications and future opportunities. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9811181/
- Atfield Technologies. (n.d.). Home. https://atfield.tech/
