This tool focuses on the interoperability between IACS and the FMISs and uses eAgronom, a specific commercial FMIS. The tool can be used in the evaluation only if data can be anonymised and shared. In this case, the tool can offer a vast amount of data, especially for evaluation questions for which data are rare, like those concerning the use of fertilisers, plant protection substances, antibiotics, etc. When IACS is the core system, information about beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries is also available, and the potential contribution of the database for evaluation is significant.
However, the transferability of the tool to other regions and Member States is complicated for various reasons. Most frequently, farmers do not use digitised FMISs, and when they do, there is not only a single commercial FMIS to choose from but many. Linking all the different commercial brands of FMISs is not technically easy and financially feasible. The farmers who have already adopted digital FMISs may be distinctively different from those who maintain more conventional farm book-keeping methods. For example, they may manage larger farms, be more entrepreneurial, and have other characteristics that introduce a bias. Thus, evaluation data will be biased towards farmers with specific characteristics. Finally, FMIS data entered by farmers and are not recorded automatically may be of lower quality either because of human errors or intentional concealment of business information. Thus, transferability of the tool depends on these issues and should be examined on a case by case basis.
