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The incorporation of digital technology, information management, the circular economy, the strong social demand for sustainable food production, collaborative work and the addition of value are questions that have an answer in the “paradigm shift” which implies moving from traditional agricultural production to a more collaborative one in which producers, consumers and all participants in the value chain and the community in general are at the center of the scene.

“It is much more than the use of new digital tools. It is also the adaptation of processes, some changes in habits and ways of thinking and acting, which will allow us to produce more food in a more efficient and sustainable way ”, explained Ignacio Eguren, CEO of AgroPro and host of the meeting The Digital Transformation of Agro . Eguren, who was also the conductor of the 6 panels together with Luisana López Hiriart.

Context

Among a long list of speakers, Marcelo Regúnaga, former Secretary of Agriculture and academic director of the Buenos Aires Cereal Exchange Training Program, put the context. "We are experiencing a global change in food systems, moving to the paradigm of a fully integrated and communicated world in which the consumer wants to know how all the food has been produced."

Carlos Vidal, representative of INTA and coordinator of the Inter-American Agtech Network project at IICA (Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture), said that there are 457 Agtech in South America (30% in Brazil, 20% in Argentina, and between 10% and 15% % in the Andean region). "It is an initial development, it must still grow" but he warned that "digitization must be inclusive or there will be sectors that will be left out", for which he raised the need for public participation in support of new developments.

Paulina Lescano, speaker and commercial advisor of the Agro Market, commented that the Agtech appeared in a scenario in which “you have to translate the bombardment of information into an aid to make decisions; Today you can access online the prices of grains of the day, a historical line (of prices) and you can make projections; But the data of each company can also be obtained immediately to become independent from the market. In this way, the business result is sure to be better ”.

Carlos Becco, Senior Advisor and Keynote Speaker, specified that "78% of producers already apply digital technology," although he pointed out that it is a relatively lower adoption when compared to input technology. "There is still difficulty in adopting digital or data technology."

"But this time is over - he sentenced. Now is the time to go digital. Today, agronomy alone is not enough. Power is on the consumer side and answers must be given. We are going to a world where there is more talk about algorithms, the internet of things and artificial intelligence ”.

The new agricultural company

For Matías Corradi, Business Development Lead at The Climate Corporation, the added value that Agtech gives companies is that they “make them more efficient” and give “the possibility of monitoring what the machine does all the time”.

"It is a cultural change and there is not only a productive benefit, it is also gateways to society," he added.

Lara Giuliani, a livestock producer, recounted the reconversion that she made in the family field with the incorporation of technology. "I know which mother each calf is from and I can control the herd from my home," she graficed. "If you think that incorporating technology is very expensive, it must also be said that it saves a lot of time."

Marcelo Testa, a rural contractor who began to incorporate precision agriculture technology in the 1990s and achieved GAP certification for his company, proposed to "socialize production data", for example, from phytosanitary applications. "It would be a good way of telling society that we produce in a safe way," he said.

Joaquín Pinnel, Regional Payment Business Unit Head of Agrofy, the marketplace present in Argentina and Brazil that offers supplies, machinery and different payment and financing options, assured that "technology has no ceiling" and anticipated that Agrofy Pay hopes to become ' the Mercado Pago del agro '.

Rolando Meninatto, former global vice president of Dow Agrosciences and co-owner of the Mevi winery, assured that the producer is very permeable to the incorporation of technology "when he can see the benefits", in this sense he marked that with technological developments "today every production has different layers of information, yields, applications and the climate ”.

Sustainable

In the panel dedicated to 'Sustainability', María Beatriz “Pilu” Giraudo, honorary president at Aapresid, assured that Argentina is very well positioned in the face of the problem of climate change, thanks to the fact that it has been producing with planting technology for 30 years direct, although he stated that he had not yet “monetized” that advantage. "We must have internationally validated indicators and thus be able to show our added value to export it to the world," she said.

Jimena Sabor, manager at Summabio, a company that produces agro-inputs and achieved B certification (with triple positive impact: economic, social and environmental) stated that "the environmental issue should not be a burden, it should be a motivating element" and assured that " the producers are already doing a more responsible agriculture, taking care of the people who work in their environment and helping health and the environment ”.

Roberto Rodríguez, CEO of Agroads, the well-known agricultural agribusiness platform that connects supply and demand, described that "in recent years there has been an explosion" of technology companies "and now there is the challenge of differentiating ourselves. But the possibilities going forward are incredible, ”he reinforced.

Ana Wegman, from Lartirigoyen y Cía., A consolidated company with 35 years in the sector, stated that "the Argentine producer seeks to renew itself in precision agriculture" and advised innovation companies to take care of "offering solutions that integrate the entire chain of production and provide responses to consumers. Digitization has a lot to give in this regard ”.

What's coming

Gustavo Degli, from Agrotoken, a company born during the pandemic that is presented as "the bridge that connects agriculture with cryptocurrencies", described that through this application a producer acquires a 'token' with which he can then access goods and services. "We are the first to tokenize on agricultural commodities," he said and anticipated that they are preparing to launch their own credit card.

The “trends in digital technology” were described in a panel by Laura Lukasik, from UPL, who incorporated the concept of the new “ecosystem”, which implies a new language “and new business and negotiation models” that, in her opinion, are "Healthier" thanks to information management.

Later, Fernando López Iervasi, General Manager of Microsoft, predicted that there will be "very strong changes in the food sector" due to the constant increase in demand and "because diets are going to change." He warned that "achieving this without technology is unfeasible" and stressed that Argentina and Latin America "have a huge opportunity."

Iervasi also introduced the concept of the metaverse, the next generation of the internet. He commented that it began to be used in France among millennials as a game to interest them in the agricultural world.

Emanuel Bodega Duckwitz, Manager of Production and Agro-inputs in Los Grobo, a firm that produces 260 thousand hectares in partnership with dozens of producers, among other services it provides, said that "recent years have been very revolutionary in incorporating technology into the company" and He said that Mauá -the digital platform they developed- allows their clients to manage relevant business information → agromeat.com

Automatic translation from spanish.