Agribusiness is going through a digital turn and asks management to leverage

The current scenario of trade relations between China and the USA favors Brazil's position in the international market with soybean exports. Brazilian agribusiness is very well structured and has relevant strengths that guarantee competitiveness on the international stage: professional and qualified human resources, good management capacity in the production and commercialization of agricultural commodities, favorable climate and soil topography that allow us to produce more than a harvest, a good level of technological development, high production capacity for machinery and agricultural inputs, and a large area of ​​land with agricultural potential that has not yet been cultivated.

The country is also a precursor to the creation of the crop, livestock and forest integration system (ILPF), which allows, simultaneously, the cultivation of grains, in a healthy and sustainable way, along with livestock production and the maintenance of eucalyptus as a reserve in this integrated context. This system, one of the most modern in the world, allows the generation of several additional benefits allowing the entire chain to gain in value generation and the producer to optimize resources, labor and machinery.

In fact, Brazil has cutting-edge researchers and has adopted the most modern agricultural practices, from the development and use of biotechnology to the application of these integrated production systems, such as ILPF.

Challenges

Despite investing in the latest in field technology, Brazilian farmers have not yet become professional in technology management. This professional still needs to prepare for the digital revolution – whether in the adoption of precision agriculture, the use of artificial intelligence or big data.

Along with the challenge of managing this agro and technological universe, another obstacle is instructing farmers to deal with information sharing. This audience still fears that their data will be shared or sold, many still do not see the benefits of sharing information. The lack of understanding is easily noticed in the subjectivity that is still very present in the production and classification process of seeds and grains; the lack of automation in information collection; in low accuracy in current data collection and lack or deficiency of connectivity on farms. When talking about connectivity, the point is also critical, the vast majority of farmers still have radio internet on their farms and a small group of them have satellite internet. The difficulty of acquisition and prices are the main obstacles.

Digital turn in the field

The world is technological and digital. Systems and technologies are developed and multiply every day to facilitate all relationships in global society. Connecting and using data intelligently not only boosts business, but keeps it sustainable and competitive today and in the years to come. Data needs to be generated, stored and cross-referenced to produce, in real time, accurate information that supports decision-making and improves business profitability in all markets. Given this current scenario, it is necessary to invest in management systems throughout the agribusiness chain.

It is not enough to generate data, it is necessary to connect and analyze it correctly so that it can be used efficiently. There is no point in having data if we do not have management systems. There is no point in having systems if there is no connection. 

Tendencies

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will provide machine learning and the improvement of production systems and processes, reduction of losses and waste in food production, guidance in decision-making for rural producers, positioning of agricultural products in domestic markets and external resources, as well as for adding value to products. AI will influence decisions throughout the chain.

Still as a trend, the control of decisions linked to the production chain, such as irrigation and application of fertilizers and inputs, can be carried out in an automated way, enabling greater control over crop conditions.

First steps

While some are in their infancy, others emerge and invest heavily to be a reference in the adoption of technology in the agro sector, as is the case of SCL Agrícola, which has been investing and testing all new technology concepts such as IoT (internet of things), since 2016. cloud, drones and big data on your farms. Just like SCL, the Scheffer group invests heavily and has the goal of becoming a reference and leading the technological vanguard in the next two years.

The digital turn tends to favor companies that invest in innovation and which should, for this reason, reach the top in performance in their segments.