Agtech and consultancy make data collection and management in the field efficient

Technological adherence is the only way for producers who seek to optimize their field processes aiming for greater profitability and harvest productivity. However, the lack of specific knowledge or the excess of information and technologies often confuses them even more, making decision-making more complex.

To help with this arduous mission, it is essential to have specialized agronomic consultancies whose objective is to be the right hand in managing the farm. However, many of them are focused only on selling agrochemicals and other inputs, and leave aside the mentoring and guidance service on farms. With the aim of providing complete support to farmers, Bom Cultivo Soluções Agrícolas was created. Located in São José do Ouro/RS, on the market for just over three months, the company serves areas with soybean, wheat, corn, oat and livestock farming.

According to Ezequiel Menegat, agronomist and one of the company's founding partners, after many analyses, it was possible to notice that few consultancies are focused on client management. “We emerged with the goal of going beyond traditional recommendations, in which technical assistance is only provided if the farmer purchases a product. We create a work plan, providing guidance for the farm team, and periodically monitor and carry out technical visits to mainly collect data for information management,” he says.

Bom Cultivo participates in all phases of its clients' harvest planning, from pre-planting to post-harvest. Recommendations include: what product should be purchased to use in that area? What is the crop rotation? The varieties that will be used, among others. “It's a more dynamic work, we aim for advance planning so that up front we don't lose skills, so we're already prepared to face any situation”, highlights Menegat.

Strategic partnership

To be more effective in this planning with producers and mainly in data collection, monitoring and management, Bom Cultivo sought a partnership with Agtech Sima - Integrated Agricultural Monitoring System. The app is a system for smart agriculture, which allows monitoring in the field with different focuses, from pests, diseases and weeds to inspections and technical reports, including photos, videos and audios, in a georeferenced way. The solution also analyzes the information and it is possible to generate work orders, thus making phytosanitary management digital and interactive.

According to Menegat, after some research and searches on the internet, they discovered the Sima tool. The solution was the one that pleased the most, as it was the most complete, with a cost very similar to other companies on the market, but it presented a wider range of solutions. “Having an application that makes it easier to enter the field and identify the pest and document it is fundamental to our work. Furthermore, generating reports that I can consult 10 years from now, to know the entire history of stored data relating to a certain area is a big difference”, he highlights.

Also according to the consultant, as it is not possible to store so much data and information in human memory, it is necessary to have everything recorded. It can be stored in notebooks and notebooks, but it is not practical and quick for old research. “With the app it’s much easier and Sima allows that. We enter the field even though there is no phone signal, we do all the monitoring, we identify the pests and weeds, we play on the app and at the end of the day we upload the information instantly to the customer, informing them of everything that is happening”, says the specialist.

Data reliability

Sima makes its highly versatile tool available to the Brazilian market and other Latin American countries, which stands out for easily adapting to the most varied cultures in different regions. In Brazil, the solution has been used on a large scale, mainly in soybean, corn and wheat crops. However, in other countries, it also presents great performance. In Colombia, for example, where the company has a specific team working, monitoring is carried out in rice and potato crops.

For Rafael Malacco, market development manager at Agtech, these partnerships with agronomic consultancies are very important, because when they hire some type of technology like Sima's, it is for a client who will use practically 100% of the platform. He says that because their job is to help the producer in making decisions by facilitating the analysis and interpretation of data, they need to pay close attention, especially to the correct input of data.

Furthermore, the tool can be used exactly for what it was built for, that is, for strategic data analysis. “For Sima as a company, having consultancies as a client means having people daily using the tool for what was planned, capturing agronomic data, facilitating communication, generating reports and then a strategic analysis of this data generating real value for this consultancy”, reinforces Malacco,

Sima, which was born in Argentina, currently has a large volume of clients in that country from consultancies, around 30% of the total. “This shows the importance of this partnership that meant that the tool underwent changes and customizations from the beginning to serve this specific audience. This raised the level of the platform technically speaking”, concludes the Agtech market development manager.