Technology is inserting family farming and grape cultivation into large markets

The harvest routine in the vineyards of Serra Gaúcha maintains a tradition brought over 100 years ago by Italian immigrants. As the grapes mature, movement between the vines increases. The expectation for the 2021 harvest is that the quantity will exceed last year's 500 tons, but as it depends a lot on the weather, the Brazilian Winemaking Union (UVIBRA) should only release numbers and confirm the good quality of the fruits when the harvest ends. 

 The difference is that today's rural producer is looking to the future and is betting on the digitalization of vineyards as an ally. Investment in technology and innovation in the 2021 harvest has been changing the routine in orchards. “The producer understood that he needs to manage the property like a company to achieve greater productivity and, as a consequence, more profitability”, says Diego Junior Rodrigues, from RB Consultoria Agrícola, a company that provides technical assistance and consultancy in the region. One of the strategies proposed to customers is the use of the Digital Field Notebook, developed by agtech (agricultural startup) Elysios. “The Demetra platform completely facilitates the routine and management of crops and also gathers the complete history of the entire area. This first achieves traceability, which is now a requirement. And, having detailed data from the last harvest, it will be much easier and cheaper to plan the next one”, guarantees the specialist. He adds: “It is a viable technology with low cost for the producer”. 

 In Farroupilha, brothers Samuel and Saulo Correa are satisfied with the use of the Digital Field Notebook in the day-to-day life of the vineyards started by their grandfather more than 50 years ago, in the town of Caravaggio, in the 4th District. “Applications, treatments, I record everything on my cell phone. My brother started the work of dry pruning, green pruning and now he is putting in the harvest, we are already starting this year with Demetra in good shape. The application is very good, complete and simple to use”, says Samuel, who has been using the platform for just over six months on the property where the family grows grapes, peaches and persimmons. “It made our management easier because we have the information in the palm of our hands. One part that interested me is when I apply a fungicide that has a 10-day grace period, for example. It helps you by counting down. It tells you that there are nine days left, then eight and so on. I deal with food and that is very important”, adds the farmer, who produces Niágara, white and pink grapes, for a large supermarket chain in Rio Grande do Sul such as Grupo Zaffari and for Ceasa in Porto Alegre. 

 Focusing on small and medium-sized family farmers, Elysios Agricultura Inteligente offers organization and efficiency to crops. “One of our technologies, this digital field diary, was developed based on the needs of producers. The proposal is to facilitate the routine and optimize resources. Rural producers and technicians can view production in real time, collect field data and track all cultivation events. By knowing the amount of product you apply to a field, for example, you will know how much you will need to spend next time and, at the end of the harvest, you can accurately calculate the final gains for each area”, explains director Mario Apollo Brito. “The digitalization of agriculture is an inevitable trend, we offer a cell phone application that shortens distances, optimizes time and reduces costs, with security and transparency”.

 The daily use of the Digital Field Notebook in the property's routine brought enthusiasm to the Correa family. “Grandpa and Dad didn’t even have a paper notebook. I really liked this new feature, when I get home the first thing is to take about 10 minutes to mark everything I did and then the dance follows”, says Samuel, excitedly, as he eagerly awaits the final results of the production. “Until the other day, we went ‘head on’, often we don’t know what makes a profit and what makes a loss. Now, the report will tell me that I produced so much and sold so much. He will calculate the production cost for each thing, because everything is marked there. And in the end, I will know which plot yielded the most, what needs to be improved and the total productivity. It is the first harvest that we are finishing with the help of the application and we will continue, for sure, today I don't know how to cope without this tool”.