Precision agriculture has been boosting the agricultural sector and ensuring its growth even amid economic adversity — and this should continue in the coming years. According to consultancy Markets and Markets Research, the precision market is expected to increase 61% by 2026. In this scenario, the manufacturer of agricultural machinery and implements MP Agro is one of the companies that has invested in this technology and achieved results. With the support of a fertilizer control system developed by Hexagon's Agriculture division, the manufacturer increased revenue by 65% last year and expects to continue growing in 2022.
“In this partnership, we customize software and hardware to assist in high performance in MP Agro equipment. We work with our onboard electronics technologies to guarantee greater effectiveness in the application of inputs, both at fixed and variable rates, and we include modules for controlling disk rotation and section shutdown”, explains Bernardo de Castro, president of the division, who produces digital solutions for the agricultural and forestry markets.
The HxGN AgrOn Fertilization Control system regulates and automates the application of inputs intelligently, avoiding waste and equalizing nutrients in the soil — important demands for MP Agro, which is a reference in the soil fertilization and fertilization segment. “We serve the largest grain producers in the world, and it was with technology and productivity that we reached this level. With this in mind, it made sense to work with Hexagon as a strategic partner to help us with the challenges related to precision agriculture”, points out Daúd Falconi, Commercial Director at the manufacturer.
For 2022, growth expectations are even greater. “The prices of agricultural inputs have risen in the last year, and this should continue to be one of the biggest challenges in the sector”, says Bernardo de Castro. To overcome the situation, the executive believes that the adoption of techniques and products to rationalize the use of fertilizers and pesticides should be a priority among producers and companies in the sector. A fertilizer controller like the one adopted by MP Agro, for example, can generate savings of around 20% in inputs applied by the producer.
The partnership also includes the Remote Machine Access module, which allows MP Agro's technical team to view the screen of customers' machines onboard computers for calibration and troubleshooting in real time remotely in any situation, simply by having access to the Internet. “Increasingly, service and after-sales will become competitive differentiators. And, with Hexagon’s remote access, we are able to be at our customer’s side even within our factory”, reinforces Daúd.
This type of solution also provides significant time savings and reduced operational costs for MP Agro and the end user, as explained by the president of Hexagon's Agriculture division. “There is, for example, a reduction in expenses with technicians traveling to the field, since, in addition to reducing the number of open calls, many are resolved in the office itself", points out Bernardo.
The partnership between the companies began in 2020 and, since then, Hexagon has been working on solutions to add to MP Agro's product portfolio. The next step should be technology for fleet management, which will offer the manufacturer's customers easier control over their operations.
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