A "game-changing" four-step pathway to help unlock the power of technology for the agricultural sector has been outlined in a newly-released global report by Rabobank.
The report, Digital Pathway to Power: the Trigger for a Deeper Relationship between Farmers and the Supply Chain, outlined the key considerations for farmers, farm input companies and other supply chain businesses to increase accuracy in decision-making through technology.
The benefits would include an increase in return on investment in new technologies, as well as improved decision-making, said Rabobank agricultural analyst Wes Lefroy, who wrote the report.
• The automatic transfer of data collected to an analytical platform in a safe and timely manner - currently "the main pain point for many farmers across the globe."
• Analysis tools that processed a succinct answer/solution in a form that is easy for farmers with little or no experience to interpret.
• Autonomous execution of a response, with greater speed and accuracy than traditional execution techniques.
This type of framework – when up and running – could fundamentally change the way that decisions were made on the farm, with machines, or platforms that "do it all", from data collection through to execution, Lefroy said.
"A drone could scout for pests, process and then analyse the data on an invasion and then 'execute' on that data by going and spraying them. All without farmer intervention."
"Alternatively, we could see an 'app-store' style approach, where users can choose different applications for each step in the pathway, and the platform facilitates that process along the pathway, from data collection to execution."
It was important for farmers to assess the strategic implications of what this systemic change may mean for them, such as their approach to data sharing, the types of skills employed within the business and the partners they engaged.
"In the area of data for example, farmers are going to face a growing number of requests from companies to share data – which also represents an enormous opportunity," said Lefroy.
Listen to Jamie Mackay interview Wes Lefroy on The Country below:
"It is critical for both farmers and companies to assess their approach to data-sharing, and how they can work together to create a pathway of mutual value for sharing data."
While some of these new platforms may be at least five years away, Lefroy said the Digital Pathway to Power approach could help provide direction for long-term investments in ag tech.
"We think those technologies that play a role in at least one step in the pathway and connect into a platform that can facilitate completion of the other steps are going to be best positioned for farmers to invest in," he said.
