Description
Agricolus is an integrated system that allows farmers to monitor crops remotely using field mapping, vegetation indices and satellite data, and supports decision-making by providing forecasting models with a view to improving crop production and farm management. For agriculture field mapping, the platform relies on GIS inputs provided by Esri, a close partner of Agricolus, and the resulting field mapping services allow farmers to geolocate their fields and register all their related information. Vegetation indices are elaborated internally by the Agricolus team using satellite imagery, allowing farmers to assess the development and health of their crops remotely, and to efficiently plan their field interventions. Forecast models are used to anticipate phenological cycles, irrigation needs, and pest and disease outbreaks, allowing farmers to take the necessary measures, and to reduce their use of water, fertilizer and plant protection inputs. Smart scouting using the Agricolus Farmer mobile app allows farmers to geolocate their crop operations directly from the fields. Prescription maps created based on vegetation indices allow farmers to limit their use of fertilizers to only the necessary amounts. Agricolus combines these digital tools and data with a complete Decision Support System (DSS). The company also offers disease detection and field monitoring modules for different crops including olives, grapes, tobacco, maize, grain and tomatoes, and provides training in the use of AgriTech tools via the “Agricolus Professional Academy” and “Agricolus Educational Academy”.
Technology
The Agricolus system is accessible as a desktop/web-based application and as Android and iOS-compatible mobile apps, and comprises the “Agricolus Farmer” and “Agricolus Scouting” applications. Overall, the Agricolus system operates as a Cloud-based platform that can be accessed after creating an account on the company’s website. The Agricolus system combines multiple digital technologies for the collection of data and the provision of services, namely: sensors; GIS for field mapping; satellite imagery for vegetation indies collected via Copernicus and Airbus; and proprietary algorithms that make use of machine learning for the forecasting of phenology, irrigation, pests and diseases. The desktop/web-based applications can be used in conjunction with the mobile apps as data is stored on the Cloud. Smart scouting is a more specific mobile app that has been developed in parallel with Agricolus Farmer, and that allows farmers to geolocate their crop operations directly in the field through the use of GPS and GIS technologies.
Target
The main users of Agricolus are farmers, cooperatives and farmers associations, advisors, food processors and retailers. Smallholder farmers can use the system to take their first steps towards digitization and the data-driven management of their farms, while medium–large sized farms can use the system to increase their yields and production quality, to fight the risk of pests and diseases resulting from climate change, to reduce management costs and resource usage, and to ensure the end-to-end traceability of their production. The system can also benefit farmer associations that want to provide their members with better tools in the form of high-value technologies. Users can also include agri-food companies that want to standardize the application of good practices among their suppliers (farmers) and to support the maintenance of an innovative and sustainable agri-food chain. Finally, government departments that deal with agricultural issues can use the system to raise the awareness of farmers related to diseases and other agricultural threats. The system is available in six languages.
Business model
The system can be accessed free of charge by users with up to 10 ha of land. Users with lands exceeding this limit, and those who want to access additional features of the platform, are charged according to a tiered pricing system. The company offers specialized training programs that are priced separately from platform usage.
Impact
Agricolus strives to support farmers in increasing productivity and profitability, while reducing the impact on the environment, especially desertification and loss of biodiversity, and restoring the balance of the ecosystem. Agricolus can monitor adverse climatic events and pest and disease outbreaks thanks to its continuous and systematic monitoring of agro-environmental variables. The system has more than 4000 users in 56 countries and 33 partners on four continents. As of 28 July 2023, the mobile app Agricolus Farmer has been downloaded more than 1000 times from the Google App Store, where it has a 4.7/5 rating.
Partners
EIT-Food; Agrobank; ESRI Partner Network “Bronze” programme; FiWare; Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrinion; Bluleaf; BrioAgro Technologies; NGK Spark Plug Co. Ltd.; Dora baltea; Geosmart campus; Everynet; digital animal; Agrobit; W.A.Y.; DNA Phone; Nova Stark; FinApp; SenCrop; Harris; Trelleborg; Image Line; Esri; sata
Four Betters
Better production
Better environment
