However, some people still have doubts about this: how can satellite, remote sensing be useful to the traditional agriculture sector? Below an interview with the company's CEO Zhang Wenpeng.
The use of satellite data in the agriculture sector
Zhang Wenpeng: The answer is very positive. By using satellite data, we can enhance the productivity level of agriculture crops. For example, we can identify, through our analysis report, which land is facing drought or pest disease problems, or which land needs more fertilizer etc.
Freshplaza: How can Gago Group serve farms and orchards through your satellite data?
Zhang Wenpeng: Gago Group collects real-time land and meteorological data by using data from over 10 satellites and drones from China, the United States and Europe. By integrating all the information regarding the soil, the land, the crops etc, we can then use our patented image analysis and data analysis algorithms: such as land measurement, land planning, production cycle estimation, production forecasting, pest and disease control, as well as crop irrigation programs. Moreover, we can help clients to reach a standardized production process, so that the whole production process can be traceable for the sake of food security.
Freshplaza: Can you please elaborate with some examples?
Zhang Wenpeng: Sure. For example, if a company invests in a farm, the first question that they encounter will be: how should we maximize the profit by crop cultivation planning? By analyzing the data collected by satellites and drones, we have the dynamic information of vegetation plantation over the past 30 years and the agricultural and meteorological data for 50 years in East Asia. Therefore, we can tell the farmers what kind of crops have been planted in the past in this land, and what is the best planting crops etc. Afterwards, Gago Group can identify the soil moisture content, and thus inform the owner whether irrigation is needed. Next, based on the pest and disease conditions analysis, we can offer a pre-warning service so that the owner can prepare pesticides or other means of prevention in advance. Meanwhile we can offer weather forecasts for within 6 hours, 3 days, 7 days or even 14 days, targeting a specific piece of land. Then the owner may have sufficient time to make adjustments, according to the change of the weather conditions. Nearer harvest time, our satellite images can estimate the maturity level, and the average output of the crop.
Freshplaza: The service that Gago Group provides is closely connected with satellite imagery. Can you explain how you obtain these data?
Bringing intelligence technology to the agriculture sector
Freshplaza: Does this satellite and drone data service have a market in China?
Zhang Wenpeng: In the traditional planting process, farmers walk through the fields to check crop conditions, which is difficult and time-consuming. It is true that our satellite and drone data service sounds a bit far-fetched in China, but it is widely used in Oceania, Europe, America and other developed regions. Due to high labor costs, a lot of the production process in the agricultural sector depends on technology and data, which we believe is the future trend for Chinese agriculture. As Chinese farms are undergoing significant restructuring, from fragmented family owned farms to more large scale, we estimate the number of customers in China can reach one million in the future.
Freshplaza: Howwould you describe your targeted customer in China?
Zhang Wenpeng: During our customer selection process, theprimary standard is the enterprise level that can make rational decisions, sothat the cost of satellite or drone services is more economical. Next to that,their farm has to reach over 65 hectares. Despite the fact that agriculture isthe biggest industry, it is also a sector that needs long term investment andconstantly faces risks. Gago Group offers data support for decision makers inthe agriculture industry, therefore our clients can make rational decisionsbased on their experience and our data analysis results. We will try our bestto reduce the potential risks for our customers.
Freshplaza: What are your biggest challenges since the establishment of your company?Zhang Wenpeng: It should be the adapted service based on each customer. For example, One of our clients is engaged in grass plantation, and he demands that heavy rainy seasons have to be informed upfront, but small rains can pass. Gago group is very good at weather forecasting, but we can not define client definition of heavy rains and small rains. For the grass plantation sector, the standard may be different from other sectors or regions. Therefore we must constantly change our data standards based on specific customer needs.
Freshplaza: But this will be a very complicated issue once clients keep increasing. What are the solutions that Gago Group has found?
Zhang Wenpeng: Our current practice is to find 4 to 5 landmark clients in each sector, and their demands can represent the majority needs from their sector. As a result, we have already established a mature system for this. But we offer more, as we will offer our solutions depending on each customer's needs.
About Gago Group
Gago Group is a large data application company that provides environmental and agricultural solutions through data collection, processing, analysis and visualization systems. Its core R&D team come from Silicon Valley, California. Established in 2015, Gago Group has now obtained over 10 million Yuan investment from international investment organizations. As its cloud data platforms and products are relatively mature now, they can be put into a market-oriented operation.
Through the SaaS cloud platform, Gago Group provides data support for large-scale agricultural production enterprises and new agricultural production entities (cooperatives, family farms, leading enterprises of agricultural industrialization, etc.). Meanwhile, Gago Group can assist agricultural downstream enterprises to achieve their needs, such as plantation by order, production traceability, and food safety etc. They can also help agricultural financial institutions to determine the correct amount of insurance, identify damages, assess loan risks and other decision support.
For more information, please contact Gago Group:
Gago Group
www.gagogroup.com
Telephone: +86 400-046-5955
Email: business@gagogroup.com