Spain is one of the first names that comes to mind when discussing worldwide horticultural powers. It is a market that has known how to exploit its resources to become a leader in the agricultural food sector, allowing it to become the center of attention and studies of specialists from both hemispheres who want to follow the same path.
Hispatec, a Spanish company with 30 years of experience applying software solutions for agricultural companies in Spain is now arriving to Peru. The company has worked with more than half of the 100 leading companies in the Spanish agricultural sector, and has had successful experiences in Argentina, Chile, and Mexico.
Why are you betting on the Peruvian market now?
Jose Luis Estrella, the CEO of Hispatec said the company was interested in the great growth of Peruvian agricultural exports, which are expected to continue booming.
"Our targets are the medium and large companies that are dedicated to mainly exporting fruits and vegetables, or coffee and cocoa; and that have technological needs and aspire to export more and reach other markets with a better margin... We are interested in Peru because it's production takes place in our counter-season, and many of our clients are also clients of Peruvian companies. Additionally, the country is a natural greenhouse. Thus agriculture is very important here and it will weigh much more in the economy," he said.
The spokesperson said the solution allowed controlling all the processes of the horticultural companies, from the seed to the final marketing. To work in Peru, Hispatec developed an alliance with Ofisis, a business software developer that allows producers to conduct a comprehensive management of different aspects, such as accounting, payroll, and taxation. Meanwhile, Hispatec brings all its experience in agricultural food software.
The agricultural management software is able to collect data from sowing, warehouses, the commercial sector, logistics, accounting, until the products are sold. "In addition, this software not only works in plants, but can also be used by farmers, field technician, and managers from a smartphone or a tablet to manage the production in real time," he said.
When asked if this type of solution, which makes use of technologies such as Big Data and Machine Learning, could be used by the Peruvian Government to improve the management of agriculture of small national producers, Jose Luis Estrella said it had the potential for this. In fact, he added, the Spanish Government had already done this.
"Spain is also an economy of small farmers, the difference is that Spain has many cooperatives that combine these producers allowing them to have access to more sophisticated technology. However, the Government helps small farmers a lot. They do this based on tools, such as the ones we provide, to analyze Big Data and Machine Learning, as well as geo-referencing to help farmers in the decision-making," he said.
Hispatec has established alliances with different entities, such as INIA and the National Agrarian University La Molina, to which it has licensed its technologies and which have sent professionals to train in Spain. This will help both institutions improve their research and development to boost Peruvian agriculture.
Source: agraria.pe