Imagine, for a moment, that each nozzle inside your greenhouse irrigated the plants according to the crop's water needs in their specific areas. Then, that every hour, depending on the position and radiation of the sun, the screen allowed more or less light inside the greenhouse. Imagine that, once the product is in the process of delivery, a telematics alert informs you in real time about the temperature of the goods, with the possibility of adjusting it if necessary in order to preserve the cold chain. All these innovations are aimed at the same purpose: creating added value in each of the stages that make up the process from the moment a fruit or a vegetable is planted until it reaches the shelves.
ICTs
Despite sounding like science fiction, these tools are real in their approach and some, in fact, have already been successfully developed. Information and communication technologies, the common denominator of all these advances, were the subject of debate during an intense day at the headquarters of the Science and Technology Park of Almeria, better known as PITA.
The digitization of the agro-food sector is already a fact. The territorial delegate of Economy, Innovation, Science and Employment, Miguel Ángel Tortosa, emphasised that, at present, the companies that have opted for this technology have increased their productivity by 20%, and this is something that generates "employment and wealth for our land."
Tortosa explained that the Regional Government of Andalusia grants SMEs access to various financial instruments with the aim of promoting the digitization of these companies. In fact, the delegate of Economy has affirmed that the Action Plan for Digital Companies 2020 (PAED) will be "our roadmap to promote the digital transformation of Andalusian SMEs."
Data
Even though agro-food companies already enjoy the benefits of digital conversion, Hispatec president José Luis Molina believes that "we are still in the early stages" of the developments related to information and communication technologies.
The success of the digital transformation of the agro-food sector, "quite superior to that of other productive sectors," according to the president of Hispatec, will depend on its ability to collect and systematise the enormous amounts of data generated in each of the productive stages.
Thus, new techniques and tools, such as big data, the Internet of Things, cloud computing, robotization or machine learning are called to play a key role in Smart Agriculture or Smart Agro; new concepts for the technological leap in the agricultural world.
The changes that these new technologies will bring, which will eventually shape the entire model, will gradually reach the various agents involved in the chain, and in some cases, their success will be more immediate and visible than in others.
Among the benefits that these technologies will bring in the short term, Jose Luis Molina highlights that one of the first consequences of the digitization of the agro-food sector will be a rapprochement between the producer and the consumer, thanks to the traceability of both origin and cultivation methods.
Emilio Martínez (Almafrut), Antonio Sánchez (Atlantis Global System) and Ricardo Arjona (EC2CE) spoke at the event about technologies in clothing, logistics and predictive models. Later, there was a round table with Maria Jiménez (Hidrosoph), Jose María Morales (Agroponiente) and Andrés Montes (Única Group), who presented some succesful cases within the provincial agro-food sector.
Source: lavozdealmeria.es
