Although it may seem like science fiction to some, satellites And artificial intelligence they are already helping develop numerous crops and reducing the volume of resources required to produce food, one of the greatest challenges facing an increasingly populated planet. A company from Alicante does this, Nax Solutionscurrently from its headquarters in San Vicente del Raspeig monitors more than two million hectares Worldwide, thanks to the algorithms he developed that were able to persuade some of the largest groups in the global agri-food industry.
Names like those of multinational companies Zucarmex anyone Pantaleon Group -two of the world’s largest sugar companies-Brazilian rice producer Ceolin or Uruguayan caseron These are just a few of the company’s customers as it expands.
An initiative that came to light in 2017 Caleb de Bernardis worked in University of Alicante in various related algorithm development projects European Space Agency (ESA, for its English abbreviation). That’s when he became aware of the vast amount of data available regarding agriculture. satellite images and also how advanced artificial intelligence, But no one had bothered to develop a product that would allow farmers and companies in the industry to benefit from all this information. He convinced his brother Harun already Beatriz Sanchis They seized the opportunity and decided to work together.
«This is not about giving data, Tell the producer where to supply water, how much needs to be done, which areas need more fertilizer or where there may be some pest or disease-related problems,” explains Aarón de Bernardis, the company’s current CEO.
company for this cross images Their customers have growing areas in satellite data platforms with historical information companies themselves (many in large groups) and train algorithms He said they were developing it. In this way special model For each customer, depending on the type of crop, variety, characteristics of the land and all relevant information.
Once the AI has learned enough, Feed it images The system thus creates a color map showing the status. condition of crops, needs or potential problems this may be available. But according to De Bernardis, it can also show in which areas the fruit is riper and where it is greener, in order to decide the order of harvest and maximize yield.
more than 100 hectares
Logically, this is a technology designed for large farms; The company points out that they need to have a technology for this to be profitable. minimum area of 100 hectares– so they quickly decided to focus their efforts on: Latin Americaplace of elders large estates. They found their first customers Uruguaybut they quickly began to receive contracts in other countries. There is a delegation today ColombiaResponsible for South America; someone else Guatemala For Central America; and the other Mexican for all of North America. It also has technical and commercial offices. BrazilThe country that represents its great claim for the future.
According to De Bernardis, they did not have the mindset of starting a startup when they started. “We believed we were starting a business like a bakery, where we would buy something worth 10 and sell it for 12,” the businessman explains. This is from the beginning The company’s financing has always been provided by its own resources. Its profits have allowed its three founders to now hold 100% of the firm’s capital. More than 30 people currently work at Nax Solutions.
The company offers two tracking methods to its customers; daily and another weekly. “If you have a crop that lasts 60 days (as with many vegetables) it’s normal to monitor it daily, but if it’s a crop with an annual cycle, doing it weekly is sufficient,” he says. CEO of the company.
when it comes resultsAlthough it depends on the situation of each parcel – “the lower the productivity, the more room there is for improvement,” says De Bernardis – in most cases yield increases of 5% or 6% are achieved, adding up to millions on these holdings. euro. In other cases the advantage is in cost savings.
Source: Informacion
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