Interview with Andrea Cruciani, Agricolus CEO, the company that makes technology available to agriculture.
The agriculture sector has always been a pride for our country. The fruits it manages to produce, thanks to the optimal soil and climate, are synonymous with genuineness and quality. We are talking about a sector that involves more than one and a half million workers and that, despite enjoying a great reputation around the world, needs a turn that makes the agricultural sector even more efficient and innovative. Luckily there is Agricolus, the startup that through new technologies aims to support farms and professionals in the sector by simplifying and enhancing the work in the field. Their mission is to “refresh” the agricultural world by making innovative technologies accessible and easy to use, so as to improve crop productivity while respecting the environment.
The technologies made available
In a single platform, Agricolus provides innovative systems that allow you to efficiently run your company. The technologies made available are:
- field mapping, using GIS systems that allow you to geolocate your fields and draw them on a map.
- satellite images, which allow the farmer to remotely monitor the health status of the crops. The use of the vegetation indices elaborated by satellite (plant stress, chlorophyll quality, etc.) and their correct interpretation optimize the interventions in the field and make sustainable, from an economic point of view, a structured crop scouting activity.
- forecast models that provide support for the prevention and fight against pests and plant diseases.
- DSS or decision support, a system that suggests to farmers the actions that should be carried out in the field at a certain time.
- sensors that allow detecting data on the health status of crops and the environment, which will then be used to program targeted interventions. This operation facilitates and improves cultivation both in the open field and in the greenhouse, as well as simplifying operations such as storage and transport.
- Precision farming aimed to reduce variability within the field and make productivity uniform. The use of satellites and drones for the creation of prescription and fertilizing maps can lead to an increase in the production and quality of the final product and in the meantime provide a tool for traceability.
Agricolus, taking advantage of these technologies, provides several solutions to try to better satisfy farmers:
- Agricolus Easy, for small farms that want to monitor crops remotely.
- Agricolus Observa, for a more complete monitoring of crops through the use of satellites.
- Agricolus Plus, for a complete and professional agronomic management that provides 360°technological support.
- Agrucolus Free, the free version, can support up to 10 hectares that allows you to map the farm fields, make professional weather data available, and constantly monitor the development of crops recording all the farming operations carried out.
To these should be added the specific packages for the management of vineyards, olive, corn, tobacco, wheat, and tomato.
To find out more about the options made available by Agricolus you should keep reading the interview with the company CEO.
Hello Andrea, nice to meet you, and thank you for the time you are dedicating to us. Tell us more about Agricolus: what is it?
Agricolus is a cloud-based platform for the agronomic management: just registering as a user by entering email and password and you will be able to access the features and digital tools of Agriculture 4.0 that we provide: field mapping using GIS and satellite images of the camps with their indices of vegetation; forecast models for diseases and harmful insects, irrigation, phenology, fertilization; and data collection, geo-localized thanks to the mobile App that simplifies the activity in the fields; prescription maps to make fertilization at a variable rate. All these features are activated as soon as the farmer draws on the map of their fields thanks to geolocalization.
How and when did the idea of Agricolus come about?
We started creating Agricolus in 2010, when it was still a project within a software house, with the idea of spreading in Italy the use of innovative technologies for agriculture that was already widespread in America. In 2017 it turned into a startup. We wanted to help farmers cope with ongoing climate change, international competition, sustainability goals and to effectively manage their crops.
How long did it take to shape the project?
As I said before, Agricolus has begun to take shape as a project in 2010: after that, it took several years, we have worked with dedication to its development to make it a real product; and the choice of founding a standalone startup was caused by the continuous confirmation that we received: European awards, routes, acceleration, customized designs for customers.
Do you also focus on Industrial Research?
Absolutely, the research made by Agricolus, and I stress that we have a team of internal R&D, that aims at the development of new features and solutions that respond to market demands of Agriculture 4.0 and the needs of all participants in the food chain, from farmers to product manufacturers. Agricolus is in fact a technology partner of several international projects: Horizon Europe, innovation projects such as RisingFoodStars by EIT Food, and also with European organizations (Fiware, NGOs).
How important is it to cultivate while thinking about environmental sustainability?
More than ever today is essential, otherwise, we will not be able to meet the demand for food that will come from a constantly growing population. Innovative technologies for agriculture mean that the use of resources is not a standard, but calculated according to the real needs of the crop: treatment or irrigation is carried out only when and where it is needed. This results in equal savings on the Environmental Impact side: using fewer resources such as water, pesticides, and fertilizers not only will result in a decrease in costs but also in the preservation of the ecosystem that surrounds us. It is, therefore, necessary to focus on education and training, especially in the field of professional training in the agricultural sector.
How did you launch your project?
Our communication is structured on several fronts: social channels, website, fairs, and events (finally from mid-October we resumed meeting in presence). We focus very much on providing valuable content that interests and stimulates farmers ‘ curiosity towards innovative technologies for agriculture. The website for example, in addition to showing the solutions we offer, contains a rich Blog section with articles that we also share on social media. Collaborations with partners and the writing of contributions for important industry journals also play an important role.
What about the future?
We continue to work to enrich the functionality of the platform and develop new features, carefully studying the needs of farmers. We are increasingly involved in international research projects focused on the development of solutions for the innovation of the agri-food supply chain.
Another future project, but not so much, because recently launched on the market, is the solution family (AgriTrack) dedicated to organizations with a more structured approach in the agricultural sector such as associations, cooperatives, companies in the transformative, etc. that wants to be the promoters of the digitization and to better organize the communication and the agronomic management with partner companies or customers.
Credits: