HM.CLAUSE Kenya and WayBeyond: A partnership for optimized seed production

Since early 2023, HM.CLAUSE Kenya and WayBeyond have been collaborating to enhance seed and pollen production at HM.CLAUSE’s high-value production site in Kenya. The goal was to leverage technology to achieve optimal quantity and quality outcomes.

WayBeyond’s digital agronomy solution, FarmRoad, provides data visibility for seed production decision-making.

Sebastien Alix, HM.CLAUSE EMEA Production Operations Director, recognized the potential of partnering with WayBeyond to benefit the HM.CLAUSE seed production business and identified HM.CLAUSE Kenya as the first location for this joint project.

The HM.CLAUSE production team has faced several challenges in optimizing their yield steering. By working together with WayBeyond, HM.CLAUSE aimed to:

• Increase HM.CLAUSE Kenya’s seed production and seed quality 

• Provide automated data collection

• Better understand climate across the seasons

• Make farm data available for offsite stakeholders to access anywhere across the globe

• Mitigate the risk associated with needing experienced staff for data collection and analysis 

• Implement a solution that can be easily replicated at other HM.CLAUSE production sites globally.

WayBeyond provided the FarmRoad platform, which offers several key features such as digital data collection, centralized data visualization with insights into plant health and yield steering, and an objective view of the plants’ vegetative or generative response to growing conditions.

″I think FarmRoad is a super tool. We have all the information necessary to do a good analysis and take action on time. Information is available in real-time, allowing us to take action during crop development rather than waiting until the end of the crop cycle to analyze. It is also a complete tool, not just for temperature and humidity, but also for VPD, radiation, and other measurements.″

Antonella Bustamante, Seed Supply Manager in charge of agronomy data for Kenya and Spain.

″At HM.CLAUSE Kenya we started using the FarmRoad platform one year ago. It was a journey to walk together with the technical team to bring onboard the tool in our daily farm operations.

The tool has brought evolution in how we collect and present climate data in our greenhouses. We started the project with tools for monitoring relative humidity, temperature, radiation intensity, plant temperature, substrate moisture. Later features for irrigation monitoring and weather insight were introduced to suit our requirements.

With ease of access and real time alerts, we can closely monitor climatic conditions in our greenhouses and be able to make relationships and decisions on crop behavior, irrigation demands, yield and pests.″

Leaky MURIUKI and Daniel NDEGWA, HM.CLAUSE Kenya.

″At WayBeyond we work with the world’s leading seed producers to maximize their seed yield, quality, and viability. This project with HM.CLAUSE has been an excellent start to our partnership with them. One of the key project objectives was to implement a solution which could be easily replicated to other HM.CLAUSE seed production sites across the globe. As a result of the dedication from both teams, HM.CLAUSE Kenya has been able to use FarmRoad to demonstrate optimal seed production and high seed quality, becoming a digital agronomy reference site for the wider HM Clause group.″

Darryn Keiller, CEO, WayBeyond.