Digital agriculture: what is the near future of Argentine agriculture?

In an exclusive dialogue with Infobae, Bob Reiter, the Head of Research and Development at Bayer Crop Science analyzed topics, such as the Law of Seeds and current affairs of the field in Argentina.

 

The producers of the Argentine field, who long ago watched the purchase of Monsanto by Bayer with great attention, are today well versed in understanding how that situation will impact on their daily work.

 

Once in operation, in which the German Bayer worked with the American Monsanto, the referent in Research and Development of the new company, Bob Reiter, presented some indications about what the Argentine producer can expect: "I think it is a great opportunity for South America, in general, because the capacities of two companies that complement each other very well have been combined In Argentina. For example, farmers require solutions, in terms of seeds and crop protection.

 

"The country is among the first five in importance, in terms of our crop business. The advantages of the digital and the biotechnology industry will also be exploited," Reiter said.

 

The management of data and information are fundamental pillars for today's agriculture. If the producer wants to make good decisions, from which variety of seed to use, when to plant, and how to make the applications, among other issues, he should handle these variables, as best as possible. Bayer puts a lot of emphasis on the collection and subsequent use of information collected in the field.

 

The company now has Climate FieldView™, a digital agriculture platform that is available in Europe, the United States, Canada and Brazil. It allows farmers to easily collect and visualize field data, analyze and evaluate crop yields and manage the variability of their fields, through personalized fertility and sowing plans to optimize crop productivity. The company intends, in the future, to have a similar tool, in countries such as Argentina.

 

In weeks of debate in the Commission of Agriculture of the House of Representatives of the Nation, in search of a consensus and the later elaboration of an opinion to modify the current Law of Seeds, Reiter was clear in stating Bayer's position: "This issue is very important to us, because the Law needs to find a balance between the innovations of the suppliers, so that we can obtain the corresponding payment for the technology that we carry to help farmers. The new Law provides payment security to companies like ours, and in that way we can continue to bring more innovations to the market, with respect to intellectual property and the rights of farmers."

 

"I think it is the right of the farmer to choose between different options, and as this opportunity is not eliminated, we see that there is a path that must be traveled to bring technology and innovations there, and then we would invest in Argentina, without any doubt," Reiter said.

 

 

For some time, Monsanto has been working on genetic research, showing clear results in some areas, such as in genetic research to protect against drought, and Monsanto is waiting for more and better news. Such progress should moderate the impact of drought on some crops in Argentina, as in the last agricultural campaign when the impact of drought was very negative.

 

Had it been an appropriate tool, the country could have avoided the loss of billions of dollars. "We are launching the product in the United States, and for now we are not introducing  it in other parts of the world, though we are still evaluating the product in several countries," Reiter explained.

 

"The challenge with this type of technology and droughts is to create a plant that can tolerate them. It is not just a genetic issue, it is broader, and we are having an effect on drought tolerance, which makes it difficult to develop these products, since the gene could work well in a corn hybrid, but have little use in another. "

 

"I think we have a lot to learn from biology and how to use it to develop biotechnological solutions. We invest hundreds of millions of dollars trying this, so it's not for a lack of effort, it's just a big challenge in this scientific area," he said.

 

 

"When Argentine producer grows corn, wheat or soy, it takes between 40 and 50 decisions that have a strong impact on the results: environmental, climate, rain and water stress, which is why digital agriculture allows more accurate and better results. That's what the prescriptions are about, to get hold of millions of types of data that are within the reach of the producer and should be exploited," said Rodrigo Santos, Head of Operations for Latin America at Bayer Crop Science. 

 

"A priori in the Argentine fields seem very uniform, but when there is access to see the different layers of soil with meter by meter information, you realize that within the same field there are very large differences, such as different depths, availability of water and organic matter," added Santos.

 

He also stressed the importance and the increase in efficiency achieved since the application of the so-called "agriculture by the meter". This is the great change, since some years ago it was almost unthinkable, while today we have all the tools to be much more efficient, such as quantity of seeds, distancing, fertility and productivity per square meter. This is not only greater efficiency, but also means more responsible use and more sustainable production".

 

 

Regarding the Seed Law, Santos said, "We accompany the debate because we believe it is important to have an evolution of the current Law, which can attract greater investments, and I think that new developments need to be brought in and that the producer will decide what technology to use. What motivates companies is innovation. We want to be seen as a company that generates real value to farmers. It is a great opportunity for Latin America Bayer and Monsanto, as we have great deployment in this region, and today this is even more relevant to the organization. "