INTERVIEW ▶▶▶ Anthony van der Ley
“Digitalisation in agriculture is not simple”
CEMA represents the European machinery manufacturers. For Anthony van der Ley digitalisation is a primary concern. The exchange of data between brands, for example, is not as smooth as we would like.
BY CAROLIEN KLOOSTERMAN T
here is no shortage of experience on the CV of Anthony van der Ley, president of CEMA, the interest group for European manufacturers of agricultural machinery and tractors. He has been president since June, alongside his
role as CEO of the German machinery manufacturer Lemken. He is the first CEMA president not to come from a tractor manufacturer. The Dutchman has previously worked for Westfalia, Kverneland, and Kuhn.
Where would you like to make the greatest changes during your term as President of CEMA? “The key area for attention in my view is that Europe must be and remain the forerunner in the digitalisation of agriculture. But digi- talisation is not a simple process. Dealers, installers and farmers are exasperated because it is not possible to exchange data be- tween machines of different brands, which is a shame, because digitalisation is the future. The reason: in the past expensive sys- tems were set up by different manufacturers who wanted to be the pioneers.”
What other topics will you be devoting attention to over the coming period? “CEMA has drawn up a plan containing three key areas that we want to address by 2030. One is safety in the field, but also on the road, when using machinery. The rate of accidents involving agri- cultural machinery needs to come down. The other area concerns the role of Europe as the forerunner in innovation. It is possible to increase the machinery industry’s contribution towards fruitful and sustainable food production. So far, we are still making too little use of the opportunities. There is little support from
40 ▶ FUTURE FARMING | 1 November 2018
governments and general agricultural policy to make this possi- ble. European legislation and regulations need to be organised in such a way that creates scope for such development and inno- vation. The same goes for the third area, digitalisation and precision agriculture.”
What needs to happen in order for this to be addressed? “We need to harmonise our approach within Europe. There needs to be a clearly defined central point for all farmers from which they can manage and check their data. CEMA is working on new systems that make it easier to manage data and make it simpler for workers, farmers and crop consultants to exchange data. There are still many differences between countries. The Nether- lands, for example, requires a 5G network in order to effectively process data from the field straight away. Quantities of data are increasing all the time, and we need better connections for them. Not all countries need 5G, though, because they are not yet as ad- vanced in terms of their digital development, and that is where the Netherlands is really leading the way. Another example is emissions standards. More time has been given to allow narrow track tractors to comply, and now countries around the Mediter- ranean Sea are asking for even more time. We are obviously not all on the same page. The issue is how to harmonise everyone’s approach. You have national interest groups to deal with, which is Fedecom in the Netherlands, and we need to unite them.”
You mentioned that the Netherlands requires a 5G net- work and that we are leading the way in that respect. In what way are Dutch farmers more advanced in terms of digitalisation? “Dutch farmers are more advanced in their use of precision agri- culture and digitalisation. Take ISOBUS, a system that allows
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