Usina Coruripe produces cane sugar, alcohol and energy with close to 10 thousand employees.
achieves annual revenues of up to US$ 500 mil- lion (€ 460 milion). That’s why it makes large in- vestments to improve irrigation for the produc- tion of sugar, ethanol and energy. “The payback of drip systems comes after 3.5 to 4.5 years. Our mission is to produce safely and sustainably, generating value for shareholders, employees, partners and society,” Silva comments.
Drip 4.0 The next step in drip irrigation technology for both Usina Coruripe and AgroDan is a system offered by Netafim and Amanco in Brazil. The NetBeat sensor system is capable of detecting, reading and recording a series of parameters. This information can be quickly translated by people or computers, delivering greater con- venience and precision in irrigation. “On a single screen, the farmer has access to climate infor- mation, weather forecast, soil and plant condi- tions, current irrigation programmes, an activity calendar and technical recommendations. He can programme any irrigation or plant feeding process in just a few steps,” explains digital farm- ing manager at Netafim/Amanco, Bruno Toniel- lo. These functionalities are possible thanks to
sensors that capture information in real time, which is processed and analysed to offer recom- mendations, in addition to automatisation that makes it possible to control everything through a program installed on desktops, smartphones or tablets. “NetBeat was developed to deliver
Highest efficiency
Others farms have already adopted the new smart NetBeat system and, due to better controls and more precision, have realised even better results in small areas. That is the case with Fazenda Regina and Fazenda Kitanda. Fazenda Regina, in Salto Grande, São Paulo state, crops 39 hectares of corn with drip irrigation and produces 220 sacks per ha, consuming an average of 3.1 mm of water for each bag delivered. Before NetBeat, that same area used to produce 110 sacks/ha, consuming 6.3 mm per bag. Thus, there was a 100% increase in produc- tivity with only half of the water used by the drip system compared to traditional irrigation.
greater convenience, but not only that. The goal is that the farmer – based on data and artificial intelligence – can be more effective in decision making, generating more profitability, pro- ductivity and better management of available resources,” says Toniello.
Fazenda Kitanda grows conilon coffee.
Fazenda Kitanda, in Guaratinga, Bahia state, farms 150 hectares of conilon coffee. With the NetBeat system it produces 127 sacks per ha, using 13 mm of water for each bag. Previously, the productivity was 40 sacks per ha with a water consumption of 33 mm. In other words, 317% more production and 60% less water.
▶ FUTURE FARMING | 22 May 2020 45
PHOTO: FAZENDA KITANDA
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