SPECIAL FEATURE
We have shown
that our technology has increased
farmers’ income by at least 50 percent as a baseline.
Aukrit Unahalekhaka, Co-Founder, Ricult
According to PEAT, in 2021 the
app reached over four million farmers, making a positive social and environmental impact through its AI- backed disease recognition technology. “[Farmers] can identify diseases, pest damage or nutrient deficiencies via a photo taken of their affected crops,” Munzel said. “They can also access a crop calendar, get weather alerts or network with other farmers. These tools ultimately enable our users to avoid crop loss, increase yields and optimize pesticide and fertilizer use. And we stay sustainable by licensing our software to other companies.” The technology provides insights
Plantix
Plantix is an app developed by the German-Indian start-up PEAT GmbH that could help change the way smallholder farmers in India obtain solid, up-to-date reliable field data on the ground. The app, available in 150 countries and in 18 different languages, combines artificial intelligence and the expertise of leading research institutions around the globe. Boasting a database of more than 50 million crop images, Plantix can identify from a farmer’s photo in seconds what is affecting their crop. “Our app was created as a knowledge-
transfer tool accessible to small-scale farmers in developing countries – even those in remote areas,” says PEAT CFO Pierre Munzel. “Farmers can download the app free of charge. Just by using their smartphones, small-scale farmers – those cultivating on plots up to 10 hectares – have a wide range of tools on hand.”
into the entire value chain of agri- inputs and thus has a meaningful impact for producers, retailers, and, most importantly, smallholder farmers, bringing more transparency to the relationship between all stakeholders.
Ricult Established seven years ago by two enterprising MIT graduates from Pakistan and Thailand, Ricult – as in “agRICULTure” – launched operations in their respective countries. The team developed the Ricult Farmer App that proves smallholder farmers with free weather data, satellite imagery, pest management, and measurement tools that utilize machine learning and AI. Perhaps just as useful, farmers can use the app to secure bank loans. According to co-founder Aukrit Unahalekhaka, nearly 400,000 Thai farmers have signed up for the app. “We have shown that our technology has increased farmers’ income by at least 50 percent as a baseline,” Unahalekhaka said in a November 2021 interview, likening Ricult’s services to that of a “robo-advisor.” RicultX, another of the company’s
products, is a digital platform that uses analytics that allow farmers to easily monitor harvests, create yield forecast models, and interact with satellite imagery maps to base decision making on prediction models.
4CAST Agricultural research institutions have played an integral role in poverty reduction and reducing under-nutrition and fighting malnutrition. These institutions are also working with digital platforms to address the many challenges within the agriculture sector. 4CAST is a tool that provides
farmers with information needed to access improved seed varieties most appropriate to their region/climate. Recently launched by the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi- Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the data-driven platform enables farmers to hone in on what seeds would work best for their specific climate and what types of pests and diseases are prevalent in the area. According to ICRISTAT estimates, the tool could increase total crop productivity by up to 20 percent. In addition to learning where they can purchase high quality seeds, 4CAST, which stands for Digital Tools 4 Cataloguing and Adopting Improved Seed Technologies, is open access and users can log in to add their own seed catalogues. Researchers at ICRISAT hope that
the 4CAST platform can be widely adopted across Eastern and Central Africa as a way to synergize with ongoing regional initiatives. Since inception, the OPEC Fund has contributed more than US$2.3 million to ICRISAT’s various technical assistance programs.
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ILLUSTRATIONS: Vasya Kobelev/
Shutterstock.com PHOTO: RICULT
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