CropScope, an ICT agricultural platform says it has resolved some challenging farming issues. NEC has been operating CropScope since April 2020 with Kagome using sensors and satellite photographs to visualize the growth status of tomatoes and soil conditions. It also provides a service that provides farming advice with the aid of artificial intelligence (AI).
The AI uses cultivators’ knowledge to provide guidance on things like the amount of fertilizer, water, and the best time to apply them. This allows tomato producers irrespective of their level of skill, to stabilize their harvest and reduce the cost of cultivation while implementing environmentally-friendly warming.
With the knowledge being passed down, the platform can emulate successful methods of production and provide support for the training of new farmers. Managers and operators of processed tomato facilities can also understand the growth of tomatoes in both their own soils and that of contracted farmers, to optimize harvesting and enhance productivity based on objective data.
Update on Tomato Growers
The company has included new functions on the platform which includes strengthening AI capabilities. For instance, NEC says it conducted tests of CropScope in association with Kagome subsidiary KAGOME Australia Pty Ltd.
The platform gained vital knowledge on soils, irrigation facilities, and crop breeds from the application of the CropScope in different markets where it discovered the difference in the cultivation requirements. This has allowed the platform to deliver the same harvest capacity as trained cultivators in different environments which range from the Southern to Northern Hemisphere.
NEC has also enhanced the application based on feedback. The enhancements include the platform’s ability to identify abnormalities such as changes in water and soil content, expressing data in a simple manner, the ability to determine farming priorities for individual fields, and the ability to analyze accumulated data between fields to enhance farming methods.
Future plans
The two companies aim to fasten the growth of the business by strengthening proposals for manufacturers of processed tomato, specifically in the Americas and Europe, and for tomato production companies.
“We aim to realize environmentally friendly and highly profitable farming in the cultivation of tomatoes for processing globally,” said Kengo Nakata, general manager, Smart Agri Division, Kagome.
The company says the platform is helping customers achieve stable yields via verification in different environments. Therefore, NEC expects the expansion of the number of new contracts for the platform.
