Faced with a myriad of challenges such as climate change and shrinking land under cultivation, modern farmers have been forced to turn to technology and innovation to stay afloat. Farmers Review Africa speaks to Zack Janse van Rensburg, AGCO Technical Service and Digital Products Manager, Africa on the role of technology in farming.
FRA: What is AGCO’s core business?
AGCO is a global leader in designing, manufacturing and distributing agricultural solutions. We work tirelessly to help make today’s farms more productive and more profitable. As the world of agriculture changes, so do we. Brazenly. We do it for the farmers, the people working for them, ourselves, and the future.
Our products are widely represented in more than 30 countries through our distributors/dealer network across Africa and 3 250 worldwide.
AGCO history and timeline.
Another important addition to our precision agriculture capabilities is the recent acquisition of JCA Industries, Inc. (“JCA”), d/b/a JCA Technologies, a leader in the development of autonomous software for agricultural machines, implement controls and electronic system components.
FRA: How can technology help boost agriculture in Africa?
Without a doubt, technology opens vast opportunities for farmers. We live in times whereby technology is part of our lives. Farm productivity must accelerate at a faster rate to meet the continued mass hunger with the delicate balance of monitoring input costs. What we see today is: That weather patterns are changing, fallow periods are shortened, high population levels of pests or diseases are recorded etc. All of this calls for technology integration in real-time.
Precision farming improves farm productivity and reduces input waste by using analytics to facilitate data-driven farming practices for farmers. As a results, technology could bring significant economic, social, and environmental benefits. Technology is also making farming exciting for young people. They understand the technology and quickly becoming involved in farming businesses. They find it easy to use innovative features that come with the machines, analyse and translate data into useful information, which they apply to improve food production and profitability of their farms.
FRA: What is the role of farm mechanization in boosting food security?
Farm mechanization is essential for many reasons in boosting food security, especially in Africa. In reality, farmers produce without certainty about what will happen to production. Being mechanized enables farmers to react quickly when faced with unpredictable weather, the outbreak of pest or diseases which could cause major yield losses in crop and livestock. It also enables farmers to enhance agricultural techniques such as technologies, innovations and process improvement, allowing for better productivity.
Mechanizing helps in the overall productivity of improving efficiency by orders of magnitude in comparison to using manual or animal labour when it comes to land preparation, planting, tillage, baling and harvesting.
Mechanization also play a role in conserving resources, as farmers can now employ agricultural conservation practices with the availability of tractors and implements. Timeous planting, pest and weed control, accurate fertilizer application, harvesting and improved land utilization greatly boost food security.
For this reason, mechanization is increasingly adopted in Africa to meet the goals of feeding a growing African population and the world.
Farm mechanization can also add growth to the value-adding side of agriculture, substantially improving nutrition at scale.
FRA: What are some of AGCO’s innovative products in the market?
Building on constant customer feedback, our designers work closely with suppliers, agronomists and research institutions to create solutions that make a real difference in the field, the environment and the bottom line.
AGCO provides smart solutions for sustainable agriculture across the entire value chain. To name a few:-
Fuse
Fuse is the leading global platform for digital farming products operated by AGCO Corporation. Fuse supports AGCO‘s brands and the aftermarket with a comprehensive and customizable suite of non-proprietary digital solutions, empowering farmers to make their individually best business decisions in terms of input costs and thus maximize yields and profitability.
Telemetry-based tracking system
Telemetry-based tracking system helps farmers optimize the performance of their equipment and cover more ground more efficiently. The technology records equipment function and performance, can be used to identify performance issues for possible adjustment or repair and makes maintenance easier to track and plan, helping enhance machine life.
Tractors
Powerful engines, innovative design and leading safety standards allow for cultivation, ploughing, tillage and other farming operations. Take, for instance, Fendt CVT Transmissions with the highest horsepower ranges and infinite speed selection capabilities saving the customer money in terms of diesel consumption. They are truly revolutionary machines.
AGCO Power engines
No compromises are made in the development of AGCO Power™ engines. Instead, our solutions aim at reliable engines with long lifespans, low running costs, high levels of power, torque and low noise. Consider AGCO’s SCR-based (Selective Catalytic Reduction) technology, which allows engines to run more efficiently—optimizing combustion yet reducing polluting particulate matter.
Smart Farming
We strive to ensure our customers’ operations are always running, optimized, coordinated and seamlessly connected throughout all stages of the crop cycle.
AGCO’s smart farming innovations help farms and machines run more efficiently with lower inputs and higher yields. Our smart solutions are built for productivity from the ground up. They sense the environment, determine the actions needed based on the information gathered and then execute optimally based on the data in real-time.
Application specific equipment
From spreaders to sprayers, AGCO allows farmers to accurately and efficiently apply nutrients and protectants for improved crop yield and reduced costs. If you have application requirements, AGCO has the equipment and solutions to help farmers apply with more precision and more confidence.
Harvesting
Our harvesting equipment is spilt into gold and green harvesting. With gold harvesting we have innovatively designed in a range of sizes and capacities, our combine harvesters which offer advanced cutting, threshing, separation, cleaning and delivery of crop like maize, soya beans, wheat, barley, etc. Green harvesting is everything from mowers and balers to wrappers and handlers. Ensuring quality when harvesting and storing your green products like round bales for animal feeds or simply cutting Lucerne for your dairy, is cut and bales at the high quality level with the right solution for your farm.
FRA: What are some of the challenges facing African farmers today?
Generally, farmers worldwide live on the edge of extreme uncertainty. African farmers are no exception to that. Their everyday challenges include climate changes, market volatility, the barrier of entry into farming technology, adequate skills, access to farming equipment, financing, policy and collapsing infrastructure. The list is endless, but African farmers continue to farm under all those challenges so that Africa produces food to feed nations.
FRA: What role can the government play in encouraging farming activities?
Firstly, the government can build credibility through consistent commitment to implementing policies efficiently and effectively to encourage citizens into farming businesses and investors to invest in the sector.
Government need to promote cross-departmental collaboration within its ministries – e.g. the departments of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Trade, Industry, Transport, Infrastructure, Finance etc.- and input from a range of key stakeholders in each sector.
Build local industrial capacity for both domestic and export markets.
Promote partnerships e.g. financial institutions, development programmes with the private sector and even partner with foreign markets in skills and trade exchange.
Demonstrate total commitment in rebuilding the sector and report back regularly to see the progress.
FRA: What can be done to encourage farming among the youth?
Farming in its entirety should not be seen only through the lens of food security. Youth want to take sustainability actions in the sector. Youth want to create successful Agribusinesses, youth want to be developers and innovators of tools to be used to bring improvement in the sector, youth wants to bring back the respect of the industry etc. But, contemporary agriculture is all they relate to. So, we need to speak the language they understand.
FRA: What does the future look like for Agriculture in Africa?
The future of Agriculture in Africa lies in the hands of today. If we don’t think and implement solutions of tomorrow today, the future is blurry. If we take actions today, the future looks bright.
