By Justine Cullinun
In 2015, Agri Technovation had a vision: a digital solution that would replace the limited and frustrating paper-based approach to farming practices. Since then, MYFARMWEBTM has put the power of digital technology to work alongside the intuition and experience of key partners and many South African commercial producers. Now, with the launch of MYFARMWEBTM Mobile, the power of MYFARMWEBTM is put into the hands of producers wherever, whenever. The full mobile version of MYFARMWEBTM will be live and available for download on Android and iOS smartphone devices from 4 September 2019.
The global smart agriculture solution market is projected to reach a valuation of USD 38.1 billion by the end of 2024 (Source: Reuters). This is why the launch of MYFARMWEBTM Mobile, a full mobile version of the ground-breaking platform, MYFARMWEBTM , is set to lead South African producers into the Fourth Industrial Revolution and beyond. “In the agriculture solution market, it is not so much a question of survival of the fittest as much as it is about the survival of the most innovative and relevant,” says Erik de Vries, Director of Marketing and Sales at Agri Technovation.
MYFARMWEB™ is further developed in partnership with Laeveld Agrochem, Vodacom and Mezzanine. Laeveld Agrochem is a leading distribution partner providing a wide range of quality farming inputs and solutions to South African farmers, while Mezzanine, a member of the Vodacom Group, is a digital technology solutions creator with extensive experience in agricultural technology solutions, connectivity and IoT (Internet of Things) integrations. The partnership of these companies has enabled a functional combination of agriculture and technology.
“There are so many macro-inputs that a farmer needs to consider and monitor in order to make the most informed decisions,” says Jacques de Vos, CEO of Mezzanine “and that’s where MYFARMWEBTM comes in.”
Innovative inputs lead to improved outputs
MYFARMWEBTM is a cloud-based web platform that allows a producer to capture agricultural information, from the soil to the market, into a system that aggregates and calibrates the data to assist in best practice decision-making. Producers can use the system to measure and record data ranging from soil physical, chemical, and microbial analysis, pest presence, satellite and remote sensing information and data from various internet-connected farming sensors like soil moisture probes, vehicle trackers and weather stations, to produce the most profitable yield from the available land and environment under their control.
MYFARMWEBTM and its mobile counterpart puts the power of informed decision-making in the hands of the producer. For the last three years, MYFARMWEB™ has enabled farmers to use digital technology to input their field data into a single point of entry to allow them to drilldown, pinpoint, calculate and analyse all these inputs for better agricultural practice. Together with the increasing need to make timely and informed decisions in order to mitigate risk and increase profitability on the farm, it became evident that a full mobile version of MYFARMWEBTM was needed.
Converting productivity into profitability
With the launch of MYFARMWEBTM Mobile, producers will have access to all farm-generated maps and point data for and in-field orientated decision-making through smartphone GPS functionality.
MYFARMWEBTM Mobile gives producers the mobility to view data and make decisions in-field. This mobile platform enables access to producer data almost anywhere and boasts off-line capability for pre-synced information in areas with limited connectivity.
MYFARMWEBTM Mobile viewer functionalities include a live GPS location orientation point, showing the user as a green dot on a map – enabling producers to find problem areas and conduct root cause analysis on the spot. Developers are hard at work to ensure future updates are available to users as soon as possible. Some of the next essential developments include push notifications and activity trackers. Notifications will make it possible for the producer to receive a notification, via email, SMS or WhatsApp message, containing a link to the data entry that has been updated, be it leaf analysis, soil chemical analysis data, PPMTM (Precision Pest Monitoring) layers etc. This enables the producer to have a live feed of incoming data loaded by Agri Technovation GIS (Geographical Information Systems) specialists. The activity tracker and timeline will enable users to plan, manage and report on specific farming activities such as spraying, fertilising, planting, fieldwork and harvesting. It will also enable users to collaborate and discuss emerging issues in a discussion forum environment, making it easy for the producer to review recommendations and feedback.
Through the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s converging agricultural technologies, South Africa has the opportunity to become one of the early adopters with countries like the USA, Australia and New Zealand. The MYFARMWEBTM platform and its mobile counterpart are, therefore, more than smart farming tools – it can be considered a continuously evolving digital partner available to each producer who uses it in the field.
Cape Town, 29 August 2019
For more information phone +27 21 300 5288, visit www.myfarmweb.com or send an e-mail to info@myfarmweb.com.
