“The same thing that happened with the Internet itself in mid-2000, 2001 will happen to digital agriculture, with companies going bankrupt. It’s a period of depuration.” This statement was made by Bernhard Kiep, specialist in digital agriculture, from Pessl Instruments, who spoke at the AgTech Forum, held last week in São Paulo (SP).
According to ABStartups (Brazilian Startup Association), the country currently has approximately 70 digital agriculture companies. This year alone, the segment recorded an increase of 70% over 2015, with this number projected to triple by the end of next year.
Kiep analyzes that there will not be room for so many startups, because “it is still difficult to find someone in Brazil who combines ankle boots and toes with clicks. Digital agriculture is not like creating a Waze or an Uber. In the field, we deal with plants, animals, it’s a different environment, with many more variables.”
According to him, only “a solution that proves cost reduction” will survive in this market, and not one that “promises that it will increase crop productivity”. In the expert's assessment, the path is not “Big Data”, but “Right Data”, that is, technologies that bring relevant and differentiating information to rural producers.
Source: Agrolink
