Yara and IBM to develop digital farming platform

Yara and IBM Services will jointly innovate and commercialise digital agricultural solutions that are to help increase global food production by drawing on the 2 companies’ complementary capabilities: Yara’s agronomic knowledge, backed by more than 800 agronomists and a century of experience, and IBM’s digital platforms, services and expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics.

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IBM and @Yara International will combine cutting-edge technology and world-class agronomy to develop the world’s leading global digital farming platform to help increase global food production https://t.co/zp52m8cD5Z pic.twitter.com/0ouW6rzS6w

— IBM News Room (@IBMNews) 26 April 2019

Optimise farming practices

“Our collaboration centers around a common goal to make a real difference in agriculture. To be able to responsibly feed a growing population, it is critical that farmers increase food production on existing farmland to avoid deforestation. Yara and IBM will develop digital solutions that empower professional and smallholder farmers to optimise farming practices to increase yields, crop quality and incomes in a sustainable way,” said Terje Knutsen, EVP Sales and Marketing in Yara.

Worldwide coverage

The joint global digital farming platform will apply artificial intelligence, machine learning and in-field data to unlock new insights for farmers. The digital platform will have worldwide coverage and aspires to reach 100 million hectares of farmland – which is equivalent to twice the size of Spain or close to 7 percent of all arable land worldwide* including millions of smallholder farms.

_{Luq Niazi, IBM Global Managing Director Consumer Industries:}

The digital farming platform will play a key role in increasing global farming yields in a sustainable way

“As demand for food rises along with the world’s population, the digital farming platform will play a key role in increasing global farming yields in a sustainable way. The collaboration is a perfect symbiosis of IBM’s capabilities in AI, big data management and blockchain technology and Yara’s agronomic knowledge, farmer-centric digital innovation, and proven track record in improving farming across the globe,” said Luq Niazi, IBM Global Managing Director Consumer Industries.

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The Yara/IBM partnership will focus on all aspects of farm optimisation, including variable fertilisation rates and weather data. – Photo: Yara

First services planned for end 2019

As a first step, Yara and IBM will establish joint innovation teams, collaborating at digital hubs in Europe, Singapore, the US and Brazil. The teams will work closely with IBM researchers to develop new capabilities, such as visual analytics and machine learning techniques for crop insights. The first services are planned for end 2019.

Weather data

The Yara/IBM partnership will focus on all aspects of farm optimisation. One specific area of collaboration will be weather data. By merging analytical insights from IBM’s Watson Studio, IBM PAIRS technology, The Weather Company and other services, with Yara’s crop knowledge and modelling capabilities, the joint platform will not only provide hyperlocal weather forecasts but will in addition give real-time actionable recommendations, tailored to the specific needs of individual fields/crops, according to Yara and IBM.

Traceability and supply chain efficiency

As the joint digital farming platform expands, the teams will explore innovative business solutions to integrate the joint platform into the IBM Food Trust, IBM’s blockchain-enabled network of food chain players. “This will allow for greater traceability and supply chain efficiency as well as ways to tackle food fraud, food waste and sustainability. It will firmly link the farm into the full food chain, creating a holistic approach to food production from farm to plate,” say the 2 companies.

Also read: New YaraIrix app measures nitrogen needs in cereals