Swiss-based Yara International, a global provider of crop nutrition and digital farming solutions, and IBM, have invited farmer associations, industry players, academia and NGOs from the food and agriculture industry globally to join a movement to develop an open data exchange that facilitates collaboration around farm and field data.
The aim, the two companies stated, is to improve the efficiency, transparency and sustainability of global food production.
According to IBM, technology and digital innovation have the potential to make a significant contribution towards a step-change in the sustainability, transparency, and resource efficiency of food supply.
To overcome these challenges, Yara and IBM have collaborated to ensure that the Open Farm and Field Data Exchange brings data together from various players to address concrete issues and enable innovation.
Terje Knutsen, executive vice president, Sales and Marketing at Yara, said: “It is our collective responsibility to overcome siloes and work together to bring innovation to the way we produce food. The transition towards a more sustainable food system requires data-driven customised solutions for every field and farm. Trusted data sharing is one key element where we can jointly make a difference which will benefit all, from farmers all the way to end consumers,” says.
Yara and IBM invite early movers from the agriculture and food industry to jointly pilot concrete test cases and define the principles and practicalities of data collaboration.
The two companies stated that participants will contribute to the development of a food ecosystem that is designed to enable data-driven innovation, addresses changing consumer preferences and reduces the environmental footprint of food production.
The initiative will be building on the learnings and technology foundation established in the context of the Yara-IBM partnership, which was launched in 2019 as the two companies joined forces to connect and support farmers around the world.
“When IBM and Yara developed the first digital farming collaboration, we centred around a joint vision to make a real difference in increasing global farming yields in a sustainable way,” said Mark Foster, senior vice president, IBM Services and Global Business Services. “We believe the agriculture industry needs to invest in exponential technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and big data to help address climate change and population growth as it threatens the world’s ability to produce enough food.”
Foster pointed out that together with Yara, IMB is taking a major step towards transforming the global food system by inviting all food value chain players to join this collaborative movement to help feed the world more efficiently and sustainably.