Alvarez Garrido Rafael
| Organization type | Private Sector (Commercial Companies) |
|---|---|
| Country | Spain |
I have been working for more than 15 years in practical agriculture in the south of Spain, from 1990 to 2002, in very advanced farms of citrus and stone fruits. My perspective is very practical because during those years I did everything, from planting the farms, to work with more than 400 people working in harvest, to be teached by the best consultancy people to manage technically the crops using water and fertilizers and to be in the board of the export company.
Since 12 years ago we created www.verdtech.es , a company focus in how we can use different technologies (sensors, ramote sensing, data from field and weather forecast) to create data from the crop to have the history of the expericence of each year. We have created "Metodo Verdtech",where us and other 6 companies, work together offering our customers and integrated mid-time project to their crop problems.
We are working with top of the spanish citrus, olives and viticulture farms. We are experts to work with research centers (more than 15 in 16 years) to transform the data from this new technologies into information and indicators that used integrated and in an orderly and systematic way could be transformed into value information and knowledge once they solved farmers problems.
We have patented a sensor (Plantsens dendrometer) that explain us how the plant use water and nutrients and we have integrated its indicators with other data form other technologies to solve growers problems.
Since 12 years ago we created www.verdtech.es , a company focus in how we can use different technologies (sensors, ramote sensing, data from field and weather forecast) to create data from the crop to have the history of the expericence of each year. We have created "Metodo Verdtech",where us and other 6 companies, work together offering our customers and integrated mid-time project to their crop problems.
We are working with top of the spanish citrus, olives and viticulture farms. We are experts to work with research centers (more than 15 in 16 years) to transform the data from this new technologies into information and indicators that used integrated and in an orderly and systematic way could be transformed into value information and knowledge once they solved farmers problems.
We have patented a sensor (Plantsens dendrometer) that explain us how the plant use water and nutrients and we have integrated its indicators with other data form other technologies to solve growers problems.
This member participated in the following Forums
Forum e-Agriculture: looking back and moving forward
Question 4 (opens 4 Dec.) What are appropriate targets/data to monitor our progress in “e-agriculture”
Submitted by Alvarez Garrido Rafael on Mon, 12/09/2013 - 00:12
My perspective is that we have to "understand" and learn how to use each of the new technologies that are available, even if they are used alone or integrated. Best if they are integrated. We will go faster if we have the chance to design the best practical experiences that will lead us to understand how to use them to solve problems in each kind of "agriculture", in less or more developed countries. I fell that we should have at least some critical indicators in any experience, to compare and to learn.
In Spain we have the luck that last 6 years we have been testing this technologies in field conditions with more than 16 companies and now we have "our" experience adapted to our conditions. In africa, we could use our experience of how to use the technologie but we will fail if we don´t consider the human perspective of all the things that have been said this days in different post (gender problems, training etc) or what you have just commented about smallholder farmers and its organizations...
I think here in Africa or in less developed countries problems to be solved are more complex, as working with an spanish cooperative of small farmers... were the solution is more involved in a "human resources" problem than a technical one, but if we find leaders that want to "change" things, and we have a "field organization" that help him to promote it, then we could help them because we will let him to "measure" the results and profits of the "new strategie" that will convince rest of the growers...
best regards
Submitted by Alvarez Garrido Rafael on Fri, 12/06/2013 - 11:05
(continued from other post)
In my company we have moved from developing an expert system from data from our patented sensor to measure plant stress to realize that we needed first a more simpler and holistic approach: create a list of indicators that should be used in any commercial crop where we include from very simple to complex ones from different origins:
I agree with you that "it is from the digital databases that the other tools - mobiles, radio, cellular communication, apps etc can gain relevance". What i have been doing this previous years is to understand that we needed that approach working with real growers problems. We have to create the "data base" of each experience, and teach the technitians how they can do it using different tech. I agree with your sentence "what we are now moving from data based technologies to knowledge based solutions that call for structural frameworks". Thats what we are doing. The first step is create the database in each farm. Then we will start to learn. Even only with inference analisys, because we have all perspectives that affects our plants dily performance.
In our company we have moved our interviews with our customers from talking too much about a technology from asking them "whats your problem?. Our new approach:
In my company we have moved from developing an expert system from data from our patented sensor to measure plant stress to realize that we needed first a more simpler and holistic approach: create a list of indicators that should be used in any commercial crop where we include from very simple to complex ones from different origins:
- from sensors to describe processes(plant, soil moisture, soil nutrients, weather, irrigation system)
- from remote sensing
- from manual data by a pen or a digital pen to describe any interesting plant performance (like physiological or economic results or using your weighting digital devices ,photography..)
- from weather forecast that learns from farms microclimate
I agree with you that "it is from the digital databases that the other tools - mobiles, radio, cellular communication, apps etc can gain relevance". What i have been doing this previous years is to understand that we needed that approach working with real growers problems. We have to create the "data base" of each experience, and teach the technitians how they can do it using different tech. I agree with your sentence "what we are now moving from data based technologies to knowledge based solutions that call for structural frameworks". Thats what we are doing. The first step is create the database in each farm. Then we will start to learn. Even only with inference analisys, because we have all perspectives that affects our plants dily performance.
In our company we have moved our interviews with our customers from talking too much about a technology from asking them "whats your problem?. Our new approach:
- fist point: identify the problems to be solved in each crop
- Second point: To define a mid term plan of learning process and investment to identify which indicators they could use and how much it cost to get it. So depending of the investment we could get different targets and we must know this since the beggining of projects desing. If we work in a systematic way we will be able to explain them the final target and how they could get it.. if the invest money and time. it is similar to to process to implement an ERP in any enterprise.
Submitted by Alvarez Garrido Rafael on Fri, 12/06/2013 - 10:46
thank you, Mr Kiringai about your interesting thoughts.
I think that in agriculture we don´t have to do nothing different from what previously have been done in other sectors with more experience implementing ICT into their processes , like industrial or services bussiness. During the last 40 years implementing ICT they have learnt how to measure anything important related with their bussines, even from all perspectives (human resources, tecnically, financiallly, marketing, merchandising chain etc)) and the key question for all their advances have been to find out and to use the appropiate indicators. An example could be the Balanced Scorecard – BSC, created in 1992 by Kaplan and Norton, which is a method to measure the activities of a company in terms of its vision and strategy and provides managers with a global view of business performance. This new way of measurement have change how we see our organizations and have created a lot of different ERPs solutions to implement this philosophy in each sector and bussines.
We only have to do benchmarketing with other sectors and this has been the focus in my work for the last 15 years once i realized that we were working in practical agriculture without any indicator or very few measurent devices. I agree with your phrase that " is not possible to control what you cannot measure".
If our focus is to improve agriculture bussines, then our first target has to be how technically we can improve the profits for the grower. We have to measure it and without succeed in this, will fail.
Then we will need other problems to be solved, like gender, culture etc which i agree that should be included in each project perspective if we want to have succed. I agree with Mr Boyera that says that we are facing a holistic problem, and this is the reason because to solution is so complex, because we are not only facing technical problems, but humans too (more complicated to be measured).
My perspective is that the first target is to have a common lenguage to measure agri-bussines results and processes. Lets imagine how was bussines in the world before we had a General Accounting Plan. At least any enterprise can measure its balance, but in agriculture we have the lack that we are not able to measure our key processes properly. This processes are the one that could give help growers to get profits if we able to help him using ICT, and there is a big confusion how to use new technologies to help growers solve daily problems. In last 15 years have appeared a lot of new technologies and we have realized that using each one "alone" we don´t solve the problems and we are starting to get success integrating them.
(continued)
Question 1 (opens 25 Nov.) What are the main achievements in the area of ICT for agriculture and rural development...
Submitted by Alvarez Garrido Rafael on Fri, 12/06/2013 - 12:28
Hi Sergiy
I think is very interesting your post. This is opening to us new ways to implement easy and simple protocols to "measure" new data that could offer new indicators to help the diagnosys and characterization of some critical problems, like your example in plant nutrition.
We are going to start working in a project in Spain to integrate a new indicator from digital image processing from mobile phones in field to mesure "plant leaf area" (LAI) in trees. This is a "critical" information that each grower should know every year from its plants because means "how big is its factory" and its size depends in its strategy in water and nutrientes in-puts. If we measure the weight of this plant crop and we have the number of "working days" during the crop, we have a very intuitive "performance of the plant" in each year.
We are going to start working and to adapt to spanish conditions and crops the app for smartphone to calculate leaf are index (LAI), developed by Sigfredo Fuentes et al from Adelaida and Melbourne University during 2012 “Development of a smartphone application to characterise temporal and spatial canopy architecture and leaf area index for grapevines”.
The first approach should be to test its utility, second how we could iintegrate it in a commercial farm procedures. We will test nex year in two wineries. I think you should move in that way, but i think that we must know that there is not any indicator that is the "most" important. The key point is to integrate them.
We are "recovering" interesting indicators or technologies that had commercial failure because they did not solve growers problems "alone", but integrated with other indicators they help to reach the target to create a history from failure and success that could be used as the growes know-how for future years. That is my advise to keep working.
I think is very interesting your post. This is opening to us new ways to implement easy and simple protocols to "measure" new data that could offer new indicators to help the diagnosys and characterization of some critical problems, like your example in plant nutrition.
We are going to start working in a project in Spain to integrate a new indicator from digital image processing from mobile phones in field to mesure "plant leaf area" (LAI) in trees. This is a "critical" information that each grower should know every year from its plants because means "how big is its factory" and its size depends in its strategy in water and nutrientes in-puts. If we measure the weight of this plant crop and we have the number of "working days" during the crop, we have a very intuitive "performance of the plant" in each year.
We are going to start working and to adapt to spanish conditions and crops the app for smartphone to calculate leaf are index (LAI), developed by Sigfredo Fuentes et al from Adelaida and Melbourne University during 2012 “Development of a smartphone application to characterise temporal and spatial canopy architecture and leaf area index for grapevines”.
The first approach should be to test its utility, second how we could iintegrate it in a commercial farm procedures. We will test nex year in two wineries. I think you should move in that way, but i think that we must know that there is not any indicator that is the "most" important. The key point is to integrate them.
We are "recovering" interesting indicators or technologies that had commercial failure because they did not solve growers problems "alone", but integrated with other indicators they help to reach the target to create a history from failure and success that could be used as the growes know-how for future years. That is my advise to keep working.
Submitted by Alvarez Garrido Rafael on Sun, 12/01/2013 - 20:34
(continuation from the other post)..
The unique way to improve the way we take decisions is with data and information from our crops. Then we will start to create knowledge if we solve problems.
Using the new concept of crop characterization points (weather stations with soil moisture, plant and nutrition sensors with remote sensig and data from field) with extension agents from the goverment as leaders of change in areas of big importance for agriculture could be an opportunity, but this have to be designed carefully and should be intregrated with the other ICT technologies that you are talking about which are being used with succed in the developing countries. It is very easy to fail in this attemps because of design, tech problems on field, bussines model etc. I feel confortable with the crop assurance projects etc.
I could have some opportunities to promote this new concept of projects in Africa or South America with goverments and thats the reason I am here, trying to meet people focus using ICT to improve growers profits, and this is very complex from my experience in Spain but there could be a window to do so.
Submitted by Alvarez Garrido Rafael on Sun, 12/01/2013 - 20:32
Hi John
Sorry, i did not read your post untill today...
My focus and interest is how we can manage the new ICT tools for what you describe as The "knowledge for improving grower input management (is more 'in the moment').
Look, i am working in one of the most advanced agricultures areas (I think Spain is the first agriculture fresh fruit and vegetables exporter fo the world) and we are still using inputs and take decitions almost by guess... and this is a huge "hidden cost" for the growers in water, nutrition, pesticides in-puts waste.
The main reason is because we don´t have a lenguage, we don´t have common indicators and the discusions among experts is "your word against mine".. which affects and makes it difficult teamwork which is the key point to improve the science.
Once i finished my 12 years working in the south of Spain( in the citrus and stone fruits farms were i was teached by the best consultants which could be problably the best in the world in those days in the "concept of learning how to control a plant using in-puts by guess") i realized that all my knowledge was "in my head" based in cases of succed and failure, but i was not able to leave it "written" for the next technitian that was going to do the same work as i did before. In few sheets of paper i could write the "principals of how to manege the crop" but not more. This happens in every farm in Spain and i think in the world and this reduce the chance of progress. A few years later in my new company i start to travel around the world and i realized that "the guess control knowledge using inputs" that we were using in Spain was the most advance... but we had a problem on that: if i feel that my orange needed to be bigger i irrigate 8 hours instead of 4... and thats the way the agriculture world works today in most part of the world and the reason i start to work using sensors to agriculture. The big problem to solve this problem is that we have to impact in each "growers mind" in terms of trust and consultancy. Mobile technology with new technologies we are using could help to improve the solution.
Since then we have been working to change it using ICT (14 years) and in the "human chain" for this we have found:
The first point to promote the improvement comes to be aware that you can try to control your crop processes (vegetative flush, maduration etc) using inputs in a sustainable way . Most of ours farmers in Spain could pass the first point called by you as "the knowledge of crop management in the agro-ecological area", but i agree with you that the potencial of new technologies like video etc to promote information exchange from experts to growers. Even for us.
(to be continued)
Sorry, i did not read your post untill today...
My focus and interest is how we can manage the new ICT tools for what you describe as The "knowledge for improving grower input management (is more 'in the moment').
Look, i am working in one of the most advanced agricultures areas (I think Spain is the first agriculture fresh fruit and vegetables exporter fo the world) and we are still using inputs and take decitions almost by guess... and this is a huge "hidden cost" for the growers in water, nutrition, pesticides in-puts waste.
The main reason is because we don´t have a lenguage, we don´t have common indicators and the discusions among experts is "your word against mine".. which affects and makes it difficult teamwork which is the key point to improve the science.
Once i finished my 12 years working in the south of Spain( in the citrus and stone fruits farms were i was teached by the best consultants which could be problably the best in the world in those days in the "concept of learning how to control a plant using in-puts by guess") i realized that all my knowledge was "in my head" based in cases of succed and failure, but i was not able to leave it "written" for the next technitian that was going to do the same work as i did before. In few sheets of paper i could write the "principals of how to manege the crop" but not more. This happens in every farm in Spain and i think in the world and this reduce the chance of progress. A few years later in my new company i start to travel around the world and i realized that "the guess control knowledge using inputs" that we were using in Spain was the most advance... but we had a problem on that: if i feel that my orange needed to be bigger i irrigate 8 hours instead of 4... and thats the way the agriculture world works today in most part of the world and the reason i start to work using sensors to agriculture. The big problem to solve this problem is that we have to impact in each "growers mind" in terms of trust and consultancy. Mobile technology with new technologies we are using could help to improve the solution.
Since then we have been working to change it using ICT (14 years) and in the "human chain" for this we have found:
- ICT experts
- private tech people, extension agents from goverment
- farmers
The first point to promote the improvement comes to be aware that you can try to control your crop processes (vegetative flush, maduration etc) using inputs in a sustainable way . Most of ours farmers in Spain could pass the first point called by you as "the knowledge of crop management in the agro-ecological area", but i agree with you that the potencial of new technologies like video etc to promote information exchange from experts to growers. Even for us.
(to be continued)
Submitted by Alvarez Garrido Rafael on Tue, 11/26/2013 - 20:50
Is your primary interest EU based family farmers ? What is their average production size?
Untill know we have been focus in big Spanish companies, from 5.000 to 40 has, but in modern and advance farms, with the same crop, not much varieties.
In the first step we need to "understand plant performance" in the trees sampled, to learn from its history and to define alarms. We needed to have a method to select this samples too. We are able to do so.
The second step is the most complicated and is it relationed with the extrapolation with remote sensing and data from field to the rest of the farm of the alarms detected in the trees sampled and to do it in a cheap and easy way. We have done it, but next year we will have experiencies in viticulture and olives in Spain with the cheap and easy-way.
In paralel we are starting to work with the same concept with small farmers in viticulture in Spain in big cooperatives, where we have to simplifie the alarms and information we gave to them. The integration of sensors data with data from the field and remote sensig will be the key point to offer valuable information.
The methodology will be the same in Spain or in Kenya (as an example) but the challenges of the growers in each country are different and we have to find out, working with the growers, what is the more useful information to them.
Can you expand on your thoughts looking for weather station programs ?
Yes, thats the reason i am here. As far as i know the weather stations networks are the biggest investment in tech infraestructure that the countries or minicipalities do to improve data availability to farmers or consultancy techicians to help them to be more profitable. I know that in Africa there are some interesting projects with the crop insurance with mobile outeach and payment.
My perspective is that we could make a bigger impact with not much more investment if we move from just weather stations to characterize crops. I assume that there is no real experiences about this untill now, but i know programs that could promote this kind of projects like Www.aecfafrica.org. But for this, we will need local leaders that understand the new technical "lenguage" and transform it into valuable information to other growers. In this phase is where mobile phones could help expanding this knowledge.
Untill know we have been focus in big Spanish companies, from 5.000 to 40 has, but in modern and advance farms, with the same crop, not much varieties.
In the first step we need to "understand plant performance" in the trees sampled, to learn from its history and to define alarms. We needed to have a method to select this samples too. We are able to do so.
The second step is the most complicated and is it relationed with the extrapolation with remote sensing and data from field to the rest of the farm of the alarms detected in the trees sampled and to do it in a cheap and easy way. We have done it, but next year we will have experiencies in viticulture and olives in Spain with the cheap and easy-way.
In paralel we are starting to work with the same concept with small farmers in viticulture in Spain in big cooperatives, where we have to simplifie the alarms and information we gave to them. The integration of sensors data with data from the field and remote sensig will be the key point to offer valuable information.
The methodology will be the same in Spain or in Kenya (as an example) but the challenges of the growers in each country are different and we have to find out, working with the growers, what is the more useful information to them.
Can you expand on your thoughts looking for weather station programs ?
Yes, thats the reason i am here. As far as i know the weather stations networks are the biggest investment in tech infraestructure that the countries or minicipalities do to improve data availability to farmers or consultancy techicians to help them to be more profitable. I know that in Africa there are some interesting projects with the crop insurance with mobile outeach and payment.
My perspective is that we could make a bigger impact with not much more investment if we move from just weather stations to characterize crops. I assume that there is no real experiences about this untill now, but i know programs that could promote this kind of projects like Www.aecfafrica.org. But for this, we will need local leaders that understand the new technical "lenguage" and transform it into valuable information to other growers. In this phase is where mobile phones could help expanding this knowledge.
Submitted by Alvarez Garrido Rafael on Tue, 11/26/2013 - 15:42
I mean that we have to adapt the technologies to each case and each crops, farmers situation etc. each case will be a "project" .....
There are necesities and tech available... but the first step to solve problems is to "understand the tech possibilities".
Problems in advance agriculture like in Spain are different from problems in development countries but there is an opportinity to help them to grow in their crops´s knowledge faster than we have done in the past.
Question 3 (opens 2 Dec.) What is necessary to ensure ensuring that rural youth, women, the poorest...
Submitted by Alvarez Garrido Rafael on Wed, 12/04/2013 - 06:34
Hi Mr Kamal
I would like to congratulate you about the important ideas you have express in your post.
My first impression was that your perspective was idealist, but once i get into your web i was impressed about what you and your colleagues have been able to do, "rebranding farming and presenting it to the youth nicely through Social Media, Websites, and SMS" and i understand how important is your key question: Enabling global collaborative farming by linking real farms in rural areas with millions of online investors.
This is the first time during this post that i see clearly how could it be the financial problems that small farmers have in poor areas in the world be solved in the future at a great scale.
Your idea about how to use crowfunding to invest in a cow, get benefits and help farmers to develop a career that they feel respected and profitable for them could be easily a trending topic in social media and could promote farming in the area you well know where you have designed to start your project. I think is very important that your idea has an ethic strength perspective in values to be prepared to grow with succed: every good or bad news in media goes very fast.
I have some questions about this:
- Is your strategy to grow in other agriculture areas like annual crops or tree plantations? It is not so easy to control prices and the value chain if we don´t solve marketing intermediates
- Do you want to collaborate with fundations or similar with experience in field to solve farmers problems, like gender problems that are been talking in this post or similar?
- What is your approach to use new technologies to help this growers to be more efficient?
- Doyou think that your approach could help the empowerment of training farmers and technical staff that are necessary to develop your ideas?
Question 2 (opens 27 Nov.) What critical challenges persist in our field, and what is needed to overcome these challenges...
Submitted by Alvarez Garrido Rafael on Fri, 11/29/2013 - 09:34
Hi Mr Kiringai
From our experience in Spain trying to implement new technologies that create new data and information to growers for a better crop in-puts management we have seen that the key important point is to find technical people that want to change and be leaders in this process.
As i don´t have experience in Africa (only in South America) my question is if from your experience implementing ICT solutions you have found more succed through the private sector with professional managers hired from farmer owned organizations with aggregation of produce or with the extension agents from the state or the region helping the growers?
We need tech people in the field "filtering" information and helping growers, as doctors started to do so 150 years ago when in medicine objective diagnostic methods had market approach. I am agricultural engineer and i see a big opportunity with the ICT revolution in agriculture for our career and i think we could be the key point to promote the change in contact with farmers. With ICT solutions they will be able to help big areas with crops that they know well and build trust with the growers because they have on-line technical data and knowledge that help him to promote preventive alarms before the problems arrive.
I agree with other posts that the first step to be done with ICT solutions in developing countries should be to introduce "simple technical concepts of crop management": thats were this apps and mobile phone could help a lot. They will help to promote acces with critical information to growers for the basics of how to improve good crop practices.
Less people are talking about a second step, that could be done in those more advanced private farmer owned organizations that are you talking about, that has technical staff and professional managers, were could be possible to introduce few new technologies (wether forecast that learns from its microclimate, sensors, remote sensing, data from field with digital uptake etc) to create data to optimize crop in-puts management and technical decitions (when, what, how ) solving "temporal" crop problems (treatments, irrigation, fertilizers use) and helping them to create its own know-how and history from their own experience which could be linked as a technical "module" in a ERP solution. This second step should be done very carefully in terms of adapting technology to customers request, but it will lead to a "prevention" stage, were from the know how developed in the area and in the most important crops, the growers will take technical decisions that let them to improve crop management and improve their profits. Here mobile phone will help too.
From our experience in Spain trying to implement new technologies that create new data and information to growers for a better crop in-puts management we have seen that the key important point is to find technical people that want to change and be leaders in this process.
As i don´t have experience in Africa (only in South America) my question is if from your experience implementing ICT solutions you have found more succed through the private sector with professional managers hired from farmer owned organizations with aggregation of produce or with the extension agents from the state or the region helping the growers?
We need tech people in the field "filtering" information and helping growers, as doctors started to do so 150 years ago when in medicine objective diagnostic methods had market approach. I am agricultural engineer and i see a big opportunity with the ICT revolution in agriculture for our career and i think we could be the key point to promote the change in contact with farmers. With ICT solutions they will be able to help big areas with crops that they know well and build trust with the growers because they have on-line technical data and knowledge that help him to promote preventive alarms before the problems arrive.
I agree with other posts that the first step to be done with ICT solutions in developing countries should be to introduce "simple technical concepts of crop management": thats were this apps and mobile phone could help a lot. They will help to promote acces with critical information to growers for the basics of how to improve good crop practices.
Less people are talking about a second step, that could be done in those more advanced private farmer owned organizations that are you talking about, that has technical staff and professional managers, were could be possible to introduce few new technologies (wether forecast that learns from its microclimate, sensors, remote sensing, data from field with digital uptake etc) to create data to optimize crop in-puts management and technical decitions (when, what, how ) solving "temporal" crop problems (treatments, irrigation, fertilizers use) and helping them to create its own know-how and history from their own experience which could be linked as a technical "module" in a ERP solution. This second step should be done very carefully in terms of adapting technology to customers request, but it will lead to a "prevention" stage, were from the know how developed in the area and in the most important crops, the growers will take technical decisions that let them to improve crop management and improve their profits. Here mobile phone will help too.