Introducing betterSoil’s Farm Assistant: A tool for Crop Rotation Management (CRM) Strategy
The food processors and manufacturers and 600 million small-scale farms worldwide are struggling with access to Crop Rotation Management (CRM) tools through digital applications. Discover how we at betterSoil are committed to bridging the gap between delivering sustainable farming solutions and everyone through the betterSoil Farm Assistant application.
Digital Tools for Sustainable Farming Systems:
BetterSoil has been at the forefront of embracing digital tools to help stakeholders within the food production supply chain with the right tools and guidance to transition towards sustainable farming systems. Founder Azadeh Farajpour is a strong advocate for the use of digital tools, including geo-satellite data, to improve agronomic decision-making, support soil regeneration, and enhance long-term productivity. The utilisation of digital services enables intelligent decision-making for crop systems for food processors and manufacturers, farmers, farm owners, and everyone interested in strengthening the food supply chain. The first step in the action pathway is to introduce planning crop rotation through the Farm Assistant app.
The Farm Assistant from betterSoil for Crop Rotation Management (CRM)
The farm assistant application from betterSoil aids farmers in developing the cropping plan for a specific cash crop by integrating geo-spatial data, the farmer’s goals, and crop rotation principles. The app takes the farmers through simple steps, such as choosing the type of Cash crop, duration of the crop, and optimizing chemical fixation of key nutrients (e.g., nitrogen, carbon). The application benefits the farmers with a crop plan suited to their crop duration and soil regeneration objectives. However, currently, the Farm Assistant application provides services for the crop potato and is progressing to developing customised cropping plans for other cash crops.
Why are Crop Rotation Management (CRM) Applications important?
Research has shown that the current crop rotation management tools are limited, as they have been focused on potentially large-farm owners, leaving (Schoning et al., 2023)
- Limited utilisation by smallholder farmers
- Knowledge gap between small-scale farmers and research experts
- Increased costs for small-scale farmers to access CRM tools
Given that the vast majority of the farms in the EU and in developing countries are smallholder, with about 600 million farms below 5 hectares in the world (EPR, 2022). Additionally, the majority of the developing country smallholder farmers may find it difficult to access the high-cost Crop Rotation Management (CRM) tools. Overall, Crop Rotation Management (CRM) tools that are suited to small-scale farmers and are cost-effective are crucial, and BetterSoil is providing a CRM tool through the Farm Assistant application.
Geographical Relevance
The geographical relevance of the customised Crop Rotation Management (CRM) plan aids in delivering the best-fit CRM strategy to the farmer. The geographical data helps with
- The size of the farm
- The physical characteristics of the soil
- Agronomic practices in the area
- Climate
The integration of geo-smart technologies within the CRM application aids in data collection required for the CRM strategy, which is updated through digital geographical solutions. This streamlines the process with farmers, avoids confusion with complicated terms, and provides an accessible user interface (Schoning et al., 2023).
Integrating the Goals of Farmers:
Continuing the application of the farm’s geographical data, the integration of farmers’ goals is crucial, as each farmer specifies distinct
- Cropping Duration
- Cash Crop
- Soil Regeneration Goals
The BetterSoil Farm Assistant makes sure the application is accessible to farmers with different goals and for farmers from different areas in Germany, in the upcoming future both in the EU and developing countries. Additionally, the steps are minimised for clarity and to enhance the user-inteface is enhanced to simplify the CRM plan development for the farmers.
The Final CRM Plan:
The final crop rotation management strategy is delivered to the farmer through the application and ensures the application of the strategy on the farm by addressing barriers such as knowledge gaps and increased cost. This step was taken by betterSoil by providing the CRM tool through the digital application, which is actively committed to addressing zero hunger and increasing land degradation worldwide. The betterSoil application ensures that agri businesses are integrated within the fueling track towards sustainable agricultural practices worldwide. Find out more about our services on our website and discover how to be part of the change.
References:
Schöning, J., Wachter, P. & Trautz, D., 2023. Crop rotation and management tools for every farmer?: The current status on crop rotation and management tools for enabling sustainable agriculture worldwide. Smart Agricultural Technology, 3, p.100086.