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Joint call has US$ 250 thousand available to support research projects on topics related to Digital Agriculture
The State of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and IBM Brazil announced last week (6/8) a Call for Proposals for research into digital systems and new technologies in the area of Agriculture, for which up to US$ 250 thousand for projects lasting up to two years. It is the second joint call for research to be supported by the two institutions, which announced in March the proposals selected in their first joint call for research in the area of cognitive computing.
This time, the topics will focus on Digital Agriculture, that is, on information processing and analysis systems to control and support the different stages of agricultural production chains. Among the topics are detection systems, data collection and analysis for precision agriculture, meteorological and climate monitoring and forecasting systems in agricultural contexts, and new applications of meteorological and climate data.
Research will also be supported related to equipment automation, agricultural robotics, including drones, autonomous agricultural vehicles, satellite and field image and data processing, electronic livestock monitoring systems, including hardware, detection, processing and analysis of data from the soil and water, as well as augmented and virtual reality systems applied to agriculture.
The wide range of topics also includes systems of origin and improvement of food logistics chains and genomic data processing aimed at use in the field. Research that leads to the development of cognitive assistants for farmers, agronomists and other workers in agricultural production chains may also be contemplated, as well as interface design in the context of digital agriculture systems, with software service platforms and middleware support.
The term Digital Agriculture designates scientific advances in the field, based on specific knowledge and represented by the use of technologies aimed at the qualified increase of agricultural production. Briefly, it consists of the use of sensors (aerial, terrestrial, in machines, equipment and infrastructure) to collect information about water, climate, soils, nutrients, pesticides, crops and supply chain management, basing them in the cloud, for analysis and consolidation of signs that generate economic efficiency, production quality, food safety and sustainability of resources.
“In this call, we are looking for original and ambitious research proposals, with a high potential for impact on agriculture. By joining the efforts of researchers from São Paulo and researchers from the company, one of the most active in R&D in the world, we hope to contribute to increasing the productivity of agriculture in Brazil”, says Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz, scientific director at FAPESP.
“Agribusiness is undergoing extensive and rapid transformation and investment in technological innovation will ensure greater productivity with sustainability. At the other end, it is necessary to invest in intellectual capital, because we have the potential to export not only grains, food and the like, but also cutting-edge knowledge and technology. Research focused on this sector will further increase the relevance of agribusiness for Brazil and the world. Encouraging this call is providing inputs for the sustainable growth of Brazil and our society”, says Ulisses Mello, director of the IBM Brasil Research Laboratory.
Researchers from higher education and research institutions in the State of São Paulo may participate in the Call. A joint committee made up of representatives from FAPESP and IBM will conduct the evaluation and selection of submitted projects.
Proposals can be submitted up to 09/15, exclusively electronically, in the SAGE system (www.fapesp.br/sage/), with the selected projects expected to be announced on 12/15. More information about the call can be found at www.fapesp.br/11040.
This time, the topics will focus on Digital Agriculture, that is, on information processing and analysis systems to control and support the different stages of agricultural production chains. Among the topics are detection systems, data collection and analysis for precision agriculture, meteorological and climate monitoring and forecasting systems in agricultural contexts, and new applications of meteorological and climate data.
Research will also be supported related to equipment automation, agricultural robotics, including drones, autonomous agricultural vehicles, satellite and field image and data processing, electronic livestock monitoring systems, including hardware, detection, processing and analysis of data from the soil and water, as well as augmented and virtual reality systems applied to agriculture.
The wide range of topics also includes systems of origin and improvement of food logistics chains and genomic data processing aimed at use in the field. Research that leads to the development of cognitive assistants for farmers, agronomists and other workers in agricultural production chains may also be contemplated, as well as interface design in the context of digital agriculture systems, with software service platforms and middleware support.
The term Digital Agriculture designates scientific advances in the field, based on specific knowledge and represented by the use of technologies aimed at the qualified increase of agricultural production. Briefly, it consists of the use of sensors (aerial, terrestrial, in machines, equipment and infrastructure) to collect information about water, climate, soils, nutrients, pesticides, crops and supply chain management, basing them in the cloud, for analysis and consolidation of signs that generate economic efficiency, production quality, food safety and sustainability of resources.
“In this call, we are looking for original and ambitious research proposals, with a high potential for impact on agriculture. By joining the efforts of researchers from São Paulo and researchers from the company, one of the most active in R&D in the world, we hope to contribute to increasing the productivity of agriculture in Brazil”, says Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz, scientific director at FAPESP.
“Agribusiness is undergoing extensive and rapid transformation and investment in technological innovation will ensure greater productivity with sustainability. At the other end, it is necessary to invest in intellectual capital, because we have the potential to export not only grains, food and the like, but also cutting-edge knowledge and technology. Research focused on this sector will further increase the relevance of agribusiness for Brazil and the world. Encouraging this call is providing inputs for the sustainable growth of Brazil and our society”, says Ulisses Mello, director of the IBM Brasil Research Laboratory.
Researchers from higher education and research institutions in the State of São Paulo may participate in the Call. A joint committee made up of representatives from FAPESP and IBM will conduct the evaluation and selection of submitted projects.
Proposals can be submitted up to 09/15, exclusively electronically, in the SAGE system (www.fapesp.br/sage/), with the selected projects expected to be announced on 12/15. More information about the call can be found at www.fapesp.br/11040.
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