The aim of the initiative is to expand the range of target crops, aiming to strengthen support for farmers and contribute to sustainable agriculture
THE NEC Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation have signed a strategic partnership agreement to expand global sales of NEC's CropScope agricultural ICT platform. Based on this partnership, NEC and Sumitomo intend to develop markets, mainly in South America and the ASEAN region (Association of Southeast Asian Nations – Association of Southeast Asian Nations), utilizing Sumitomo's global network. To this end, NEC will expand the application of the solution to a broader range of crops beyond tomato cultivation, which it has focused on, and add functions to optimize and streamline a range of processes, from cultivation to harvest and processing. Through this partnership, CropScope is initially being introduced on a trial basis to large sugar companies in Thailand and Brazil.
Background
As population growth and economic development are expected to increase global demand for food, there are concerns that this scenario will worsen further with ongoing climate change, causing a serious impact on agricultural production. Furthermore, recent pandemics and unstable global situations have caused a sharp increase in the prices of agricultural materials and the stagnation of exports, threatening stable food supplies. Increasing agricultural productivity is essential to ensuring food security on a global scale, and countries where agriculture is a key industry face the challenges of updating production technology and increasing the efficiency of agricultural management.
Partnership Summary
- Expand CropScope sales to emerging countries:
Sumitomo has a network of regional organizations in 65 countries around the world and is involved in the sale and distribution of agricultural materials such as agrochemicals and fertilizers in around 40 countries. Through this partnership, Sumitomo will utilize its global network to expand CropScope's sales footprint to Thailand, Brazil and India for business growth.
- Expand the range of focus crops and integrate cultivation management with processing:
CropScope has been expanded to support the planting of sugarcane, wheat, soybeans and corn as main crops in addition to tomatoes. AI (Artificial Intelligence) functions will be applied to these new crops, learning from previously collected data, aiming to recommend the ideal time and quantity for harvesting. Thus, a harvest planning function will be added to manage the farmer's strategy. Combining this function with existing optimization of fertilizer application and irrigation will enable comprehensive management from cultivation to harvesting and processing.
Future developments
NEC has continually improved the functionality of CropScope and collaborated with various partners to meet the diverse needs of customers involved in agricultural production. This partnership with Sumitomo, which has a broad global network and vast knowledge in the agricultural and food fields, will be a significant milestone in the expansion of CropScope's global sales.
Sumitomo has focused on developing new businesses that contribute to sustainable food production with high efficiency and low environmental impact, using advanced technologies, in addition to expanding its existing business base in the areas of agriculture and food. One of the most important themes is ac, which contributes to realizing safe and highly efficient food production by using technologies such as automation of agricultural operations and data analysis. This collaboration with NEC, which has established AI technologies in agriculture and other fields, will be an important initiative.
NEC and Sumitomo will continue to expand CropScope's range of focus crops and functions, while responding to the problems and needs of agricultural production and processing sites. This will be carried out as part of companies' support for profitable and environmentally friendly agriculture worldwide, contributing to sustainable agriculture and global food security.
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