An ambitious initiative, already under way by agtech Varda , will assign to each plot in the world a kind of “Digital CEP” in order to enhance the standardization of data among all actors in the sector, accelerating the digital transformation in global agro.

Global  Field ID , as it is called, has the support of agricultural giants such as, for example, Yara – which founded agtech – and Sygenta, given the relevance of the project for sustainable food production and with a positive impact. For this very reason, the work is progressing at a fast pace.

“ Our goal is to have all fields in Brazil with a standard digital address this year. This will create a unique ident

ification for each field, allowing the integration and sharing of information between different digital platforms and actors in the chain”, says Deise Dallanora, head of Varda.

Currently, farmers and agricultural companies use different models to identify areas of cultivation with their digital tools, which makes interoperability and collaboration difficult across the sector.

“When we say everyone, we mean everyone. Companies, governments, producers, research institutes, food industry, exporters, importers, anyway. But it’s important to say that participants don’t have to share their data if they don’t want to, that’s not it. Just adopt the default address for each field. We are creating the foundational infrastructure for data interoperability,” she clarifies.

How it works?

Via satellite and other monitoring technologies, Varda digitally maps the entire agricultural territory and assigns unique IDs to the lots, creating a unique address, which is sent to users via an API . With the “CEP” or ID defined and standardized, all players in the chain will be able to access open information regarding that area.

The aim of the service is to create a common and free geospatial language for the industry as a whole. In practice, the use of a unique identifier allows all participants in the chain to include or consume data, integrating existing and future traceability tools .

In addition to greater interoperability between platforms, directly contributing to the development and strengthening of agrifood systems, the technology allows for better traceability of the final product.

This means being able to monitor and demonstrate the history of agricultural practices on rural properties , monitoring deforestation activities and even direct collaboration with the carbon credit market.

“Today we have the global challenge of promoting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions , while at the same time we need to produce more food . Faced with this challenging scenario , Varda arrives to boost collaborative solutions, enabling the union of the links in the production chain”, says Ele.

Union of industry players

According to her, the objective is to bring together companies, farmers and other public and private institutions in the sector that share the aspiration for a sustainable and resilient food ecosystem. “All of this will contribute to bringing transparency to the processes of an increasingly prosperous agriculture , in every sense”, she adds.

Last February, for example, Syngenta Group entered into a global partnership with Varda to accelerate the adoption of “Global Field ID” , with the aim of reducing data fragmentation across the entire food supply chain.

“Companies recognize that having a unique identification for each agricultural area is a necessary step to effectively collaborate for a more sustainable, resilient and transparent food system”, he says.

The system will be used as an additional layer of data in the companies’ own digital agricultural tools, creating a frame of reference to be shared to record the data collected in the field, which should generate numerous benefits such as: interoperability; transparency regarding regenerative agriculture; and traceability.