The Climate Corporation, Bayer’s digital farming arm, has announced the commercial launch of its digital farming platform, Climate FieldView in South Africa
Adopted by farmers in more than 20 countries, and used on more than 60mn subscribed hectares globally (150 mn acres), this new addition marks a major milestone for the company, as its first expansion onto the African continent.
As the world continues to become hotter, and the demand for food rises, farmers are looking for newer solutions to help produce the food, feed and fuel, that power the planet.
With the FieldView platform, The Climate Corporation and Bayer have come up with a pioneering digital solution for the agriculture industry, to help farmers actively manage risk and increase productivity, while simplifying their operations.
Through its suite of easy-to-use data collection and analysis tools, FieldView offers farmers a single platform to unite data from each piece of their precision equipment – including tractors, planters and sprayers; which can be then combined and accessed from anywhere with a smartphone, tablet device or computer.
“Digital technologies are showing major promise in the agriculture industry and have the power to unlock many valuable insights on the farm, but the use of technology can sometimes be intimidating,” said John Raines, chief commercial officer at The Climate Corporation. “With FieldView, we work to ensure our product is both easy to access and easy to use, so farmers can take control of their own data and utilise these insights to make more informed decisions,” he added.
South African farmers can now connect field data through the Climate FieldView Drive device, a piece of hardware that can be inserted into a diagnostic port, in the cab of their precision equipment; which uses bluetooth technology to stream agronomic data from the equipment and syncs it with the FieldView account. Farmers can also upload data generated by their equipment directly into their FieldView account, through the Data Inbox tool, without using the FieldView Drive.
All FieldView users have full control of their farm data. They can also choose to share their agronomic information with a trusted agronomic partner, if it helps them make data-driven business decisions.
Last year, South African farmers tested FieldView on more than 500,000 hectares (1.2 mn acres) and were able to experience the value, the platform has to offer, prior to its commercial launch.
In addition, Bayer has committed to help 100mn small-scale farmers by 2030, through relevant technologies and initiatives, such as the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) TELA Maize Project, Farm to Market Alliance, and the Better Life Farming Alliance.
Bayer's products and services are designed to help people and planet thrive; while driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with its businesses.
