CropScope uses sensors and satellite photographs to visualize the growth status of tomatoes and the condition of soils and provides farming advice using artificial intelligence (AI)  

 NEC Corporation today announced the enhancement of CropScope, its agricultural ICT platform, which NEC has been operating jointly with Kagome Co, Ltd. since April 2020. New functions to improve farming have been added to the strengthened platform, and stable yields have already been achieved through verification in a variety of environments. As a result, NEC expects to expand the number of new contracts for the platform, and to contribute to the achievement of more sustainable farming by resolving challenging farming issues.

CropScope consists of a service that uses sensors and satellite photographs to visualize the growth status of tomatoes and the condition of soils, as well as a service that provides farming advice using artificial intelligence (AI). The AI capitalizes on a wealth of know-how from experienced cultivators, enabling it to provide guidance on the optimum amount of water, fertilizer and the best time to apply them. This platform enables tomato producers, regardless of skill level, to stabilize their harvests and reduce cultivation costs, while implementing environmentally friendly farming.

In addition, the platform’s accumulation of farming knowledge from experienced workers enables know-how to be passed down, and successful farming production from experienced cultivators to be duplicated, thereby expanding the areas of production and providing support for the training of new farmers. Moreover, the operators and managers of processed tomato facilities can comprehensively understand the growth of tomatoes in both their own soils and the soils of contracted farmers, making it possible to optimize harvesting and improve productivity based on objective data.  

“In its strategic partnership with Kagome, NEC has been expanding digitization in the tomato market. At the same time, NEC has responded to the challenges faced by its production sites by enhancing the versatility of farming advice utilizing AI, which is NEC’s specialty, and strengthening its ’CropScope’ platform. NEC will continue to develop and provide solutions that contribute to the cultivation of a wide range of crops, helping to overcome social issues, climate change and food safety concerns, while creating sustainable farming experiences,” said Teruyuki Nakajima, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Corporate Business Development Division, NEC Corporation.