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HomePosts Tagged "Microsoft"
Agribusiness, Drones, India, Start ups

The company plans to invest Rs 300 crore over the next seven years to manufacture drones, establish training centres, and build a network of trained Drone Service Providers (DSPs).

Salam Kisan (PRYM Group) has entered into a transformative partnership with the Government of Maharashtra. This is also in partnership with Microsoft as a technology partner to revolutionize precision agriculture in India. Announced at the prestigious World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) marks a significant milestone in democratising agriculture drone technology, making it affordable and accessible for smallholder farmers who form 70 per cent of India’s farming population.

India’s agriculture sector is projected to require one million drones by 2030 to optimise farming practices. However, the high cost of these drones has remained a barrier for small and marginal farmers. This collaboration aims to bridge the gap by creating a sustainable ecosystem where Salam Kisan will spearhead the “Drone-as-a-Service” (DaaS) model. The company plans to invest Rs 300 crore over the next seven years to manufacture drones, establish training centers, and build a network of trained Drone Service Providers (DSPs). These efforts will not only make drone services affordable for farmers but also create over 200,000 rural jobs, empowering women, youth, and marginal communities.

The Government of Maharashtra will play a pivotal role in supporting this initiative by facilitating the establishment of infrastructure, training centers, and maintenance facilities in Marathwada. The government’s commitment, coupled with an investment of RsGovernme 300 crore over seven years, will ensure that rural communities benefit from this transformative technology. Microsoft, as the technology partner, will leverage its advanced AI, machine learning, and cloud capabilities to provide predictive analytics, real-time data insights, and seamless operational support for precision agriculture.

Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, highlighted the transformative potential of this collaboration, saying, “Maharashtra is leading agricultural transformation at #WEF25 in Davos. Through this collaboration with Salam Kisan (PRYM Solutions), we are creating over 300 jobs in drone manufacturing and empowering rural communities. This partnership will enhance productivity, promote sustainable practices, and set a global standard for climate-resilient farming and rural development.”

This collaboration is expected to have far-reaching impacts. For farmers, it will reduce input costs by 30 per cent, save significant water resources, and enhance crop productivity by up to 40 per cent through Salam Kisan’s AI-powered crop advisory and other precision farming solutions. For rural entrepreneurs, the training of 200,000 DSPs will enable them to earn sustainable incomes of up to Rs 5,00,000 annually, driving economic growth and revitalizing rural communities. On a broader scale, the initiative will save an estimated 238 billion liters of water by 2030, promote climate-smart agricultural practices, and contribute to food security while reducing environmental impacts.

The MoU also represents a significant investment in Marathwada, where Salam Kisan will expand its drone manufacturing under the Make in India initiative, set up training and maintenance centers, and create a scalable model that can be replicated nationwide. By addressing critical challenges such as water conservation, cost reduction, and environmental sustainability, the initiative aligns with Salam Kisan’s mission of empowering farmers and ensuring sustainable agriculture practices.

The announcement at the World Economic Forum underscores India’s leadership in climate-smart agriculture and sustainable development, aligning with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By presenting this collaboration on a global platform, Salam Kisan, the Government of Maharashtra, and Microsoft aim to attract international partners and investments to amplify the initiative’s impact.

The company plans to invest Rs 300

Agribusiness, Agrotech, Carbon Farming, Company News, North America, Soil Health

Microsoft purchased 40,000 carbon credits verified and issued in accordance with requirements of the Climate Action Reserve’s Soil Enrichment Protocol.

Innovative leader and trusted partner in sustainable agriculture and biological solutions, Indigo Ag announced that Microsoft has agreed to purchase 40,000 agricultural soil-based carbon credits from the company’s third carbon crop, issued in February, representing the largest number of credits ever delivered by Indigo Ag to an individual buyer. These credits are verified and issued in accordance with the requirements of the Soil Enrichment Protocol of the Climate Action Reserve, one of the world’s most trusted independent carbon registries.

Microsoft selected Indigo Ag’s carbon program to introduce soil carbon removals in its climate action portfolio to help the company to progress toward its 2030 goal to become carbon negative. The agreement underscores demand for robust, science-backed agriculture soil-based credits and the valuable role they can play in climate action, as well as reflects the increasing maturity of the voluntary carbon market.

Indigo Ag’s Carbon program is underpinned by the company’s scientifically peer-reviewed measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) capabilities which inform the robustness, integrity and durability of credits, and enables growers to realize the value of adopting and sustaining new practices that generate them.

Indigo Ag continues to deploy its MRV capabilities, beyond its carbon program, to enable companies in the agri-food value chain to reduce their Scope 3 emissions and to produce low carbon intensity crop feedstocks for biofuels. To date, Indigo’s Sustainability Solutions have reduced and removed over 340 thousand tons of GHG emissions and saved over 19 billion gallons of water used in agriculture.

Commenting on announcement, Dean Banks, CEO at Indigo Ag, said, “This announcement is a major milestone for Indigo’s Carbon program and our increasing range of ag-based sustainability solutions. Microsoft is a leader in corporate climate action, a highly influential player in carbon removals and shares our commitment to support the transition to a more resilient and sustainable agriculture system.”

“Our program’s selection by Microsoft is a significant win for science-based, high-integrity agricultural soil carbon credits. We have uniquely and substantively invested in the scientific rigor of our program since 2018 to meet the strict standards of premier crediting programs like the Climate Action Reserve. We are working with our partners to enable growers to benefit from valuable, durable new revenue streams that reward them for their efforts in changing practices.”

Brian Marrs, Senior Director of Energy and Carbon Removal at Microsoft said: “Soil organic carbon restoration is vital to the future of food systems, economies and climate change mitigation. We are pleased to collaborate with Indigo Ag to advance both the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices and the soil organic carbon scientific evidence base.”

Microsoft purchased 40,000 carbon credits verified and

Agrotech, Company News, Digital Technologies, India

Data connectors for OEMs to further improve farmer and industry connectivity

Sonata Software, a leader in Modernisation Engineering, announced its collaboration with Bayer, one of the Top 150 Global 2000 companies with business interest in pharmaceuticals, consumer healthcare products, agricultural chemicals, seeds and biotechnology products. As part of the partnership, Sonata will allow Bayer to develop new AgPowered Services for Microsoft Azure Data Manager for Agriculture that enable retrieval and integration of in-field activity data by working with leading manufacturers of farm machinery.

According to a recent announcement from Bayer, one of agriculture’s biggest technology challenges is a lack of data interoperability. Farmers have seen advancements in the ability to connect data between on-farm systems, but solutions allowing them to connect to services and opportunities beyond the farm have been largely unavailable. Companies and organizations supporting agriculture and related industries have also lacked the infrastructure and capabilities needed to best serve their customers.

This initiative will enable Enterprise users of Microsoft Azure Data Manager for Agriculture to have an integrated, one-stop solution to connect key data sources for farm machinery data in the industry, thus bringing down the cost of technical investment that companies are facing today.

Furthermore, organizations can rely on the same system to connect to additional data sources, such as in-field sensors, and weather and satellite imagery, and incorporate data-driven insights and recommendations from the suite of AgPowered Services into their customer-facing solutions. Azure Data Manager for Agriculture provides B2B customers a ‘one-stop shop’ to connect to farm machinery data, weather, imagery, and insights from AgPowered Services.

Data connectors for OEMs to further improve

Agrotech, Company News, Europe, IT

Industry platform Microsoft Azure Data Manager expands as more companies bring solutions: Leaf Agriculture further enhances useability of farm machinery data.

 Bayer has announced at Agritechnica, the world’s leading trade fair for agricultural machinery, an update on the strategic collaboration with Microsoft: New data connectors allow secure, compliant exchange of farm data between Bayer’s flagship digital farming product Climate FieldView™ and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) through the industry platform Microsoft Azure Data Manager for Agriculture. Following the preview launch of Bayer AgPowered Services on the platform earlier this year, Leaf Agriculture is now bringing a solution to further enhance accessibility of farm machinery data, and OneSoil is delivering new solutions for in-season crop identification.

“Agricultural data is nothing new, but technology has evolved tremendously, and so should the ways farmers be able to collect, share, and benefit from the data they generate on the farm,” said Jeremy Williams, Head of Climate LLC and Digital Farming for Bayer’s Crop Science Division. “Our industry can now rally around an infrastructure, data connectors, and readymade capabilities that can further deliver on the potential of digital farming solutions and the value we can bring to customers, such as the ability to tie into sustainability programs through better connectivity and data interoperability.”

Once initiated by a farmer, enterprise customers from across the agri-food value chain, such as retailers, financial institutions, and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies can now connect and auto sync planting, application, and harvest activity files from FieldView, enabling the exchange of data between solutions built on Azure Data Manager.

One of agriculture’s biggest technology challenges is a lack of data interoperability. Farmers have seen advancements in the ability to connect data between on-farm platforms, but solutions allowing them to connect to services and opportunities beyond the farm have been largely unavailable. Companies and organizations supporting agriculture and related industries have also lacked the infrastructure and capabilities needed to best serve their customers.

Bayer data connectors for OEMs further improve farmer and industry connectivity

In addition to FieldView connectivity and enabled by Sonata Software – a leading modernization engineering company and agtech system integrator – Bayer is also developing new AgPowered Services allowing for machine data connectivity with leading OEMs, including Stara, Topcon, and Trimble. Enterprise users of Azure Data Manager will have an integrated, one-stop solution to connect securely and compliantly to key data sources for farm machinery data in the industry, thus bringing down the cost of technical investment that companies are facing today.

Furthermore, organizations can rely on the same system to connect to additional data sources, such as weather and imagery, and incorporate data-driven insights and recommendations from the suite of AgPowered Services into their customer-facing solutions. Azure Data Manager provides companies one place to connect to farm machinery data, weather, imagery, and insights from AgPowered Services.

More companies are bringing solutions to the industry platform

Along with FieldView and OEM connectivity, a new AgPowered Service further enhances the accessibility of farm machinery data. Bayer Farm Machinery Decoder powered by Leaf Agriculture can translate machine data from many different OEMs and platforms. This can accelerate innovation and improve solution delivery to farmers by making it easier to build with consistent data from multiple sources.

“Farm data is stored in hundreds of different formats, which is a major challenge for anyone who wants to be able to work with data from more than just one provider,” said Leaf CEO G. Bailey Stockdale. “By making it easy to work with consistent data in a single format, we help companies unlock new value from their existing data. Offering this Leaf service as an AgPowered Service helps bring this technology to more companies faster and further accelerate the pace of innovation in food and agriculture.”

Another new capability, Bayer In-Season Crop Identification powered by OneSoil, provides remote sensing capabilities (satellite imagery) allowing for in-season detection of key cash crops such as corn and soybean, alongside an additional ten crops, across North America, South America, and Europe. This groundbreaking service opens the door to a multitude of valuable applications throughout the agricultural value chain. From verification for carbon platforms or government subsidy programs for sustainable farming practices, to capacity planning and optimization for crop processing companies to enhancing insurance assessments for accurate risk management, these examples provide a glimpse into the vast potential this technology holds.

“Contributing to the platform’s AgPowered Services right from the start is truly exciting. OneSoil’s cutting-edge crop detection models, fueled by AI and remote sensing, showcase our commitment to revolutionizing the agricultural industry on a global level,” said OneSoil CEO Morten Schmidt. “Collaborating with Bayer opens doors to introduce our technology to customers around the world, marking a significant step up in modern agriculture.”

Industry platform Microsoft Azure Data Manager expands

Agrotech, Company News, North America

Bayer and Microsoft provide ready-to-use capabilities available for businesses and organizations to license and use for their own internal or customer-facing digital solutions.

Following a 2021 strategic partnership announcement with Microsoft, Bayer launched new cloud-based solutions for the agri-food industry: AgPowered Services from Bayer in combination with the new Microsoft Azure Data Manager for Agriculture provide ready-to-use capabilities available for businesses and organizations from start-ups to global enterprises to license and use for their own internal or customer-facing digital solutions.

For example, companies that develop on-farm technologies can build on the new cloud infrastructure and core capabilities from Microsoft (Azure Data Manager for Agriculture) and license additional capabilities from Bayer (Bayer AgPowered Services) to build digital tools that support favorable agronomic outcomes for growers. Similarly, consumer goods companies can use the cloud offerings to build solutions that provide insight into nutrients, sustainability, and production practices to build trust with consumers, stakeholders and investors.

Azure Data Manager for Agriculture combines decades of Bayer’s agricultural expertise with Microsoft’s cloud solutions, advancing the industry through readymade capabilities and robust infrastructure that allow innovators to focus on differentiated value. After initial preview starting today allowing for customer exploration of both the Azure Data Manager and AgPowered Services, full commercial availability will be announced at a later date.

“Only innovation can ensure global food security while protecting the planet. Modern agriculture and food production generate a tremendous amount of valuable data that can drive productivity and sustainability,” said Dr Robert Reiter, Head of R&D for Bayer’s Crop Science Division. “However, this data is often disconnected, not useable throughout the value chain, and the costs to build digital solutions from scratch are high. Our new cloud-based solutions help overcome these challenges. Customers can use the infrastructure and capabilities to build their own digital solutions and products on top of the most robust collection of ag data in the world.”

These cloud offerings also support an ecosystem that allows for greater transparency along the whole food production value chain. This transparency, enabled through end-to-end interoperability, would make it easier for consumer goods companies to partner with growers based on how crops are raised and help consumers make more informed purchasing decisions based on origin practices. The potential to support sustainable agriculture and food production can ultimately benefit companies, farmers, consumers, and the planet.

Solutions built on Azure Data Manager can benefit farmers seeking to track disease, pest and weed pressure, apply precision inputs, identify crop growth and production patterns, measure potential yield, track and capture carbon emissions, and analyze heat stress impact, rainfall, hail and weather data. In addition to bringing the first AgPowered Services to the cloud offering, Bayer is using capabilities from Azure Data Manager to power insights in FieldView.

Using these cloud-based enterprise solutions, value chain partners will be able to apply insights into supply projections, sustainable sourcing, and ESG reporting. They will also be able to meet quickly changing consumer preferences for fresh, high-quality ingredients with data driven insights that allow for optimization of harvest, transport, and ripening processes as well as advanced traceability of food ingredients.

“This is an important step towards accelerating the impact of big data and agriculture. With high-quality data fueling insights, we expect to see a value chain that is more predictable, more transparent, and importantly, where value is shared all the way back to producers,” said Jeremy Williams, Head of Climate and Digital Farming at Bayer’s Crop Science Division.

Bayer and Microsoft provide ready-to-use capabilities available

Agrotech, Company News, Machinery – Post-harvesting, North America

Dynamics 365 platform is a powerful foundation for the next generation dealer business system, with the ability to be configured based on customer needs.

John Deere is launching a new dealer business system using Microsoft Dynamics 365.System to provide a common technology platform for many aspects of a dealer’s business, enabling new opportunities for growth, innovation, and customer insights for dealers. Both companies will use their expertise to deliver this new and innovative technology.

The Dynamics 365 platform is a powerful foundation for the next generation dealer business system, with the ability to be configured based on customer needs. The technology aligns with John Deere’s Smart Industrial strategy and digitalisation efforts of the company and John Deere dealers.

“We are positioning dealers to align with Deere’s growing focus on technology and unlocking value for our customers,” said Siva Ganesh, vice president, John Deere Global IT. “This new, common dealer business platform will allow John Deere and our dealers to engage with each other more efficiently and gain new insights.”

John Deere’s network of independent dealers have delivered market-leading customer support for decades. Now, by pairing John Deere’s products and innovation with a more efficient and integrated technology platform the dealer network will be enabled to realise:

  • Growth through deep and actionable customer and market understanding
  • Increased operational performance through efficient processes and trusted insights
  • Enhanced system capabilities, security, scalability, and mobility
  • Exceptional and consistent customer experiences with John Deere products and services

To support these outcomes, Dynamics 365 applications will seamlessly integrate John Deere dealers’ sales, rental, aftermarket, and administrative capabilities to enable higher levels of process automation and insights for decision making.

“With Microsoft Dynamics 365, all key parts of the dealership will be connected,” said Ray Smith, Vice President, Supply Chain, Business Application and Platform, Microsoft. “Dealers will be empowered to collaborate across locations and departments. They’ll have the insights to make critical decisions, take advantage of new trends, disrupt, adapt, and reimagine what’s possible. It will also enable them to develop a more effective and efficient ecosystem to anticipate needs and take care of their customers.”

The Dynamics 365-based dealer business system is currently being developed and will have a multi-year rollout.

Dynamics 365 platform is a powerful foundation