Organisational, technological and marketing innovations aimed at optimisation of fertilisation and irrigation with the use of satellite data

The aim of this operation is to produce technological, organisational, and marketing innovations for optimising fertilisation and irrigation using satellite data. Innovation in precision nitrogen fertilisation concerns solutions, and linked services, which are available only since recently and will be improved in the scope of this project, while innovation in precision irrigation will lead to brand new solutions.

The project is driven by the need to reduce production costs, greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption, and to improve automation of farm management processes. Its implementation has a measurable significant contribution to the development of precision agriculture in Poland, which is one of the fastest growing branches of the agri-food industry. One of the group's members, SatAgro, has the longest experience on the Polish market in creating maps for precise fertilisation based on vegetation indices and satellite imaging.

The planned work on precision fertilisation and irrigation is the result of market research and consultations with farmers, entrepreneurs, and corporations. The target group for the project, and the resulting tools and services, are farms with basic facilities to implement solutions in the field of precision agriculture, as well as large entities who add digital agriculture services to their core business. 

The main benefits of the project

The technological innovation in the field of precise nitrogen fertilisation, achieved in the scope of the project, will allow farms to adjust doses to the crops’ actual nutrient requirement.

• As a result, the profitability of production, the quality of yield and the state of the environment will be improved, the latter mainly through reduced nitrogen leakage to ground and surface water. 
• The delivered solutions which allow automated production of irrigation application maps will allow farmers to optimise water consumption.
• This is linked to the organizational innovation which concerns the definition and visualisation of irrigation profitability zones.
• In addition to cost reduction, the resulting solutions will significantly reduce the risk of catastrophic losses caused by drought.

All innovative solutions realized within this operation will be available to farms and other end users through the interface of the SatAgro web service.

Results achieved

The main objective of the operation was to create organizational and technological innovations in the field of fertilization and irrigation.

The specific objectives of the operation included: creating a solution that allows for automatic generation of irrigation maps, improving the effectiveness of maps for precise fertilization, organizational innovations involving the automation of fertilization and field irrigation management.

Innovations that are the subject of the implemented operation have a number of features that allow them to be distinguished and attributes that prove their clearly improved or new character.

• A new technological innovation – There are currently no entities offering this type of technology on the Polish market. The qualitative change consisted in: Developing a prototype that allows for automatic generation of irrigation maps with a variable irrigation dose based on user data and preferences: number of irrigation dose intervals, average planned irrigation value, plant type, map source type (satellite images, zones), machine manufacturer, machine, terminal.
• Improved technological innovation - The qualitative features that distinguish this innovation are: new or improved calibration factors for satellite data, new or improved calibration factors for crops, new calibration factors against standard indicators.
• The new organizational innovation consisted in the creation of irrigation cost-effectiveness zones. This is a solution that transfers part of the field card functionality to the digital stage - however, the use of this type of solutions in relation to irrigation is completely pioneering. As part of this innovation, an interface available on the Satagro website has been created, in which the user can check the current profitability of irrigation in individual field zones based on the following attributes: harvested crop, irrigation dose, water cost, energy supply cost, harvested crop price. In addition, cost-effectiveness simulations can be created with different irrigation strategies.
• Improved organizational innovation consists in creating fertilization cost-effective zones. Using the interface on the SatAgro website, the user can estimate or check the profitability of fertilization based on such features as fertilization dose, fertilizer price, yield, yield price, cost of the treatment. Thanks to this, the user can find out in which areas of the field fertilization should be limited, and in extreme cases even resign from it, so as to limit financial and environmental losses.

New technological innovation — concerning irrigation 
The operation involved the creation of a prototype that allows automatic generation of irrigation maps with a variable irrigation dose based on data and user preferences: number of irrigation dose intervals, average planned irrigation value, plant type, type of map source (satellite images, zones ), machine manufacturer, machine, terminal.
The solution has the following functionalities: the possibility of online access, the possibility of exporting the map to a format that allows operational irrigation in the field, interactive interface, preview of the irrigation map. All these features mean that the end user will be able to irrigate using a variable irrigation rate in order to reduce water consumption, environmental and financial costs. The effect of this result (created innovation) is the ability to use the generator of precise irrigation maps in order to reduce economic and environmental costs. 

Improved technological innovation — regarding fertilization.
The qualitative features that distinguish this innovation are: new or improved calibration factors for satellite data, new or improved calibration factors for crops, new calibration factors against standard N-testers. Calibration indicators taking into account soil fertility will also be possible, but in the course of research work it will be verified whether the creation of these indicators is justified.
The final effect is a significant facilitation of generating accurate fertilization maps using improved indicators calibrating the satellite signal. This is an important element of innovation in planning precision treatments and assessing their effectiveness, thanks to which the creation of instructions for precise nitrogen fertilization, with the option of automatic conversion of the satellite signal into a dose of nitrogen, becomes much more effective in practice.
Maps of this type are characterized by lower fertilizer consumption per total field area or better yield uniformity, in particular in terms of quality features. All these features mean that the final user can reduce the environmental and economic costs of fertilization. The effect of this result (enhanced innovation) is the ability to use an improved generator of precise fertilization maps to reduce economic and environmental costs.

New organizational innovation — the creation of irrigation profitability zones
The new organizational innovation consists in the creation of irrigation cost-effectiveness zones. As part of this innovation, an interface available on the Satagro website was created, in which the user can check the current profitability of irrigation in individual field zones based on the following attributes: harvested crop, irrigation dose, water cost, energy supply cost, harvested crop price. Based on this data, the user can estimate the cost-effectiveness of the treatments performed. In addition, cost-effectiveness simulations can be created with different irrigation strategies. The effect of this result (created innovation) is to be the possibility for the food producer to estimate the profitability of the applied irrigation. The result is saved environmental and financial costs. Improved organizational innovation - creation of fertilization profitability zones.

Improved organizational innovation consists in creating fertilization cost-effective zones. 
Existing online tools refer to the field as a whole, not its individual parts. As a result of the operation, the user can use the interface on the SatAgro website to estimate or check the profitability of fertilization based on such features as fertilization dose, fertilizer price, yield, yield price, cost of the treatment. Thanks to this, the user will find out in which areas of the field fertilization should be reduced in order to reduce financial and environmental costs. Profitability is a key metric for any business. Farms often do not have a good overview of this area. Yield mapping requires dynamic connections between many types of information and technology. From 2022, SatAgro users can map the profitability in detail on each field up crop, both before and after harvest. The effect of this result (improved innovation) is the possibility for the food producer to assess the cost-effectiveness of the applied fertilization. The ultimate consequence of this is saved environmental and financial costs.