Elly Yates-Roberts |
Financial services company Ibercaja is bringing Microsoft Azure and artificial intelligence to Spanish agriculture. Through the project, Ibercaja aims to help farmers make more informed decisions about their crops, increase yields and save water.
Ibercaja worked with Microsoft Partner EFOR Internet y Tecnología and other Spanish independent software vendors to develop an internet of things (IoT) and AI solution on Azure that provided farmers with detailed data to help them make vital decisions.
The participating farmers installed a box on their land with sensors gathering information about temperature, light, moisture, wind, and humidity. This data is then uploaded to the cloud every 15 minutes, where it is analysed and presented to farmers in real time on a website. They can use this information to make decisions about the optimal times to perform key tasks.
Microsoft says that the project will see farmers saving money on water and electricity, generating better crop yields and increasing profits. Participating farms will also be able to learn from benchmarks from other farms and previous years’ data.
“We want to be the bank that really helps our customers and their communities take advantage of digital information,” says Victor Royo Escosa, head of digital strategy and innovation at Ibercaja. “Soon, we’ll be able to market the fact that through our technology, we helped farmers save millions of litres of water per year. That’s a big boost to our brand.”