Plan a digital strategy or get left behind – expert

Agricultural enterprises that are not digitising or planning a digital strategy are already behind the curve.

This was according to Greg Whitaker, CEO of agricultural data company AgrigateOne, who presented the keynote address at the recent International Fresh Produce Association’s Fresh Solutions Conference held in Johannesburg.

Whitaker said role players throughout the value chain needed to use digitisation (converting information into digital format) to help them make better decisions and control their supply chains optimally.

“Wisdom and knowledge are driven by data. If a producer has large data sets available, they can enable him or her to predict the future, based on assumptions driven by [this] data.” Whitaker said that in 2021 most South

African agricultural value chains had been affected by civil unrest, truck strikes on the N3 highway, and congestion at the country’s harbours.

“Every year, events like these occur, and every year they create a unique set of data,” he said, adding that with a proper digital strategy, producers might be able to predict the probability of these events and plan accordingly.

“Planning and execution are probably the most important and undervalued parts of the entire process for the agricultural community.

“You can control how everything moves through the supply chain, [but it’s] important to get your planning and estimates right.”

Within the next decade, South Africa would need about 8 000 additional trucks to support the expanding citrus industry, according to Whitaker.

“It will become increasingly important to [understand and] plan the transportation of your fruit early on,” he said, adding that a citrus grower could “beat the competition” if he or she could reach the market three or four days before their nearest rival farmers.

With regard to international trade, lead times were becoming longer. “Freight ships [sometimes] used to be 3,5 days late, but this has increased to 7,5 days. Sellers should therefore calculate this into their trade strategy to ensure that their produce still reaches consumers at the right time.”

Whitaker said digitisation could also be used to optimise food safety and quality. “If you’re not looking into this, I’m truly worried. As consumers become more aware of environmental issues and its impact on their health, this is going to become increasingly important.” – Susan Marais