A Chinese, government-controlled conglomerate is seeding a bumper crop in big data that’s modernizing the world of farming, from the vineyards of Burgundy to the cornfields of Illinois to the lychee orchards of Guangdong.
A Chinese, government-controlled conglomerate is seeding a bumper crop in big data that’s modernizing the world of farming, from the vineyards of Burgundy to the cornfields of Illinois to the lychee orchards of Guangdong.
A year ago, Bejing-based colossus ChemChina purchased crop protection and seed producer Syngenta of Switzerland for $43 billion, setting the all-time record for the largest overseas acquisition by a Chinese company. ChemChina quickly targeted Syngenta’s drive to transform farming through digital technology as the paramount area for investment and growth. “ChemChina is taking the long view by substantially raising spending on R&D, and by far the biggest increases are going to groundbreaking digital technology,” Erik Fyrwald, Syngenta’s CEO, tells Fortune.
Syngenta is providing two main digital services to farmers, packaged together under a product called AgriEdge, which also includes a suite of its seed and crop protection products. The first is FarmShots, a software offering that uses satellites and drones to pinpoint sick crops in the field.
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