Corteva Agriscience and John Deere, the world’s largest manufacturer and supplier of equipment, kicked off a three-day marketing collaboration where they presented their technology solutions and tools designed to deliver value to farmers and societies in Africa.

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“As the world population continues to grow, the technologies we are showcasing will be essential to meet the global food demand,” says Tony Esmeraldo, Business Director, Corteva Agriscience, Southern Africa. “We are a technology company and our tools enable farmers to make informed decisions efficiently.”

Corteva Agriscience’s investment in research and development in Africa includes:

  • The Delmas technology centre, which includes Africa’s largest privately-owned insect research facility, The Insectary, critical to the development of traits to combat local yield-robbing pests, some of which are unique to the continent. This state of the art technology is unique in the industry and enables global entomology research, also focusing on Fall Armyworm.
  • Advanced techniques used in seed breeding, including Embryo Rescue and Molecular Markers which help drive value for farmers.
  • State-of-the-art digital breeding systems, including highly sophisticated drones equipped with a multi-spectral camera, laser sensors, and the ability to deliver three-dimensional photography. These game-changing tools allow Corteva to scale breeding and product development activities to deliver genetic gain efficiently and effectively for farmers.
  • Precision characterisation using drone technology to gather data about plant growth, development, and condition and turn it into feasible insights. This includes incorporating digital tools in agriculture, from intelligent farm equipment to planting prescriptions to tools to enable an increase in crop yields for farmers.

According to Jacques Taylor, Managing Director: John Deere, Sub-Saharan Africa, there is evidence worldwide, showing a strong correlation between improved productivity and the adoption of innovative technology and mechanisation. Agriculture today faces the challenge of producing more at an acceptable price, without causing damage to the environment. We see agriculture moving away from bigger, faster, stronger to being more precise, more resilient and more adaptive. John Deere continues to invest in developing precision AG technology, some of which are being displayed here at this event.

The aim of the three day Intelligent Farming event is to engage with and demonstrate intelligent farming technology to farmers and stakeholders who work with John Deere, Corteva Agriscience, PANNAR® brand, and Pioneer® brand in South Africa. “We are excited to kick off three full days of collaboration, innovation, learning and networking in Delmas,” says Taylor. “We have an amazing lineup of top speakers to give attendees inspiration and insights on new ways for farmers to increase efficiency and manage costs through the adoption of innovation.”

John Deere experts exhibited and gave updates on its innovative products to deliver value to farmers and societies in Africa, such as:

  • ExactApply solutions - A technology that delivers the precision at all spray speeds for better weed and pest control that allows you to manage any potential drift. It is available on Self-Propelled sprayers.
  • The iPackage – A solution on the specialised trailed sprayers which provides traceability and information on all facets of the application.
  • Precision Ag – A technology putting solutions in farmers’ hands to pave the way for the future of farming. Helping farmers to manage the equipment/crop data and selecting service providers to provide better information for higher productivity and profitability.
  • John Deere Connected Support - Connecting to your machine data to the cloud in real-time and running proactive diagnostics to discover faults before they happen.
  • John Deere Financial Packages – Financial packages are structured according to farmers specific circumstances and mechanisation requirements. This unique finance option is available for any new farming equipment, subject to purchase at an authorised John Deere dealer.
  • John Deere ExactEmerge and MaxEmerge 5E – A technology showing the features and benefits of the new planter technology

This Intelligent Farming event comes immediately after John Deere and Corteva signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for accelerating the agricultural sector and enriching the lives of farmers across the continent.

Through the strength of its global scale and expertise, Corteva can implement local solutions to deliver the right product for the right field. The company has research facilities in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Johnston, South Africa, Germany, China, India, Brazil, Canada with staff located out in the markets.

Delmas serves as the central hub of the Africa regional technology centre, which is comprised of a network of existing research facilities and testing locations throughout Africa, and serving Pioneer and PANNAR seed products.

“As a major pure-play company in agriculture, we know we can’t do this alone—collaboration is central to what we do and that’s why we are partnering with a major agriculture player like John Deere,” concludes Esmeraldo.