Calata takes in Pessl Instruments for data-driven farming

Calata Corporation has partnered with Pessl Instruments GmbH if Austria to introduce data driven farming practices to the Philippine agriculture sector.

Historically focused on the retailing and distribution of top agrochemical brands, feeds, fertilizers, veterinary medicines and seeds throughout the country, Calata aims to lead the Philippine agriculture sector into the "Agricultural Internet of Things" or intelligence-based farming that relies on real-time field data to improve decision-making across the entire supply chain, the company said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The company is one of the biggest agricultural conglomerates in the Philippines.

“Unlike developed countries where farmers have ready access to information and the latest yield-improving technologies, the Filipino farmer is still farming the old fashioned way. We take it as our responsibility to modernize the face of Filipino farming and this partnership is our first serious step in that direction,” said Joseph Calata, founder and CEO of Calata Corporation.

With the partnership with Pessl Instruments in place, Calata said it now intends to invite more stakeholders to be a part of the new digital farming ecosystem to transform farming in the Philippines.

PessI Instruments helps farmers around the world improve yields, while saving on energy, water, and fertilizer costs by providing weather stations, automatic insect traps, high resolution field cameras, soil moisture monitoring devices, and irrigation automation controllers.

Gottfried Pessl, founder and CEO of Pessl Instruments, noted the Philippines is leading the way in South East Asia by adopting technology which makes a real difference to the bottom line of farmers.

“The world of farming is seeing a massive shift towards data driven technologies and we have been at the forefront of this shift for 30 years," Pessl said.

The first initiative under the partnership is the rollout of an hourly seven-day weather forecasting service to farmers at selected locations.

With forecasting functions, an iMetos weather station will be installed in close proximity to Calata's retail outlets where farmers can register for the service.

"Providing accurate weather forecasting will facilitate cost savings to farmer as they will spray pesticides and apply fertilizer more accurately, minimizing the effect of water runoff caused by rain," according to Calata.

If the trial period proves to be a success, Calata aims to make the service available to all farmers. – VDS, GMA News