Smart agriculture: fewer pesticides and more profitability thanks to data

In January 2017, the crop protection products efficiency certificates plan was adopted by French parliamentarians. It is similar to the efficiency certificates introduced in the sector of construction/renovation in 2005. The certificates make incentives for efficiency plans implemented by distributors of plant protection products for the professional users.

Since 2008, the Ecophyto plan supports farmers in reasoned and reduced use of plant protection products (fertilizers and pesticides). The network of DEPHY farms was created in this context. It currently has 3000 pilot farms which experience a more efficient agriculture regarding plant protection products in order to develop and share the best practices in this area. These farms are at the forefront of the CEPP plan and helped develop a hundred eligible projects for the plan.

Economically, the decrease in inputs use has no negative impact. The recent work of Nicolas Junier-Molain shows that there is no link between the use of pesticides and crop yields. In the sample studied by the researcher, 77% of farms display both a low use of pesticides, a high efficiency and a high profitability. The research team says an average decrease of 30% of chemical agricultural is possible on all of the French operations.

Big data and CEPP, a certain victory

What is the relationship between agriculture, the CEPP, and the big data? A place is to be booked on the council market of the obligors (distributors of plant protection products) and the qualified people (farmers) in the CEPP and other actors in the environment and agriculture. On one hand, financial and operational mechanics behind the implementation of the projects of CEPP require a business expertise. On the other hand an actor capable of synthesizing with the right map tool all data about farms and the state of their plots, their practices in chemical inputs and other useful factors would accelerate the implementation of the CEPP.