AI soil tool from Philippine startup targets farm costs as severe El Niño looms

A MINDANAO-BASED  agricultural technology startup is using artificial intelligence (AI) to help farmers assess  soil conditions and reduce unnecessary fertilizer use as the country braces for a potentially severe El Niño.

GreenVisionsPh Chief Executive Officer and founder Lorilyn P. Daquioag said its AI-driven  farm management module provides soil and disease diagnostics that guide farmers on fertilizer application and other farm practices.

“Carelessly throwing fertilizers is not effective during El Niño,” Ms. Daquioag told BusinessWorld in Filipino via Zoom.

The technology can help determine whether fertilizer applied to soil has been absorbed by crops or remains available for later use, potentially letting farmers delay additional applications and reduce costs.

In one farm assessed during an El Niño period, a farmer had been applying fertilizer every 10 days. Testing showed fertilizer levels in the topsoil were seven times higher than required, Ms. Daquioag said.

The company advised the farmer to delay further fertilizer application, saying its data indicated that the nutrients already in the soil could still be consumed by crops for up to two months.

The farmer was able to save money by avoiding unnecessary fertilizer purchases, she said.

The startup’s technology comes as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration expects a strong El Niño season by the third quarter, potentially developing into “very strong” conditions by October and lasting until January next year.

The Department of Agriculture has warned that the weather phenomenon could reduce agricultural output by about 20% to 30%.

GreenVisionsPh’s AI-driven farm management module is designed to function as a diagnostic tool for farms, providing data on soil conditions and crop diseases.

Ms. Daquioag compared the system to a mobile hospital for farms, with soil tests serving as laboratory examinations and the resulting recommendations acting as prescriptions.

“We create a metaphor that farms are similar to people when they are sick,” she said.

The data generated from farm assessments are automatically uploaded to the Agricultural Intelligence and Monitoring System, or AIMS, which allows farmers to monitor soil performance and manage other aspects of their operations.

The platform also helps farmers track expenses, operations, accounting and sales, addressing a record-keeping gap among some agricultural operators.

Ms. Daquioag said some farmers managing more than five hectares do not consistently maintain records of their expenses, sometimes relying on notes written on calendars or keeping no records at all.

GreenVisionsPh also offers microbial treatments, including Enhanced Compost Activator Solution, or eCAS, and Trichoderma, or Trico+, which it says can help rebalance soil pH, reduce odors and restore nutrient absorption.

The company said farmers using the products have cut farming expenses by as much as 50%, with savings reaching P4.1 million annually on a 20-hectare farm.

It also reported that 52% of farmers surveyed experienced larger and healthier yields, while 25% reported faster crop growth.

GreenVisionsPh, launched in 2021, has assessed about 300 farms in Mindanao and aims to reach at least 1,000 farms in the region by the end of the year.

For farmers facing higher risks from prolonged dry conditions, the company sees data-based farm management as a way to reduce input waste while helping them make decisions based on actual soil conditions rather than traditional practices.