Information and communications technology company BCX and digital industrial company General Electric (GE) are collaborating to provide end-to-end digital technological solutions to the agri-processing sector.
The two companies say they have developed an integrated agri-tech solution tailored for South African and African agricultural needs.
Leveraging Predix, GE's application development platform for the Industrial Internet, the team co-created the Digital Farm solution.
The digital farm allows stakeholders to manage, predict, and control inputs and outputs across the agricultural supply chain. The solution will incorporate components or software applications, that will allow visibility for varied types of user information and benefits per stakeholder sector - farmer, financial intermediaries, government, retailer, logistics partner and ultimately, consumer, say the companies.
Agriculture currently represents approximately 2.6% of South African gross domestic product and contributes to around 10% of formal employment in the country. According to Statistics South Africa, agriculture has been one of the sectors to contribute most to GDP growth, showing a 33.6% growth in the second quarter of 2017.
"Agriculture plays such a vital role in the South African economy," says Ian Russell, BCX CEO. "With the advances in digital industrial technology, we recognised that there were significant opportunities to leverage that technology to increase efficiencies, profits, and ultimately the broader economy."
"We are delighted to work with BCX as our partners in the region in developing solutions that are integral to the success and survival of all our continent's citizens," says Ali Saleh, senior vice president and chief commercial officer for GE Digital Middle East, Africa and Turkey.
"GE, the 125-year-old industrial organisation, has transformed itself into the world's digital industrial company by developing integrated solutions across sectors such as oil and gas, power, healthcare, transportation and aviation. One of our key capabilities is leveraging solutions from one sector or industry and applying them to another - what we call the GE Store. We now look forward to applying this significant legacy as we enter a key sector with the goal of increasing efficiency."
"The partnership shows the potential that digital disruption can have to transform an industry and further, an economy. Beyond increasing output and efficiency for farmers, the solutions should have a trickle-down effect for South African consumers as well," says Russell.
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