Overview:

• In the first year, yields improved by as much as 4%, and since then the rate of increase has risen to 8.3%.

Challenge:

A government based in Southern Asia approached Challenge Advisory for assistance accelerating the development of agriculture in the region. International demographic projections depicted a significant increase in population over the coming decades, and the client wished to be fully prepared to meet nutrition and export demands for the healthy function of their country.

The Revelation:

Challenge Advisory’s agriculture team collaborated amongst itself to understand the client’s challenge of improving yield across the country. In order to understand best how to improve the efficiency of agriculture, they conducted a full analysis of the farming practices in the regions, and from there compiled a comprehensive report on their findings.

The findings showed that water and other inputs were often overused and this led to high levels of wastage throughout the sector. Farming area in the country averaged around 70 hectares, and a lack of proper infrastructures meant that farm operators were not able to accurately observe their crops. This led to delayed decision-making when it came to adjusting inputs or harvest and as a result, a great deal of crops went to waste, compounding the yield issues.

The ailing yields were exacerbated further by intensive farming practices used to combat them, and these led to a vicious cycle of lower yield and poor agriculture practices.

In order to meet projected demands, the country needed a annual yield increase of at least 7%.

To achieve this yield increase, Challenge Advisory held meetings with distributors and farm representatives for educational purposes, showcasing the drawbacks of intensive practices and promoting more sustainable ventures. Then, Challenge Advisory gathered a strong and diverse group of companies in the precision agriculture industry, allowing for the consolidation of these practices, which would help decision making on a farm as well as to increase yield.

Finally, they provided the client with a business case, that justified the financial outlays to the government.

Outcomes:

Taking on the new initiatives and armed with fresh knowledge on best agriculture practices, the government collaborated with the distributors and farm representatives to transform the agriculture sector in the country.

In the first year, yields improved by as much as 4%, and since then the rate of increase has risen to 8.3%.