Pretoria, South Africa
June 11, 2019
Corteva Agriscience™ and John Deere, the world’s largest manufacturer and supplier of equipment, today kicked off a three-day marketing collaboration where they presented their technology solutions and tools designed to deliver value to farmers and societies in Africa.
“As the world population continues to grow, the technologies we are showcasing will be essential to meet the global food demand,” says Tony Esmeraldo, Business Director, Corteva Agriscience, Southern Africa. “We are a technology company and our tools enable farmers to make informed decisions efficiently.”
Corteva Agriscience’s investment in research and development in Africa includes:
- The Delmas technology center, which includes Africa’s largest privately-owned insect research facility, the Insectary, critical to the development of traits to combat local yield-robbing pests, some of which are unique to the continent. This state of the art technology is unique in the industry and enables global entomology research, also focusing on Fall Armyworm.
- Advanced techniques used in seed breeding, including Embryo Rescue and Molecular Markers which help drive value for farmers.
- State-of-the-art digital breeding systems, including highly sophisticated drones equipped with a multi-spectral camera, laser sensors, and the ability to deliver three-dimensional photography. These game-changing tools allow Corteva to scale breeding and product development activities to deliver genetic gain efficiently and effectively for farmers.
- Precision characterisation using drone technology to gather data about plant growth, development, and condition and turn it into feasible insights. This includes incorporating digital tools in agriculture, from intelligent farm equipment to planting prescriptions to tools to enable an increase in crop yields for farmers.
According to Jacques Taylor, Managing Director: John Deere, Sub-Saharan Africa, “there is evidence worldwide, showing a strong correlation between improved productivity and the adoption of innovative technology and mechanisation. Agriculture today faces the challenge of producing more at an acceptable price, without causing damage to the environment. We see agriculture moving away from bigger, faster, stronger to being more precise, more resilient and more adaptive. John Deere continues to invest in developing precision ag technology, some of which are being displayed here at this event.”
The aim of the three day Intelligent Farming event is to engage with and demonstrate intelligent farming technology to farmers and stakeholders who work with John Deere, Corteva Agriscience, PANNAR® brand, and Pioneer® brand in South Africa. “We are excited to kick off three full days of collaboration, innovation, learning and networking in Delmas,” says Jacques Taylor, Managing Director: John Deere, Sub-Saharan Africa. “We have an amazing lineup of top speakers to give attendees inspiration and insights on new ways for farmers to increase efficiency and manage costs through the adoption of innovation.”
John Deere experts exhibited and gave updates on its innovative products to deliver value to farmers and societies in Africa, such as:
- ExactApply™ solutions - A technology that delivers the precision at all spray speeds for better weed and pest control that allows you to manage any potential drift. It is available on Self-Propelled sprayers.
- The iPackage – A solution on the specialized trailed sprayers which provides traceability and information on all facets of the application.
- Precision Ag – A technology putting solutions in farmers' hands to pave the way for the future of farming. Helping farmers to manage the equipment/crop data and selecting service providers to provide better information for higher productivity and profitability.
John Deere Connected Support - Connecting to your machine data to the cloud in real-time and running proactive diagnostics to discover faults before they happen.
- John Deere Financial Packages – Financial packages are structured according to farmers specific circumstances and mechanisation requirements. This unique finance option is available for any new farming equipment, subject to purchase at an authorized John Deere dealer.
- John Deere ExactEmerge™ and MaxEmerge™ 5E – A technology showing the features and benefits of the new planter technology
This Intelligent Farming event comes immediately after John Deere and Corteva signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for accelerating the agricultural sector and enriching the lives of farmers across the continent.
Through the strength of its global scale and expertise, Corteva can implement local solutions to deliver the right product for the right field. The company has research facilities in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Johnston, South Africa, Germany, China, India, Brazil, Canada with staff located out in the markets.
Delmas serves as the central hub of the Africa regional technology centre, which is comprised of a network of existing research facilities and testing locations throughout Africa, and serving Pioneer® and PANNAR® seed products.
This campaign comes immediately after the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at accelerating Africa’s agricultural sector and enriching the lives of farmers across the continent.
“As a major pure-play company in agriculture, we know we can’t do this alone—collaboration is central to what we do and that's why we are partnering with a major agriculture player like John Deere,” concludes Esmeraldo.
About John Deere:
Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) is a world leader in providing advanced products and services and is committed to the success of customers whose work is linked to the land - those who cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich and build upon the land to meet the world's dramatically increasing need for food, fuel, shelter and infrastructure. Since 1837, John Deere has delivered innovative products of superior quality built on a tradition of integrity. For more information, visit John Deere at its worldwide website at JohnDeere.com or in Sub-Saharan Africa at https://www.deere.com/sub-saharan/en/
About Corteva Agriscience™
Corteva Agriscience™ provides farmers around the world with the most complete input portfolio in the industry to enable them to maximize yield and profitability — including some of the most recognized brands in agriculture: Pioneer®, Granular®, Brevant™ seeds, as well as award-winning Crop Protection products — while bringing new products to market through its robust pipeline of active chemistry and technologies. The company is committed to working with stakeholders throughout the food system as it fulfills its promise to enrich the lives of those who produce and those who consume, ensuring progress for generations to come. Corteva Agriscience became an independent public company on June 1, 2019, and was previously the Agriculture Division of DowDuPont. More information can be found at www.corteva.com.
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