Imagining farming's robotic future

Global crop protection specialist ADAMA and Australian ag-tech company SwarmFarm Robotics have announced a joint arrangement to establish ADAMA as SwarmFarm's preferred global business partner.

The arrangement will enable the two to help improve the productivity of farming systems and deliver simplicity to farmers around the world by reimagining the way crop protection is applied.

SwarmFarm's innovative technology will help improve the productivity of current farming systems by offering small, lightweight, high-tech robotic machines that will operate in swarms to undertake key tasks of cropping systems, such as planting, weed and pest control, fertiliser application and harvesting.

"Innovation is at the core of ADAMA, and the excitement of innovating is it allows you to look to the future and imagine what farming will look like in decades to come," ADAMA Australia Chief Executive Darrin Hines said.

"By 2020, global population will nudge 10 billion and the challenge for farming is to supply the food and fibre the planet needs.

"Robotics present an opportunity which will allow us to meet that challenge, and like our friends at SwarmFarm we imagine a future where swarms of intelligent robots deliver the most innovative of crop protection products developed by ADAMA.

"We're thrilled to partner with SwarmFarm and to help take this young innovative Australian company to the world," he said.

Andrew Bate, the co-founder and managing director of SwarmFarm Robotics, said: "We are delighted to partner with ADAMA to take this groundbreaking technology to farmers across the globe. As a start-up ag-tech company we face a significant sales, marketing and distribution challenge — by working with ADAMA and utilising their established channels we can take our products to market far more easily.

"Together, ADAMA and SwarmFarm Robotics will make a big difference in improving the performance of current farming systems and thereby the financial viability of farmers globally."