Tom Schut MSc

Centuries before agricultural advisers existed, there was the peddler. Travelling from farm to farm with a basket full of goods, his most valuable commodity was not what he carried but what he knew. He shared what he had seen on neighbouring farms, which crops were thriving, and where diseases had appeared. In many ways, the peddler was the nervous system of the countryside.

Today’s agricultural adviser is his modern successor. Instead of a basket, he arrives with a laptop. He advises on variety selection, crop protection and dosages, providing advice about growing strategies, while arranging orders with suppliers. But he also brings news: what he has observed at other growers’ farms, which trials are underway, where late blight has appeared unusually early. That informal exchange of knowledge is every bit as valuable as his formal advice.

At Wageningen University & Research (WUR), development of the Botato platform is underway; a new tool to support both advisers and growers in this process. Not with a chatbot that invents convincing-sounding answers, but with a reliable system that combines scientific models with field observations, weather forecasts and current legislation. A photograph of a diseased plant may be enough to identify the likely cause and suggest appropriate treatments. Enter the crop variables and the system can calculate the most suitable combination of variety, fertilization and irrigation to maximize yields. At the same time, it checks whether the advice complies with current legislation, such as nutrient application limits or regional restrictions. The recommendations are always traceable and can be linked back to their source.

Yet this is also where technology reaches its limits. The peddler knew what was happening from one farm to the next because he had seen it with his own eyes. He carried with him a living, seasonal picture of the countryside. That informal, constantly changing picture being experienced at a particular time cannot be digitized unless growers are willing to share their observations. A digital adviser is only as intelligent as the information it receives.

What does this mean for the human adviser? Anyone whose role is limited to passing on knowledge is already 4-0 down, but those who embrace this new digital technology do not need to empty their basket – they simply fill it with something different. They spend less time searching for information and more time connecting. There are fewer manuals and more trust. The digital peddler can take over the search. The human adviser remains responsible for the work that truly matters. ●

Tom Schut MSc, Researcher at
Wageningen University & Research
tom1.schut@wur.nl