“There are farmers who already take advantage of sensors and AI techniques, while others are not yet aware…”
Anderson Rocha is a researcher and professor at the State University of Campinas – Unicamp, an Artificial Intelligence consultant at Psyche Aerospace, with a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Federal University of Lavras, M.Sc. and Ph.D. from Unicamp.
Gabriel Leal is the CEO of Psyche Aerospace, an aerospace startup with HQ in the city of São José dos Campos, State of São Paulo, Brazil.
AgriBrasilis – What are the applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in agriculture?
Gabriel Leal and Anderson Rocha – As Psyche advisor Eder Fantini says, “the farms emanate data”. The applications are numerous, including the identification of problems in crops and soil, pests, weeds, the lack or excess of nutrients, water stress, yields and harvest forecasting, greater precision in relation to weather forecasts, support for planning and decision-making, planning of inputs and sowing, etc.
The entire agricultural chain can benefit from the use of AI. For example, the banking and insurance sector can benefit from greater predictability regarding the climate/weather and farming productivity, from better analysis of public data to have an integrated view of what happens in Brazilian agriculture, etc. For the inputs sector, it is possible to better calculate what and how much input is needed in each specific area instead of a general (and possibly inefficient) formula for an entire farm.
AgriBrasilis – Is AI already in the farmer’s daily life? What are the difficulties in adopting this technology?
Gabriel Leal and Anderson Rocha –Brazilian agriculture is very diverse. There are farmers who already take advantage of sensors and AI techniques, while others are not yet aware of the existence of these technologies.
Our goal is to develop technology (drones + AI) that is accessible and understandable to everyone. Two major barriers to date have been the lack of knowledge about these solutions and the lack of a player like Psyche, capable of thinking about the entire agricultural chain: from data collection via drones and rovers, spraying via highly capable drones and integrated artificial intelligence. As Steve Jobs said, serious companies that make software develop their own hardware. Another major limitation is the price barrier and the limited scale of the existing solutions.
AgriBrasilis – What are the predictions for the coming years?
Gabriel Leal and Anderson Rocha – Increasingly, the population will feel the need and the effects of exponential technologies that are forming the convergence revolution. We increasingly feel the impacts of robotics, the internet of things, nanotech, biotech and AI.
AgriBrasilis – What are the risks of using AI in agriculture?
Gabriel Leal and Anderson Rocha – The biggest risk of using AI in the field is by not using it. The need to produce more food with higher quality, efficiency and speed in the midst of climate challenges requires intelligent and “outside the box” solutions. If we do not act quickly, by putting sensors inside the farms, creating intelligence in agriculture, we will not be able to overcome the challenges that lie ahead. In other words, AI is today the farmer’s greatest ally in thinking about the planet’s food future.
AgriBrasilis – Will this technology reduce job vacancies?
Gabriel Leal and Anderson Rocha – Every technology changes the dynamics in its environment. There are job opportunities that are created, while some positions change and others even cease to exist. However, the impact of AI on agriculture is so great that we believe that many jobs and opportunities will be created. Perhaps some jobs will no longer be created and society is also thinking about this. The solution is to retrain the workers in other activities. Quality jobs are being created, leaving heavy labor to machines.
AgriBrasilis – Psyche is developing the “Agribusiness ChatGPT”. What does this platform consist of?
Gabriel Leal and Anderson Rocha – Turing, known as “Agribusiness ChatGPT”, consists of an artificial intelligence platform capable of integrating data from different heterogeneous sources, such as public data available on the internet, meteorology, financial data, market analysis, agricultural bulletins, as well as data collected directly from the farms via drones and rovers to provide solutions to support decision-making from the farmers to other players linked to the agricultural chain (banks, insurers, inputs).
Our goal is to revolutionize the way we think about agriculture, helping to solve the complex problems of our time. The solutions will be available for the Agro industry, and for small, medium and large-sized farmers; all with access to cutting-edge solutions, empowering these players to make decisions based on data and evidence.
AgriBrasilis – How does the entry of the Chinese (DeepSeek) into the AI market change the sector’s outlook?
Gabriel Leal and Anderson Rocha – The entry of more players into the global AI scene is no surprise to those working in the field. It is remarkable how quickly and seriously researchers from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Korea act. For the world, in general, it is very good to have more players join this complex game. The more people in this market, the better, as the population benefits more.
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