EarlyBirds, an open innovation platform & marketplace, is appealing to thought leaders in the agriculture industry to explore its global ecosystem of innovative solutions to solve real problems facing the agricultural sector.

Agriculture is one of the industries that is grandfathered in its ways of operations and is slow to respond to modern developments. Its methods are firmly planted in the past as there is constant friction against innovative solutions. As a result, one of the biggest problems in agriculture is the difficulty in gathering exact field data for analysis. In cases where the data is collected, the problem becomes the eventual analysis, visualization, and extraction of useful information from the data so that business leaders can make informed decisions regarding the industry. This is a two-pronged problem that can only be solved with the combined application of existing technologies with the cross-pollination of the knowledge from experts from other digital-first industries.

The list of technologies that can have an impact on the agricultural industry is increasing every day. For example, the application of sensors in the field and farming equipment which are connected to a broader Internet of Things architecture, drones, crop monitoring devices, robotics, RFID sensors and tracking, and machine learning are some ideas that can propel the Agriculture industry forward to produce greater returns well ahead of the current situation. There has also been tremendous acceleration in technologies such as farm machinery automation, remote satellite data, in-situ sensors, traceability technologies, and digital logistics services that create a fertile ground for innovative solutions to emerge and change the existing landscape. All of these technologies have the potential to play a decisive role in some part of the supply chain whether it be from the production of crops to the logistics of produce transportation and distribution.

The direct impact of adopting such technologies is the potential to uplift of the entire industry, in both the private and public sectors. Small and medium-scale farmers can better track their yield, use the right amount of resources to get the optimum amount of produce, make accurate predictions of market movements, and get a better return for their investment. In the public sector, governments can drastically increase the efficacy of existing policies and programs with the help of the collected data. One example of such a possible impact is the reduction in the cost of monitoring production thanks to the freely available and high-quality satellite imagery.

EarlyBirds says, currently, only a tiny fraction of all agricultural activity is being monitored and undertaken according to statistical data. By embracing its innovation platform, companies can engage with innovators who are working directly in the desired domain. This cuts down time spent in research as the know-how and expertise is effectively outsourced to budding entrepreneurs that have a finger on the pulse of the core problem that needs solving. EarlyBirds maintains it is a great way to bolster a company or farming operations with innovative solutions that might be too complicated or out of its reach.

EarlyBirds says it empowers the people behind the business to share ideas, provide freedom to people to try new disruptive solutions, enable a fail fast, learn faster approach, and create an organic innovation culture across the organization. The company also claims to help businesses attract new customers using the latest technology, engage with customers more effectively, enhance the customer experience to a new level, and deliver greater customer satisfaction. When it comes to investment opportunities, EarlyBirds helps businesses explore the latest and rapidly emerging innovative solutions, identify potential options, conduct due diligence on selected solutions to adopt or to invest in.

Jeff Penrose, the cofounder of EarlyBirds Marketplace, says, “We have seen many examples of existing industries being upended by the application of the technologies brought to the table by our innovators. If you are a business leader then it is but a matter of time till you find the perfect solution that can work well with your existing business’s infrastructure and expertise. We are confident that we can help you make that important discovery.”