Eratani Develops IoT for Smart Farming Adoption

Startups agritechEratani announced the acquisition of business funding from Bank BRI to procure IoT devices Smart Fertilizing Recommendation System for farmers. There was no mention of the credit facilities obtained, but it is believed that the collaboration between the two parties could have a positive impact on the agricultural industry in Indonesia.

This IoT device is an intelligent system for balanced fertilization, which helps Eratani-assisted farmers optimize resource use and increase crop yields. The device is used to measure soil nutrient content, such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), acidity level (pH), and can be used to calculate fertilizer needs based on specific soil conditions quickly and in real time.

Apart from that, the device is also equipped with sensors that can adjust soil nutrient needs based on the harvest target to be achieved, so that it can optimize the need for nutrient absorption and increase crop yields for farmers in the field.

"In this way, farmers do not need to buy excessive amounts of fertilizer, thereby minimizing the burden of high fertilizer costs and ineffective and inefficient fertilizer application," said Eratani CFO Bambang Cahyo Susilo, contacted separately by DailySocial.id.

According to him, this collaboration with BRI is included three main pillars in Eratani. Namely, helping farmers to get more affordable access to financing (access to smart working capital), receive counseling and assistance (access to knowledge and technology), as well as providing a reasonable selling price for grain/fair trade (access to market).

"In an effort to continue to increase agricultural production and reduce operational costs for farmers, Eratani continuously implements various best methods (agricultural best practices) and optimizing the use of technology in the rice cultivation process, including through IoT procurement," he added.

Based on USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) data, Indonesia is ranked fourth in terms of global rice consumption, with total average consumption reaching 35,367 million tons throughout the year. This high demand for rice comes from people's tendency to consume rice in their daily intake.

Until now, efforts to meet food needs must continue to be optimized because they are faced with various challenges, including land conversion. Data from the Ministry of Agriculture shows that conversion of agricultural land in Indonesia reaches 90.000 to 100.000 hectares every year.

The erosion of agricultural land means farmers must focus on maximizing the potential of available land. Sustainable agricultural practices can be a solution to these challenges, one of which is through the use of IoT.

IoT is a portable technological device that is connected via the internet and has the ability to detect various parameters quickly and in real time. IoT sensors in the agricultural sector have alternative capabilities for monitoring plant diseases, pest attacks, and soil fertility analysis.

“[..] Eratani's mission is to be the best partner for farmers by providing support in the entire agricultural process, from upstream to downstream, through the implementation of smart farming. We hope that this step can be a new breakthrough for farmers to find out their needs during the planting period in an actual and targeted manner. [..]," added VP Operations Eratani Adwin Pratama Anas in an official statement.

BRI Sub-Branch Office of the Ministry of Transmigration Fauzan Rahman also said, "We are enthusiastic about partnering with Eratani as a company agritech because we also realize that Eratani Agronomists in the field certainly need support from various parties in order to carry out their duties more effectively [..].”

Business achievements

Bambang claims a number of achievements to date. Here are the details:

• Eratani has collaborated with more than 22.000 farmers spread across 410 villages in 32 districts in West Java, Central Java, East Java and South Sulawesi. As ecosystem builder in the agricultural sector, Eratani not only develops farmers (small holder farmers), but also established partnerships with more than 500 agricultural kiosks and 70 rice mills (rice milling units).
• In its journey to improve the welfare of Indonesian farmers, Eratani has helped farmers increase agricultural production by 29% and increase farmer income by 25%. On the other hand, Eratani has also helped 100% of assisted farmers have access to financing (bankable farmers), as well as increasing the kiosk transactions built by 3x.
• From the perspective of women's empowerment, currently 30% of Eratani's assisted farmers are women and continue to be committed to actively participating in empowering Indonesian women farmers. In the future, Eratani will form a program specifically to help maximize their potential.
• The existence of Eratani also creates job opportunities for young Indonesians to actively participate in the agricultural sector for the sake of creating young Indonesian farmers. Currently, Eratani employs agricultural school graduates (universities and vocational schools) in Eratani's operational areas.

"Through comprehensive solutions, Eratani hopes to continue to make a sustainable contribution in improving the standard of living of farmers, food security and sustainable agriculture (sustainable agriculture)," said Bambang.

The above achievements will continue this year. Bambang said that his party wanted to strengthen its position as ecosystem builder and thought leader in the agricultural sector through value creation (information value, community value, and social value) to various stakeholders, including developing developer programs. Collaborating with central and regional governments, the private sector, non-profit organizations and the education sector.

"In the future, Eratani will continue to contribute to answering the challenges of food security and sustainability through innovation, efficiency, increasing productivity, and implementing sustainable systems in the agricultural sector through effective and efficient technological and operational approaches," he concluded.