Latin American Region Leverages Ag Lab Data Standards Work

Latin America

Latin American Region Leverages Ag Lab Data Standards Work

By José Alexandre Loyola, AgGateway Latin America Regional Director

AgGateway’s Ag Laboratory Data working group has been refining the Modus testing model as a basis for a lab soil testing data standard. That work is now being leveraged into a new working group focused on AgGateway’s Latin American region. Ronaldo Oliviera from the Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMPRAPA) is the AgGateway lead for this effort. Ronaldo is a member of the Ag Laboratory Data working group and provides a coordinating bridge between the two working groups. Corina Ardelean (Chair for the Ag Laboratory Data working group) and Andres Ferreyra (Agrisemantics Chair) are lending their expertise as the regional working group gets started.

Why a separate effort for Latin America? According to Ronaldo, “Those in Latin America are at the beginning in their journey, even as the Ag Laboratory Data working group is looking to extend its work into other regions and other lab testing areas. While the North American team has brought on partners and surveyed labs in their region, that foundational work has yet to be done in Latin America.”

The significance of soil testing datasets to speed up agricultural systems interoperability has long been recognized by the AgGateway members in Latin America as a strategic project that supports the fast adoption growth of Ag4.0 technology by Brazilian farmers. It is also seen as an important complementary action to improve the Modus standard in reference to tropical soil lab protocols and sample analysis procedures.

Companies and organizations that have stated their intent to be members once the new working group’s charter has been approved include: Agrotecnologia, Allims, CIAg, CNH, Embrapa, John Deere, the Brazilian Institute of Analyses (IBRA), the Instituto Agronômico (IAC), La Prisma, Mosaicco, Proagrica, SIDI, Syngenta, the University of Sao Paulo, and Venturus.

Does your company have operations or interest in Latin America? Let me know if you would like more information or want to be involved, by contacting me through Member Services at Member.Services@AgGateway.org.