Demo soil improvement techniques Poland
DemoDays with Dutch agribusiness companies took place on June 19 in fields near Slupsk. The event accompanied the 30th anniversary of Farm Frites Poland. DemoDays is an action carried out in Poland as part of the project Demo soil improvement techniques Poland (DHI).
A demonstration project is a project in which Dutch companies demonstrate Dutch products, technologies or services under realistic conditions in a target market, in this case Poland.
A demonstration project is important because it facilitates entry into new target markets, taking into account learning about the market, specifics, needs of potential business partners and stakeholders. During the demonstration project, the company can prove the added value of the technology to a wide range of potential customers in the target market.
The lead entity in the project is FarmaX Metaaltechniek B.V. The company produces agricultural equipment. The history of FarmaX goes back to the 18th century. FarmaX specializes in the development of spading machines and aerators. With a spading machine, different operations (loosening, ploughing and harrowing) can be carried out in a combined operation. FarmaX wants to show the advantages of the rotary spading machine.
In this case of the FarmaX LPR Profi type. Spading is a replacement technique for ploughing. In the past, the spading machine was used when ploughing was no longer possible or only for the headlands. At first it was mainly the vegetable growers who were familiar with digging. Due to the further development of the spinning machine and the availability of ever larger tractors (on arable farms in the Netherlands, spading is a good substitute for ploughing). The Netherlands is the birthplace of spading.
In addition to FarmaX, the consortium also includes:
- AgriWatch - R&D company offering high-quality R&D consulting services in the field of geospatial knowledge in Agriculture under new climate conditions such as drought. AgriWatch is specialized in developing advisory services, developing and delivering practical training and capacity-building programs in using Geo-Information and Earth Observation for Agriculture and Water resources management.
- RMA RMA is a company, based in Dwingeloo, Drenthe. The company is specialized in sensortechnology for growers.The company offers solutions for Irrigation, crop protection, crop nutrition and water management. RMA has executed a DHI demo project in Poland in 2021. The project was aimed at demonstrating Scans-Sensors-Satellites for improved irrigation of potatoes. This project was mainly aimed at optimizing the irrigation of potatoes by means of a combination of sensor techniques.
- VanDinter Semo Vaninter Semo was founded in 1914. The company is known as Vandinter Semo and has become a significant producer and processor of seed in the Netherlands and far beyond. And although seed production and seed trade remain an important core activity at Vandinter Semo, the range has been extended to include seed cleaning, seed coating and seed packaging. Moreover, Vandinter Semo has built a unique reputation as a breeder of cruciferous vegetables.
- Rinagro Company based in Piaam, Friesland. Rinagro is a specialist in improved manure treatment. With their technique Rinagro is able to switch the environment from anaerobic to aerobic within a week. A process from rotting to maturation. On this specialism Ringro has achieved patents in various countries in a.o. the Netherlands, Europe, China and the USA. Rinagro’s bacterial consortium in AgriMestMix® and Compost-O® ensures the digestion of organic material, while the nutrients remain in the manure or in the compost heap.
Demo days were held during the celebration of the 30th anniversary of Farm Frites Poland, which is the leading producer of potato products in the CEE region, processing more than 250,000 tons of potatoes annually.
The event proved many farmers who grow vegetables, mainly potatoes, on a daily basis, who wanted to combine the celebration of FFP's round anniversary with the presentation of machinery, technology and modern solutions presented by Dutch companies.
Demo soil improvement techniques Poland project was represented by representatives of FarmaX, AgriWatch and RMA. In addition, the delegation from the Netherlands was complemented by Homburg Holland, through its Polish representative - Terra Company.
During the presentation, representatives of the companies demonstrated their technical and technological solutions, answered questions that were asked, and everything was accompanied by a very interesting discussion on the exchange of experiences, specifics and differences between the conditions of Dutch and Polish agriculture.
Not even the complicated weather conditions got in the way.
It is worth mentioning that the companies that were present at DemoDays are also members of the PIB Soil Quality Poland project, which is in its second year.
The DHI team from the Netherlands was accompanied by the University of Life Sciences in Poznań cooperating with AgriWatch - dr Krzysztof Achtenberg (preparation of RS/UAV vegetation data) and prof. Jean Diatta (preparation of soil data). The demonstration day was attended by a representative of PIB Soil in Poland, from the Dutch Embassy in Poland, Olaf Horbańczuk and the project Liasion, dr Tomasz Wojciechowski.