An AI solution for agri-processes

• Agriculture sector is one of the major greenhouse gas emitters.
• AI solutions like Catalyst Zero hep identify emissions in agricultural processes.
• Agriculture sector accounted for 11% of emissions in 2022 according to FAO.

AI technologies such as the new Catalyst Zero are accelerating the reduction of emissions across the farming supply chain. Agriculture equipment manufacturing and use are main pollutants of the sector but application of such AI solutions helps in reducing farming’s carbon footprint.

AGCO Corporation, a European based global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of agricultural machinery and agriculture technology is a pioneer of this AI solution together with other partners.

“The global company is on a mission to revolutionize farming and significantly cut down its environmental footprint, with ambitious goals to slash emissions 55 percent by 2033 and 90 percent by 2050,” says AGCO Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary Roger Batkin.

Sounds impossible? Maybe, but aiming high set ground for some form of achievement such that even if the target goal is not reached, however, some progress will have been made. “The agriculture industry is a key part of the solution to combatting climate change,” Batkin asserts.

“We’ve committed to bringing smart solutions to our farmer customers to increase sustainable agricultural practices across the globe,” he contends. It is well known that the agriculture industry is a key part of the solution to combatting climate change.

On the one hand, agriculture is a major emitter of carbon be it in fertilizer production or in running of tractors and other farming machinery.

As Africa moves to mechanize agriculture in the hope of commercializing the sector, it to is increasingly becoming part of the problem rather than the solution.

As such, there are great lessons to be learnt from AGCO’s initiative to reduce carbon emissiyin the agriculture secror.

To address emission challenges, AGCO utilizes a tool it calls ‘Catalyst Zero.’ “This is an end-to-end decarbonization tool that identifies cost-effective options to reduce carbon emissions,” Batkin elaborates.

He explained that the Catalyst Zero uses a Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) which compares the cost and emissions impact of different traditional and tech-enabled strategies.

In simpe terms, MACC refers to ‘abatement’ or  ‘reducing’ costs that would be incured from the application of different decarbonization methods, compared to the volume of emissions that could be reduced when a given method is applied.

“What we look for here is transparent carbon accounting which is done by an AI program,” Batkin explains.

“The only way companies are really going to abate carbon is to know exactly where it’s coming from and be able to account for it,” he added.

The Catalyst Zero tool, an AI program itself,  works by processing 300,000 emissions data points from multiple systems with minimal manual intervention.

“The program helps us fulfill our decarbonization goals by enabling us select the most impactful and financially viable decarbonization levers,” Batkin notes.

He said, the program doe not only help AGCO as a company but it acceleratea the decarbonization process across the entire farming supply chain.

Thanks to the MACC AI program, companies (and governments) can identify and prioritize initiatives that best fit their emission reduction goals and even to estimate each strategy’s cost-effectiveness and financial value.

In this regard, the Catalyst Zero tool which runs the MACC program, offers easy access to baseline carbon data, and detailed insights into decarbonization approaches.

“What this program does, is give us the ability, automatically, to convert raw data from our systems into actionable decarbonization initiatives,” Barkin goes on to explain.

By so doing he said, it makes it easier for executives to stay updated with fast-changing climate technologies.

“The program makes sense of unstructured data and quickly identifies emission hot spots allowing us to make informed decisions,” he added.

This AI program empowers users to act on more strategic and efficient decarbonization processes.

He said by using Catalyst Zero the company can now improve it’s accuracy in pinpointing which production processes are causing the most emissions.

“Using the Catalyst Zero tool, AGCO can obtain insights in just one week, significantly cutting down on the previous eight-week process,” he detailed.

“In addition to improving operational efficiency and sustainability reporting, this is also enhancing strategic decision-making,” he went on to explain.

Summing up to he said, thanks to the Catalyst Zero program they now have deepened understanding of decarbonization strategy across various business units and regions.

“AGCO will be able to execute these initiatives more cost-efficiently and  target the most relevant areas of emissions,” he concluded.

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Catalyst Zero: Applying AI to reduce emissions in Africa farming

As Africa accelerates it’s agriculture mechanisation ambitions, it is AI tools like the Catalyst Zero program that can help identify and target emission points.

Government agencies and inspectors can use such tools to ensure that old, polluting machines are not dumped in their countries.

With such AI tools, governments jn Africa can protect the agriculture mechanisation process to be ensure it does not end up like the dumping of old polluting cars.

As machines are brought into the African agriculture sector, these AI tools can be used to identify big emitters and stop them at the port of origin.

As Batkin put it; “Catalyst Zero is a testament to the power of innovative technology in driving sustainability and operational excellence.”

He said thanks to the Catalyst Zero AI power, AGCO is focusing on implementing key decarbonization initiatives, such as transitioning to electrified tractors and identifying tech-enabled levers to reduce emissions across its supply chain.

Sharing similar sentiments, AGCO Global Sustainability Manager Haley Engelberth said; “This not only saves countless hours in reporting and updating it also helps move everyone to action more quickly.”

African leaders must prioritize technology not only in the procurement of tractors an other farming and processing machines but also jn inspecting these machines before they are imported.

It is AI tools like Catalyst Zero that can help stop Africa from becoming a dump site for old farming machinery that the West (and other nations) would otherwise unscrapulously sell to the unsuspecting continent.

AI does not apply in developed countries only, it is very much relevant to every day policy making in Africa.

Consider the fact that the agriculture sector accounted for 11% of emissions in 2022 according to FAO.

“Global agrifood systems emissions reached 16.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Gt CO2eq) in 2022,” FAO reported.

If Africa is to be part of the solution to reduce emissions in n by he agricultural sector, then AI solutions like catalyst zero are not a luxury, rather, they are compulsory.