At Soltel, we are constantly working on digital transformation and process improvement in different sectors. In this initiative SIGVIT we collaborate with a group of key organizations to implement an Agricultural Management System for the wine sector.

The SIGVIT Operational Group

Operational Groups, key elements in the development of the European Innovation Partnership for productive and sustainable agriculture, are groups of stakeholders from diverse backgrounds (farmers, livestock breeders, foresters, agri-food or forestry industries, public or private R&D or training and advisory centers, technology centers, or non-profit institutions) who join forces to achieve an innovation aimed at solving a problem or seizing an opportunity, with a joint and multi-sectoral approach. Each group is associated with its innovation project and remains so until the innovation is implemented.

The Operational Group Agricultural management systems in the wine sector through the use of new technologies, «SIGVIT», it was formed with the main idea of ​​advancing the wine sector towards the modernization of vineyards, and to carry out an innovative project within the autonomous community of Extremadura. The idea arose from the need to be able to offer real-time information to the different cooperatives/wineries in order to manage the processing of raw materials, control production in the field, monitor pests or diseases, apply plant protection products, etc.

Ultimately, the aim is to create a platform that allows farm managers, cooperatives, or producers to optimize resources and carry out more organized production management, improving communication and logistics organization between the winegrower and the cooperative.

The “SIGVIT” Operational Group is established based on article 19 of Decree 94/2016, of July 5, of the Junta de Extremadura, becoming part of the AEI in matters of agricultural productivity and sustainability.

The Project

The overall objective of the project is to obtain a vineyard plot management tool using information and communication technologies with automation of field notebooks, so that it allows cooperative technicians to better organize and optimize resources, improving logistics between farmer and cooperative, incorporating the system as a functionality the determination of the optimal harvest point from hyperspectral image.

Ultimately, achieving the overall objective of the idea will allow for the modernization of the sector, resulting in better management and savings in inputs, which will lead to cost savings, a reduction in pollutants, and ultimately, a more sustainable crop.

To achieve the general objectives, the following specific technical objectives are set:

• Bringing new technologies to the wine sector in partnership with specialized companies.
• Designing the functionalities of a management system to match the specific needs of the end users.
• Conduct pilot tests on plots under real growing conditions.
• Validate the results and technologies implemented in the project, obtaining a final system for the management of the vineyards of its partners.
• Participate in and promote outreach activities and collaboration with other operational groups.
• Development of hyperspectral technology image processing protocols for grapevine cultivation.
• Creation of hypercubes from the analysis of images captured using hyperspectral technology.
• Relationship between captured images and tracking parameters.
• Validation of algorithms that allow online monitoring of crop parameters.
• Creation of a library of hyperspectral signatures of the different stages of grape ripening.
• Implementation of a methodology for assessing water stress parameters using multispectral imaging via drone flights.
• Design and development of advanced software for standards-based information and knowledge management, integrating crop monitoring data and analyzing it to produce useful information for the business.
• Design of a Business Intelligence system that integrates and analyzes the data collected during crop monitoring, to obtain relevant information that helps optimize agricultural processes.
• Allow the incorporation of diverse sources of information in a flexible and structured manner based on standards, mainly free software, but licensed software with APIs will also be allowed.
• Characterization and modeling from a software perspective of the fundamental elements that influence the system.
• Application of Business Intelligence (BI) technologies to create a set of KPI indicators related to process management.
• Design of a set of dashboards and alerts for system management.

The innovative project “Plot management system in the wine sector” of the regional operational group SIGVIT is financed within the framework of the Extremadura Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) of the European Union at 75%, by the Autonomous Community of Extremadura at 21.28%, and by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) at 3.72%.

For more information innovacion@soltel.es

Beneficiaries:

CAVE San José
Soltel IT Systems SLU
Ambling Engineering and Services S.L.

Contracted:

Business Association of the Agri-food Technology Center “Extremadura” (CTAEX)
 

Contributors:

Extremadura Association of Winemakers
FEDESIBA