Can artificial intelligence revolutionize our sector? This was the question posed at one of the conferences of medFEL 2024. The participants included: Franck Berthu, digital transformation expert at AD'OCC, Gildas Guibert, technical expert and consultant at Mouneyrac, Anicet Prod'homme, cyberdefense engineer at Vergers Gazeau and Antonin Douillet, co-founder of DAC ADN.
"AI has been around for several years now, but it is still relatively new in terms of usage. We therefore have much more feedback from solution providers than from users," explains Franck Berthu, digital transformation expert at AD'OCC. "We need to keep up because today, we cannot do without AI, and what we need to focus on is profitability, not cost!"
Anicet Prod'homme (Vergers Gazeau) and Antonin Douillet (DAC ADN)
"A decision-making tool"
According to Franck Berthu, AI helps producers "make decisions as quickly as possible with the maximum possible information, when it comes to real-time analysis of soil water status, yield and even weather forecasts." Antonin Douillet, for example, wants to optimize the phytosanitary protection of vines. "We capture pathogen spores (mildew and powdery mildew), which we analyze in the laboratory using molecular biology methods. The data collected is then implemented in AI-based models (weather data, phenology monitoring, symptom monitoring), which will enable us to produce a probability of symptom evolution, and thus provide advice on the type of molecules to use, the dose... The more sensors we have, the more we will be able to predict the evolution of symptoms. The more sensors we have, the more indicators we will be able to converge."
"The work is done in 5 seconds"
Mathieu Gazeau and Anicet Prod'homme of SAS Arboflow have developed PommaQuality, an app based on AI that "instantly assesses apple quality," by analyzing images of apples captured from the mobile app to provide precise estimates of size and coloring. "The advantage of AI is that the work can be done in 5 seconds," explains Anicet Prod'homme. The innovation indeed lies in the system's efficiency and speed, enabling almost instantaneous visibility of batch quality, even before they arrive at the packing station. "For every 3 pallets analyzed at the packing station, I can analyze 100 with AI."
An answer to the problems of the fruit and vegetable sector?
"We are lucky enough to be living in a digital revolution," explains Gildas Guibert, technical expert and consultant at Mouneyrac. AI is very exciting and will really enable companies that have a huge amount of dormant data sets, to use them to objectify their decision-making and make progress. AI technology could be "the answer to the problems facing the fruit and vegetable sector. Labor is becoming increasingly scarce and unskilled, so AI will enable us to improve our skills. On the phytosanitary front, AI can accelerate research into new, more sustainable molecules, and increase the profitability of companies."
What about other countries?
According to Antonin Douillet, "the United States and Canada are ahead of the game. Whether it is about cucumbers, field crops, kiwis, raspberries or onions, they are quite inspiring. There is no barrier to innovation for them! Regarding arboriculture, Anicet Prod'homme adds that "New Zealand is ahead of the game."
For more information: medfel.com