Waterwatch Solutions attended the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA) Europe on 9-10 May in Utrecht at the Jaarbeurs Expo Centre.

GFIA Global is the world’s largest showcase of sustainable agriculture innovations, held in Abu Dhabi every year since 2014. The GFIA team brought GFIA Europe to the Netherlands for the first time this May to focus on how technology can be employed to sustainably achieve food security.

Waterwatch Solutions (WWS) took part in the event with the SAP Run Live Truck as well as a stand in the main exhibition hall. In a unique collaboration, SAP, Waterwatch Solutions, InfoPlaza and The Next View developed during the GFIA the Crop Disease Alert 2.0 in the truck. For its client UTZ, WWS  also worked with a coffee expert from Brazil in order to add coffee – and the disease ‘Coffee Rust’ –  as one more crop to the Crop Disease Alert.

The GFIA was a unique event in attracting professionals from across the entire value chain. Waterwatch Solutions had the opportunity to meet with food producers, who were eager to find profitable precision-farming technology and methods of crop protection to enhance yields. WWS also met with government officials and financial institutions from various countries that support local farmers in their communities to enhance farming practices with the benefits of sustainable agriculture programs. Additionally, supply chain professionals, R&D experts, development agencies and NGOs were also gathered in the event. WWS also had the chance to network with entrepreneurial peers from the sustainable agriculture sector and potential cooperation partners.

Besides the exhibition with hundreds of suppliers showcasing products to help improve land and water productivity, GFIA also hosted the Agtech Leaders Summit, a series of conferences where hundreds of experts gathered to find new ways to ensure sufficient and sustainable food production.

A wide range of side events were run by GFIA’s partners and organisers, you may find further information here.

After the two-day GFIA event, the SAP Run Live Truck moved to HAS Hogeschool in Den Bosch on 11 May to complete the development of Crop Disease Alert 2.0 and deliver the demo version of the app to Waterwatch Solutions on Friday, 12th May.