Location: Barbados | Industry: Agronomic Advisory
Digitalizing Sugar Cane Production on Barbados
Barbados Agricultural Management Company (BAMC)
Introduction
Barbados, an island country in the Caribbean Sea, is home to the world’s finest sugar cane. Due to its temperate climate, the island has a long history of sugar cane production that goes back 400 years.
The Barbados Agricultural Management Company manages and operates around 30% of the sugar industry in Barbados. They grow sugar cane, starch crops, and cotton, which is exported to Europe.
Except for the only sugar cane factory on the island, the BAMC also has an agriculture research department, which acts as an official advisor for Barbados’ Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and provides advisory to farmers in terms of sugar cane research, cotton, and non-sugar crops.
Challenge
Sugar cane production, which was the backbone of the Barbados economy for decades, has been in decline in recent years. Because of this, the amount of land used for cultivation is also decreasing, which led from producing 1.2 million tons of sugar cane to only 100,000 tons.
The BAMC was faced with a huge challenge. In order to prevent further losses and improve their farm business, they wanted to bring more land back into production and increase the yield on the existing land. But they had no way to assess the current state, which is why they decided to look for a digital agriculture solution.
“We had all the information but no tools to help us gather it all in one place and assess productivity and efficiency. We also had no accountability at the farm level. This is where AGRIVI came in and really helped us organize our business. We’ve seen a 10-15% increase in revenue already, and we’re only just starting.”
Orlanda Atherley, CEO at Barbados Agricultural Management Company
Results
To bring their farm management to the next level and help solve their challenges, the Barbados Agricultural Management Company decided to implement AGRIVI Farm Management Software.
AGRIVI provided a central platform through which farmers can easily enter, store, track and interpret all their data, creating a digital twin of their farms. All their entries were stored safely, and accessible anytime, anywhere, and on any device.
Furthermore, by implementing AGRIVI, the BAMC made their production traceable and transparent thus providing accountability and efficiency. Today, they use almost all the app’s features, with a focus on Productivity.
The best indicator that the BAMC is achieving its goals is the fact that very soon after implementation, they have seen a 10-15% increase in revenue, which only encouraged them to continue their successful cooperation and explore all the possibilities of the AGRIVI platform.
Product Solution
AGRIVI 360 Farm Management Software
