Abaco Group launches a new digital solution that integrates agricultural production and energy data
Rome, 6 March 2023 – Abaco Group, the Europe’s leading provider of software solutions for the management and control of land resources is entering the agri-voltaic sector by extending the functionalities of its solution dedicated to the industry to the monitoring of plants and energy produced from photovoltaic sources.
The Group, which specialises in the management of CAP subsidies and the development of productivity, traceability and sustainability projects, has in fact invested in the specialisation of a smart farming solution that consists of monitoring data from the integration of renewable energy production panels, IoT sensors and the functionalities and data already available through the platform, such as customisable bespoke dashboards with satellite indices, agro-meteorological, historical and forecast data, control and management of costs, consumption and revenue, configuration of all company resources, treatment register, activity planning, decision support systems and setting alerts on all parameters.
Thanks to this tool, it will be possible to manage in a single platform the performance and monitoring of energy yields, profitability and sustainability indices of crops and soil, as well as to ensure the correct application of specific agronomic protocols adapted to the peculiar conditions of a hybrid farming business.
Adherence to this production model includes the use of innovative tools for monitoring agricultural production and energy output of farms. Tests have demonstrated various benefits such as increased land yields of between 20 and 60 per cent, reduced water consumption for irrigation by up to 20 per cent, lower energy costs, and mitigation of the effects of the climate crisis in the primary sector.
The energy transition towards clean energy generation sources represents an opportunity to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis in agriculture, preserve biodiversity and promote new, more sustainable practices.
For this reason, Abaco has decided to expand its offer, which is now aimed both at farms that already have an agri-voltaic system and want to optimise its use and at the producers of the systems themselves.The aim is to ensure the continuity of agricultural activity and increase it through the integration of the smart farming system and the photovoltaic plant, resulting in total control of the impact of the panels on the crops, the measurement of electricity production, the monitoring of agricultural activity and specific agronomic data such as water saving, productivity and soil fertility.
For Abaco, the first step along this path is the project developed for AKREN, an Italian player in the agri-voltaic sector that is working on the development of one of the first systems built in hillside settings with a capacity of around 1 MWp.
Abaco
Abaco, founded in 1990, boasts thirty years of experience in the development of land management software. Thanks to its vocation for innovation, the company has been able to anticipate the needs of an evolving market and become a trusted partner of public and private entities that face the challenge of sustainable development of traceability and productivity on a daily basis. In particular, Abaco was chosen by the UK government to develop the platform for the management of CAP subsidies and will continue to do so during the period of Britain’s exit from the EU. Today the head office is in Mantua. The company also has offices in Rome and the UK.
