From field event to an accessible, all-encompassing digital platform. Syngenta's Fields of Innovation made its online debut at the end of September. Growers all over the world followed suit. And still, because the information remains accessible.
Growers of onions and other vegetable crops can use the new online platform from Syngenta a wealth of information on numerous varieties. "Fields of Innovation is normally a field event where all our (new) varieties can be seen," says project leader Brigitte van der Steen. "Every year, between 1.000 and 1.500 international visitors come. Due to the corona situation, that was not possible this year. We therefore quickly decided to digitize the event completely."
Who after registration entering Fields of Innovation literally imagines you are in the field, but digitally. The environment as it normally is in real life has been simulated by Syngenta. "That makes it easy for growers to navigate, very intuitive," says Van der Steen. A selection of varieties was made together with Syngenta's portfolio managers. "You can't show 750 varieties, that would be an impossible task in terms of information gathering, so we had to make choices."
Digital diversity
At the same time, the digital variant of Fields of Innovation offered new possibilities. "We have asked colleagues all over the world to film varieties in their 'natural environment', from Turkey to Russia and from China to Poland. This gives a good idea of the differences in growth status and the quality of the variety. We also share all available technical information, such as variety characteristics and resistances, which gives the grower a complete picture."
In fact, borders no longer exist and that is an advantage of online, says Van der Steen. "People from Mexico can also see how a crop in Turkey looks and grows. While you would normally be at a field meeting with crops that have all grown in the Dutch climate. The digital diversity is very nice and valuable."
Lots of interaction
In addition, 21 international experts from Syngenta were represented at the event – from September 25 to 70, who were able to share their expertise with visitors 24 hours a day. "That has led to a lot of interaction", Van der Steen concludes with satisfaction. "Fantastic to see how everyone comes together, even if you are physically far away from each other."
That does not mean that the need for a physical meeting has disappeared. "Personal contact is very important to us at Syngenta. And feeling, tasting, smelling and looking at a crop… Some things simply cannot be replaced digitally. But a hybrid version of Fields of Innovation in the future would be fantastic With this we can make the information we share widely accessible, and therefore also for, for example, a small grower in India who normally cannot make the trip to the Netherlands."
More and wider audience
The numbers underline the power of online. The first edition of the digital Fields of Innovation has so far yielded more than 3.000 registrations, of which 2.500 people have visited the platform. "That number is increasing, because people can still visit the platform. It is also nice to see that we now attract relatively more visitors from Africa and the Middle East. A target group that normally comes this way less quickly, but very interested."
Have you not yet visited Syngenta's new digital platform? Then go to the online registration and visit the dynamic environment of Fields of Innovation. The platform will certainly remain accessible until the end of December. It is then examined how it can be used in the future and any (technical) improvements are implemented.