Background Business
Role of AI is increasing, also in food production
AI will only become bigger and provide enormous efficiency, also in food production. This was stated by Deborah Nas, professor of 'Strategic design for technology-based innovation' at TU Delft, during the seminar 'Insights Live' that was held last week during the ABN AMRO Open 2025 tennis tournament. According to her, we have to let go of the idea that artificial intelligence is only ChatGPT, 'it is so much more'.
Insights Live also featured the Agribusiness Awards awarded, the prize for innovative products, services or concepts that offer benefits to Dutch farmers or horticulturists. Two of the three nominees use AI: the High Speed Grafter from ISO Horti Innovations, a fully automatic grafting machine, and the Youngstock Monitor from CowManager that monitors young cattle. The grafting is done fully automatically by robots, controlled by AI software. The self-learning software checks and selects the best plants and assesses the quality of the end result after grafting. With the Youngstock Monitor, calves are given an ear sensor with which health and productivity can be monitored. The AI-driven self-learning algorithm provides health notifications (even before a cow is noticeably ill) and also adapts them to the company.
The winner of the previous Award also uses artificial intelligence: BBLeap with their plant-specific spraying technique. With the help of a real-time camera system, crop protection products are only sprayed where necessary. Incidentally, the winner of this edition was a chain innovation: Royal Koopmans with Nedertarwe, sustainably grown wheat from our own soil intended for consumption by people instead of pigs and chickens.
Artificial intelligence can be applied in many areas: from writing a presentation with ChatGPT, recognizing disease symptoms in animals or controlling a warehouse. Nas gives the protein transition as an example of promising applications. For example, biotech company Protera has developed a platform that uses AI to create new proteins with precision fermentation. Another example that Nas mentions is the startup Inari that works with AI to improve crops by means of genome editing. AI models are used to determine which gene edits will be (most) effective.
Ask the AI data expert
A completely different example is the ChatGPT-based chatbot Norm that the American company Farmers Business Network (FBN) has built. The 'bot' combines public (current) online available data, for example about the weather or regulations, with FBN's own database and acts as an advisor in all kinds of areas, such as cultivation, crop protection and financing. Closer to home, according to Nas, agricultural knowledge and consultancy firm Van Iperen has embraced AI and the company is developing a knowledge bank for crop protection. It is only a matter of time before others follow, the professor expects: "In a few years, all knowledge-intensive professions will have AI data experts."
Particularly in the supply chain, artificial intelligence can take a lot of work off your hands and make processes run more smoothly. The technology is already being used extensively there. The professor mentions FourKites, which makes digital copies of the supply chain, with AI-driven digital employees. FourKites claims to have eighteen of the top 20 food & beverage companies as customers. Working with so-called digital twins is increasingly being used. Nas also points to a collaboration between Kion Group, NVIDIA and Accenture that is creating digital copies of warehouses that are used, among other things, to train robots.
European privacy legislation is an obstacle
According to Nas, AI can strengthen the innovative power of Dutch businesses. "Training models costs a lot of money, but using an application doesn't cost that much at all." However, she is concerned about European regulations on privacy. "In Europe, we were raised with the idea: be careful with privacy, handle information sensitively. If you look at the industry and economy, I worry about that. We are really not going to win this way."
Linda van Eekeres
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