Food - Bioenergy - Environment - markets crisis

09 April 2009, 9:55am

International PROGIS conference 2009 May 12‐14

Rural area management are in a huge change process ‐ from an outmoded agro‐forest market, into new markets, where agro‐forest stakeholders have to think about:

• worldwide food production for nearly 10 billion people in near future (2050),
• additional bioenergy supply from forests and agriculture to help solving the worldwide energy problems, and
• all the environmental problems starting from climate change to floods and many other obstacles where solutions will only become possible with a well managed agriculture and forestry.

We all are ethically responsible to contribute to recognize and solve the problems we now face. The farmer of the old school has to become a specialized entrepreneur:

• who is focusing on a sales oriented production (next to own needs he should at least be able to supply local markets),
• who has to cooperate more with his neighbourhood to fulfil regional aspects,
• who has to solve administrative needs which should not become burdens for him,
• who has to understand that, when optimizing his enterprise and cooperating with others to fulfil environmental tasks and using latest ICT solutions (either by himself or with the help from public or private advisors) he will receive good prices for his products and services.

That is the market segment, where PROGIS has specialized. It’s the target of the management team to support agriculture and forest entrepreneurs to solve their existing tasks and upcoming problems. The range of solutions offered comprises tools for:

• beginning from business planning to nutrient balancing or in the near future foreseeable CO²/energy balancing,
• from documentation for traceability purposes to filling subsidy application forms, and
• concepts to prepare farmers or groups of farmers for precision farming to optimize costs by protecting in parallel the environment, or
• tools to define (by experts) and evaluate work processes and performances – to make them measurable and to provide a base to pay for these services rendered by farmers and foresters for regions, countries, and the environment without having got any equivalent so far.

PROGIS has developed all this technology and additionally offers consulting services. Nevertheless, farmers and agro organizations need training in parallel with ICT applications, know how transfer and capacity building. We are beyond the time when a little spreadsheet solved many problems. It is a complex system that has to be integrated with sector partners as the food ‐ or biomass chain - with environmental experts and the needs of public organizations, etc. have to be linked. This requires detailed planning and control and thousands of additional workplaces worldwide to solve all these problems. We have learned (not least from the current crises) that it would be better to pay a little bit more for healthy food or clean bio‐energy or a clean, safe environment, than to have suit number 10 in our wardrobe or car number three in the garage.

We must move to produce again more sustainable values.

To prepare oneself for this future, more teamwork is needed where ICT partners like PROGIS have to be integrated; and these partnerships are not designed to last just one or two years – they have to be long lasting and sustainable. Then all parties will enjoy an excellent return.

If agricultural organizations are currently still hesitating to change their targets – they will change them, at the moment when they understand what the future looks like, for the benefit of farmers and for all of us.

The old Chinese proverb says: “When the wind of renewal blows, some people build walls, some windmills”.

Come and learn more about our concepts, our technology and our will to organize and optimize the rural future ‐ for the benefit of all of us. I would be glad to see you in PRAGUE / Czech Republic, at the International PROGIS conference 2009 May 12.‐14.

DI Walter H. Mayer, CEO, PROGIS Software GmbH

International PROGIS conference 2009 May 12.‐14

Geo: International