At the 8^th edition of the Ternium Expoagro Award for Agro-industrial Innovation, 9 out of 40 developments were selected by the Jury for their contribution to agribusiness. The awards ceremony will be held at Expoagro 2024 YPF Agro edition, March 5 to 8.

The closing of 2023 becomes special for several companies. Now that the need to increase production to feed the world, and the commitment to be environmentally friendly are priorities, the ability to innovate and create is an essential hallmark in agribusiness. Once again, thanks to the collaboration between Ternium, Expoagro and the German Society of Agriculture (DLG), the inventiveness and originality of Argentine creators and entrepreneurs stand out with the Ternium Expoagro Award for Agro-industrial Innovation

In the recently finished eighth edition, 40 developments from different provinces and sectors competed in the shortlist selection held from November 24 to 26. Coordinated by Andrea Fiadone, Head of Content of Expoagro, the Jury worked very hard before the 9 winning developments and Special Mentions could be made known.

The Jury analysis

The prestigious Jury of expert professionals from Argentina and Germany carried out an exhaustive process of observation, analysis and debate.

In this regard, Agronomist Hernan Ferrari of INTA, who has been part of the Jury since the award inception, stated: “I am very happy with the number of innovations that are being developed in the country, and the impact that this will bring at the national level and to the whole world. It fills us with hope to say that Argentina is going to have a major role in feeding the world thanks to in-country developed technology paired with artificial intelligence, robotics, and state-of-the-art mechanization».

Agronomist Pablo Petit from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the National University of Cordoba, in his first time as a member of the Jury, commented: “I was positively surprised by the quality of the projects presented. Companies work and invest heavily in developments. The impulse they get from prizes like this one is very beneficial for them. On the one hand, this helps to promote the projects in which they are working, and on the other, to add value to those projects so that they become products and reach the farms and the producers, and that has an impact on production, and also brings benefits both for the region and the country.”

From Germany, Ph. D. Thomas Rademacher, from the University of Bingen, said: “The new developments in no-till farming machines are always amazing: Techniques for better soil adaptation and depth control. It is remarkable that development engineers work with technology in the field, and improve it further based on these findings.”

He also stressed the importance of continuing this type of exchange that aims to further develop cooperation between Germany and Argentina, and strengthen understanding of agriculture in both countries.

The most innovative agro-industrial developments are:

• Gold Medal:

–HARVESTER BASED ON STRIPPER THRESHER HEAD. CATEGORY: Harvesting machines. COMPANY: G-FAS S.A.S.

– DEPTH CONTROL WHEEL FOR SOWING WITH BLADES. CATEGORY: Planting machines. COMPANY: Wheelsem.

– SMART PORTABLE WAREHOUSE. CATEGORY: Post-harvest. COMPANY: Silopapa

• Silver Medal:

– GRAIN EXTRACTOR WITH EJECTOR WINDER. CATEGORY: Post-Harvest. COMPANY: Richiger.

– GRAIN CART EQUIPPED WITH 4-WHEEL STEERING SYSTEM. CATEGORY: Post-harvest. COMPANY: Cestari.

– AUTONOMOUS SYSTEM OF MEASUREMENT AND CALCULATION FOR SEEDS AND FERTILIZERS. CATEGORY: Planting machines. COMPANY: Leaf Agrotronic.

• Bronze Medal:

– DISCHARGE TUBE SAFE DRIVE SYSTEM. CATEGORY: Post-harvest. COMPANY: Cestari

– ROW-TO-ROW CUTTING SYSTEM FOR MECHANICAL TRANSMISSION SEEDERS. CATEGORY: Planting machines. COMPANY: LEAF, Crucianelli and Oripon (joint development).

– MOBILE SOLAR IRRIGATION. CATEGORY: Renewable energy and energy efficiency. COMPANY: Green Valley Solar.

• Developments awarded Special Mentions:

– ELECTRICAL WEED CONTROL

MENTION: ALTERNATIVE SYSTEMS FOR PEST CONTROL

CATEGORY: Plant protection. Company: Agritech

– SELF-TRANSPORTING AIR DRILL SEEDER 

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN MENTION CATEGORY: Planting machines. Company: Agrometal

– VELOSOFÍA

MENTION: NEW BUSINESS MODELS. CATEGORY: Planting machines. Company: Plantium

– IDENTIFICATION OF VARIETIES AND PHYSICAL QUALITY OF GRAINS BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

MENTION: GOOD AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES. CATEGORY: Post-harvest. Company: MOQ

A debut with recognition

“This award is a fundamental milestone in G-FAS history, by giving visibility to a system of enormous impact, designed to reduce costs, simplify, and improve the carbon footprint of harvesting systems.” G-FAS obtained the Gold Medal with the harvester based on stripper thresher head. Regarding the development, Ana Fernandez Moujan, the company owner, commented: “This innovation is a qualitative leap and a conceptual breakthrough in harvesting systems, providing economic and environmental value, reducing energy consumption, and improving soil and water management”.

It should be noted that this is the first time that G-FAS, a young company that has been on the market for five years, and whose name stands for Green Footprint Agricultural Systems, as explained by Moujan, has participated in the contest.

Luciano Armoa is a Managing Partner of Wheelsem, a company who won the Gold Medal for their depth control wheel for sowing with blades. Very happy and surprised with the acknowledgement, Armoa said: “This award is the merit of innovation, and the confirmation that we are on the right track”.

As he detailed, the benefits of this development are several: “The most important one is that it makes seeders operation possible even under very unfavorable soil conditions. The second benefit is related to maintenance, as it takes little time to change the rubber wheels and bearings. And the third benefit is the increased tire service life, as it is not necessary to stretch the tire.”

On the same tune, German Villar, owner of Silopapa, the company whose smart portable warehouse won the Gold Medal, said: “We are very happy and proud to have participated and won. It is the first time we do it, and we feel that we offer an important solution to producers in terms of tubers storage, for potatoes, sweet potatoes and onions. The tuber sector requires post-harvest storage, but many producers have no storage infrastructure in their farms, and our portable warehouse is a quick, dynamic solution, very similar to the silobolsa synthesis, but applied to tubers, and with assisted ventilation».

More than an award: Dissemination and positioning

The Expoagro 2024 edition YPF Agro –March 5 to 8, San Nicolas– will hold the award ceremony for the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals, and Special Mentions.

The Gold Medal winners will have a space in Expoagro 2025. In addition, DLG will select one of the successful developments to be presented at Agritechnica, Hannover, Germany.

On this point, Rademacher pointed out: “Innovation or technology must generate benefits for the customer. It must be suitable for European conditions, and increase the profitability of a process.”

The prestigious Jury of experts, which gives the seal of quality to the Award, was formed by: Gabriel Tinghitella (CREA), Luis Negruchi (AAPRESID), Héctor Huergo (CLARIN RURAL), Telmo Palancar (NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF LA PLATA), Sergio Marinelli (FACMA), Roberto del Castagner (NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF RIO CUATRO), Pablo Petit (NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF CORDOBA), Marcelo Amado (NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF BUENOS AIRES), Alejandro Clérici (CIDETER), Hernan Ferrari (INVAP); Juan Raggio (Private Advisor) and Silvio Zurzolo (ARGENTINE INDSUTRIAL UNION).

The Award

The objective of the contest is to promote and stimulate the development of national and foreign agricultural machinery technology, and to enhance the international competitiveness of the sector through the continuous improvement of production processes.

Since its inception, the Ternium Expoagro Award for Agro-industrial Innovation has awarded more than 100 developments from Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Tierra del Fuego, Tucuman, the City of Buenos Aires, Santiago del Estero, and other provinces.

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