How Turkey’s Hazelnuts Helped Pavo Create the Technology That Will Drive the Global Agricultural Innovation of Tomorrow.
Turkey holds a special place in the hearts and minds of the founders and developers of Pavocoin AG, provider of an IoT blockchain solution for the AgTech ecosystem, with offices in Zug, Switzerland, and San Francisco, California. There is a special connection between the almond and walnut farms and farmers of the California Central Valley, and the hazelnut and almond farms and farmers of Turkey.
As Pavo’s groundbreaking technology is now being rolled out around the world, they aim to apply what they learned from working with Turkish hazelnut farmers and California almond farmers to unite traditional farm practices with the latest in AI, blockchain technology, and analytical science. The company believes that, coupled with the traditional wisdom of local farmers, their innovative IoT and blockchain platform will play a leading role in helping the entire agricultural sector meet the growing demands of an increasing global population.
Hazelnuts are an important crop for the Turkish economy, accounting for 75% of the world market in 2016 according to recent data. Agriculture itself plays a significant role in the Turkish economy overall, making up over 6% of their GDP, while 20% of the country’s working population is employed in the agricultural sector. It’s a USD 52 billion industry that has grown 40% from 2002 to 2016. In 2014, extreme weather ravaged the hazelnut crop, however, leading to a 60% price increase in world hazelnut prices. A crop failure of that magnitude can have devastating effects on an economy like Turkey’s, and smaller growers and producers were particularly hard hit. Pavocoin has developed a system that could help farmers of any scale track and analyze every step of the growing process, from seed to harvest to delivery, in a quest to predict and adjust for local growing conditions.
The company accomplishes this by analyzing present-day conditions along with 10-year data tracking, which they argue offers more accurate predictive models than using simple retrospective analysis alone. Pavocoin Co-Founder and Vice-Chairman Allan Young explains, “By bringing the cutting-edge technologies of IoT and blockchain, as well as Pavo’s vast experience in crop cultivation, to Turkey, Pavo is fostering an agricultural ecosystem focused on highly technologized crop growing, processing and distribution.”
Young adds, “Our platform tracks the information and uses it to optimize the whole growing cycle by ensuring that vital crop measurements stay within optimal ranges. Our data scientists have done predictive modeling that shows significant yield increases can be achieved, regardless of crop, through the implementation of Pavo.”
Indeed, Pavo’s data scientists have constructed a yield estimator for Turkish farmers that can predict outcomes for each individual hazelnut tree in a given zone. The company’s preliminary results indicate that their system has the capability to use existing environmental conditions to extract estimates of crop outcomes. The technology is being designed to be a complete system that can be implemented by a farmer of any size. This is crucial in an economy like Turkey’s agricultural sector, where smaller farmers need to have access to vital new technologies so they can stay competitive in a globalized market.
Pavo’s web- and mobile-driven platform brings together everything the AgTech ecosystem needs, including remote recording, reporting, and analysis of all growing activities from planting to spraying records to shipping conditions and delivery. Everything is tracked, can be analyzed on the fly, and adjustments can be made as needed by the grower. The blockchain component of their system enables secure transactions and payments, smart contracts, and cashless transactions, and it’s all done from one user-friendly platform.
The company has just recently concluded phase one of the public presale of their PAVO ICO. The utility token is what drives the various functionalities of the platform. Phase two of their presale is now active and offers a 33% bonus until August 6, when their main sale will begin. The main sale will continue until September 15, 2018, with various decreasing bonuses offered throughout.
https://medium.com/@PavoIoT/how-turkeys-hazelnuts-helped-pavo-create-the-technology-that-will-drive-the-global-agricultural-8c049cdde9be
