10 tips on how to go digital in the fresh fruit and vegetable sector

The supply chain of fresh fruit and vegetables is becoming more digital. Digital technology can facilitate aspects of each stage in the chain. It allows you to improve product quality and safety, increase efficiency and transparency, and get better access to finance and buyers. Digital tools can even help make your business more sustainable. When digitalising your business, you must carefully select the technologies you invest in, to ensure that the benefits outweigh the costs.

1. Explore digital solutions from farm to fork

In the fresh fruit and vegetable trade, your service must be accurate. This means you must offer reliable and consistent quality, timely delivery and quick solutions for anticipated issues. Digital technologies that facilitate this are increasingly common at each stage of the supply chain, including:

• Farming – drones, sensors and other robotics support precision agriculture and sustainability
• Post-harvest processing – digital tools and equipment improve transparency and control over quality and food safety
• Sales – online platforms provide access to new potential buyers
• Consumption – QR codes allow for storytelling

Throughout the supply chain, agricultural and market data can improve business decisions. Software solutions can make business processes run more efficiently. Blockchain technology facilitates traceability, and there are even digital solutions for access to finance and trade. While digital solutions may offer great added value, they also come at a cost. Before deciding whether to invest, you must carefully balance the costs and benefits.

Figure 1: PxD’s MoA-INFO service

Source: Precision Development @ YouTube

2. Employ smart agriculture

Smart agriculture uses digital technology to make farming more accurate, efficient and sustainable. Many farmers already use smartphones, sensors, drones and satellite imagery to improve various aspects of farming – from soil condition monitoring to crop health assessment. Mobile technology is a precondition for many of the available solutions. 

Precision farming

To optimise production and reduce costs, precision farming solutions use real-time data from satellite navigation, sensors and drones to guide precision irrigation, fertilisation and pest management. They enable farmers to apply the exact amount of water and nutrients needed by plants, reducing spoilage and increasing crop yields. This is becoming common practice, both to optimise yield and product quality and to facilitate sustainable production.

With precision agriculture, you can connect different data sources to a crop management system. You can also monitor your crop throughout the supply chain, e.g. in packing houses and during transport. The use of sensors, data loggers and connectivity in the supply chain gives you better control over your product. The generated data can be measured and connected to actions to help you maintain a proper cold chain and storage conditions for your product. For example, sensors in containers can measure temperature, ethylene and 1-Methylcyclopropene.

Figure 2: Precision farming makes farming smart

Source: Globally Cool

Precision farming has been a very dynamic development in the past decade. In Morocco, for example, the company SupPlant introduced the SupPlant precision farming technology in 2022. The analysis of live plant and soil data takes place with an advanced algorithm based on artificial intelligence (AI). 

Irrigation forecasts and other crop management advices are based on: 

• actual weather conditions; 
• real-time sensor data from fruit, leaf, stem, trunk and soil; 
• algorithms derived from a database of billions of data points collected over an agricultural region of over 25 thousand hectares and over 30 crops.

Figure 3: SupPlant precision farming management system

Source: SupPlant @ YouTube

Figure 4: Plantix - Easy plant open-source diagnostic tool on your phone

Source: Plantix @ YouTube

3. Use post-harvest technology

Fruit packers and exporters often use measuring technology and automation to improve external and internal product quality and consistency. An accurate post-harvest process, a carefully managed cold chain, and tailored quality can help you meet Europe’s strict quality requirements and reach bigger, more demanding customers. Consistency is key for major fresh fruit and vegetable brands – for their brand recognition, they need a product that always offers the same consumer experience.

As a supplier, you need to know what you can deliver and get the right product to the right customer. You can use digital post-harvest technologies in your packhouse to optimise your grading and sorting, packing and labelling, and warehousing. Sensor technology, including laser and near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, forms the basis of this important phase of post-harvest treatment. AI and machine learning are increasingly incorporated to automatically filter out products with defects at an early stage. 

Figure 5: Digital technologies support of post-harvest processes

Source: Globally Cool

Figure 6: Automated blueberry packhouse

Source: TOMRA @ YouTube

Implementing post-harvest technologies is a big investment. When to invest depends mainly on the costs of manual labour and the type of clients you supply. Alternatively, you can work with a local packing house that offers the post-harvest process(es) you need.

4. Implement business software

Business management software like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) can help you work more efficiently and eliminate human error. ERP tools integrate the management of the main business processes to increase productivity and lower costs. They often combine applications to collect, store, manage and interpret data from various activities. This can help with processes like invoicing, order processing, certification management, product documentation and traceability, customs and shipping documentation, and customer relationship management.

This is especially relevant when you are building relations in Europe. As the fresh fruit and vegetable sector requires more and more documentation, buyers are encouraging suppliers to digitalise. You can link your systems with theirs and show you are a professional organisation that can respond fast and accurately. However, many public entities in supply countries – such as food safety authorities and customs – do not (yet) provide digital documentation.

Demand for digital processes is highest at the end of the supply chain – especially among large retailers, who often work with thousands of products. One way to do this is by integrating digital systems through the supply chain. The closer you operate to the retail sector, the higher the chances that you must adapt to the digital processes of your buyer. This often requires the implementation of software solutions such as ERP.

Selecting ERP software

Selecting ERP software can be difficult. There are many options, each with a different structure and coverage. For small exporters, implementation costs can be a barrier. Nevertheless, once functional it will likely save your company time and prevent expensive mistakes. You should explore which application best fits the scale of your business. Large companies may use SAP or Microsoft Dynamics 365.

Figure 7: AUXFIN’s AgriCoach

Source: AUXFIN @ YouTube

To select your ERP software, you should:

1. Streamline your processes: make sure your business processes are well-organised and documented before you explore ERP solutions.
2. Define your criteria: list your criteria and requirements – which business processes do you want to include?
3. Compare: compare ERP software solutions on how well they meet your needs, as well as on complexity, implementation and durability.
4. Integrate: check which systems your main buyers use and how you can connect to them.
5. Make the decision yourself: you can consult advisors and specialists, but you know your company best.

5. Measure your sustainable performance

Sustainability has become a must in the trade of fresh fruit and vegetables. European ‘green’ legislation is becoming stricter and verification is key. Digital technologies can help you measure the environmental and social impact of your company. Measuring this impact can identify specific improvement points for you to focus on. It also allows you to share concrete data with your buyers and demonstrate your commitment to running a sustainable business. In addition, it can help you apply for sustainable certification.

Environmental impact

To produce and export your fresh fruit and vegetables, you need agricultural inputs, water, packaging material, logistic services and so on. These can all have a negative impact on the environment.

Figure 8: AquaSpy’s Crophesy soil moisture measuring system

Source: AquaSpy @ YouTube

Social impact

The social impact of your value chain is also important. Social responsibility is becoming the norm in the fresh fruit and vegetable trade. Key issues include living wages, decent labour conditions and gender equality. 

Figure 9: IDH Roadmap on Living Wages

Source: IDH Transforming Markets @ YouTube

6. Support your production and sales with big data

Big data involves collecting and analysing large volumes of information to uncover patterns, trends and insights that can inform strategic decisions. By strategically applying big data analytics, you can enhance your product quality and safety. You can also use it to make informed decisions on market entry/expansion, as well as product development and marketing strategies. 

Practical applications include:

• Food safety monitoring – the EU’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) Window keeps track of food safety issues to facilitate a quick response when risks to public health are detected in the food chain.
• International trade analysis – tools such as ITC’s Trade Map and Access2Markets’ trade statistics portal offer valuable insights into the global fresh fruit and vegetable market by transforming big trade data into accessible formats, which can help you identify demand, trends and competition levels.
• Market research – large retail sales datasets from research companies like Mintel and Innova Market Insights identify consumer behaviour and trends. Direct access to such datasets may be costly.
• Agricultural data platforms – free platforms like Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) offer resources to tackle agricultural challenges.

7. Use online platforms to find potential buyers

The international fresh fruit and vegetable trade is mainly an offline business. Online business-to-business (B2B) platforms are primarily used to connect suppliers in developing countries with buyers in destination markets, allowing you to reach a wider audience.

Relevant online platforms are:

• Online B2B marketplaces – besides well-known players like Alibaba, platforms like Selina Wamucii and Producers Market cater specifically to the agricultural produce industry.
• Digital trade event tools – leading trade fairs like Fruit Attraction (LIVE Connect), Biofach (organic) and Anuga have developed digital matchmaking tools that facilitate connections between suppliers and buyers before, during and after the trade fair.
• Supplier directories – platforms like Saladplate and Greentrade (organic) list suppliers and their offers, allowing buyers and sellers to connect based on specific criteria.
• Local initiatives – for example, Lima Links in Zambia provides farmers access to live market prices and connects them to buyers, and TruTrade Africa provides smallholders with a reliable route to market and fair prices.

Figure 10: Selina Wamucii

Source: Selina Wamucii @ YouTube

8. Connect to digital payment and trade finance technologies

Access to finance is one of the main challenges for smallholders in developing countries. However, there is a growing number of mobile applications that give smallholders a digital identity. Such a digital identity helps them get a credit score and receive trade finance. In an increasingly digitalised market, with digital contracts and supply chains, mobile connectivity will become crucial.

Stay on top of developments in digital trade

A lot of progress has been made since the first pilots with digital agricultural commodity trade in 2012-2018. The share of digital food commodity trade is increasing slowly but gradually, also due to several initiatives launched in the past, such as the general trade platform Easy Trade Connect.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Banking Commission has supported this development with a set of electronic rules (eRules) for the digitalisation of trade finance practices – eUCP 2.1. This is a supplement to UCP 600, the private rules for trade and letters of credit. eUCP 2.1 sets guidelines for the digitalised version of these trade practices.

Get access to finance by creating a digital profile

Digital profiles and a credit score can greatly help in getting access to finance for agricultural inputs or trade, like One Acre Fund successfully digitised loan repayments for farmers in Kenya in partnership with Citi Inclusive Finance. Through greater transparency and efficiency they successfully lowered repayment collection times from 12-16 days to just 4 days, and cut costs by 80%.

There are many digital solutions available for the agricultural sector. Some focus on a specific product group, others are more general. Most focus on the country where they were developed.

Tools available for the fresh fruit and vegetable sector include:

• Apollo Agriculture – a Kenyan FinTech startup that uses satellite data and machine learning to make informed credit decisions. Farmers in remote areas can access affordable credit for seeds, fertilisers and crop insurance to increase their yields. They can also use their phones to access voice-based training and make payments. Apollo partners with more than 1,000 agricultural Kenyan distributors to ensure good availability of physical inputs.
• TruTrade Africa – an online trading and payment platform in Kenya that lets small farmers connect to buyers. It digitalises informal agriculture value chains by providing digital trading records and giving smallholders credentials to trade.
• Agri-wallet – a fintech solution that uses pre-financing to allow collectors to postpone their mobile payment to farmers, while farmers can keep buying agricultural inputs. It works with a virtual currency based on blockchain technology. A part of the farmers’ income is paid out in blockchain tokens via their mobile phones, which they can spend with affiliated suppliers of farm inputs such as seeds and fertilisers.
• Farmerline – gives farmers in West Africa a digital identity to improve their access to finance for agricultural inputs. It also provides training and market information.
• UMVA platform (by AUXFIN) – makes financial transactions possible via an eBanking platform. It facilitates transactions in the local currency, between currencies, or in ‘product’. This enables farmers to sell their produce or get credit based on stock that has not yet been sold.
• DiMuto – tags fruit and vegetables with a QR label to document the product as an asset, making the product traceable and improving access to trade finance.

Figure 11: DiMuto Food Traceability - Track and Trace Fresh Produce

Source: DiMuto @ YouTube

9. Improve traceability with blockchain technology 

An increasingly popular way to boost transparency and traceability throughout the value chain is the use of blockchain technology. This technology links data or transactions (blocks) in an encrypted ledger (chain) that is stored on many computers in a peer-to-peer network. It collects data at multiple points, stores and ‘locks’ it, and makes it available to all stakeholders. This data can vary from agricultural and certification information to a transaction or a product shipment history.

Figure 12: The use of blockchain technology in the fresh fruit and vegetable supply chain

Source: ICI Business