Farm management softwares are revolutionizing Agriculture. We spoke with Agrivi Founder and CEO Matija Zulj to find out more.

AGRIVI

In 2019, Agrivi ranked in the top 5 of the Foodtech 500 powered by Forward Fooding.

Matija Zulj was inspired by the desire to change the way food is produced in its core and positively impact one billion lives by helping farmers reach sustainable, resource-efficient and profitable production. That’s why he founded Agrivi in 2013.

On may 26th  2020, our CEO Alessio D’Antino interviewed Matija in a virtual fireside chat.

Matija is an Impact Entrepreneur passionate about solving the global food problem, one of key sustainable development goals set by the UN.

Alessio and Matija dug deep into the world of farm management software, one of the latest AgriFoodTech trends. They also shared precious advice and tips for the Food Tech startup community.

You can watch the full interview below or listen to the podcast.

FARM MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

The AgriFoodTech sector is continuously embracing new technological challenges and new game changing innovations are having a strong impact. That is especially the case with the world of farm management. In fact, by creating new data driven technological solutions, Agriculture has started a real sustainability oriented revolution.

Agrivi is one of key global leaders in the farm management software industry, serving customers in 150 countries worldwide.

Their farm management software lets you plan, monitor and analyse all activities on your farm easily. Tillage, planting, spraying, fertilisation, irrigation, harvesting and all other activities are managed with a few clicks, bringing agriculture to the next level.

LEAVING THE CORPORATE ICT WORLD TO PURSUE A MISSION

The story of Agrivi began when Matija Zulj, the founder, decided to leave the corporate ICT world and dedicate his time and efforts to solving the global food problems. First, he decided to become a farmer himself, in order to understand what it really means to grow crops. He even planted his own blueberry farm.

Very soon, he experienced the real farmer’s world – he couldn’t access the best practice knowledge for growing blueberries. This is when he realised that there was no simple and affordable software on the market that could help farmers make data-driven decisions.

Therefore, Matja founded Agrivi to provide the agricultural world with the innovative solution it needed to give birth to a new, more sustainable, era.

THE WORLD OF AGRICULTURE HAS WOKEN UP

Matija revealed to us that during the first years, people in the agri sector were skeptical about the introduction and usage of technological solutions in their farms. In fact, they did not understand the full potential of Agrivi’s software.

Furthermore, Agrivi’s CEO declared that when they started to promote and advertise their solution, more than 50% of inquiries they received were from people trying to understand whether they sold fertilisers or pesticides.

The biggest challenge for us was to educate the market,  and we have seen, from year to year, the questions the farmers asked us changing

But how did the agriculture sector realise that farm management softwares were a real game changer for their activities?

Matija found that the real turning point was when Agrivi’s clients saw the benefits of the software for their activity.

We have farmers that increased their profitability over 300%. Seeing tangible results made them understand that our mission is to make their lives easier and help them increase their profitability.

THE WORLDWIDE EXPANSION

Agrivi’s software had an incredible impact on farmers’ lives. As a consequence, they started sharing their experience with their fellow farmers, and this network effect helped the company to expand globally.

Furthermore, over the years Agrivi have perfected their product and  they currently offer three different solutions.

Thousands of farmers from over 150 countries have already recognised the value of Agrivi and are using it to improve their yields, ensure traceability and increase profits.

But what gives the company the energy and motivation to keep working hard is their mission. As a matter of fact, the solution offered by Agrivi has already helped hundreds of millions of consumers across the world.

HOW WILL AGRICULTURE LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE?

Matija shared with us his vision for the future. More specifically, he shared that he has noticed a change in people’s mentality.

In fact, people’s awareness on the importance of having access to food has significantly increased. This is surely a consequence of the critical situation we are living, due to the global pandemic. As a result, something that society had for a long time forgotten, is now considered a priority.

I strongly believe that in the next 15 years the majority of growers will go back to the old practises with a new way of thinking.

Moreover, he identified in food safety, traceability and regulations on the use of fertilisers and pesticides, the fundamental glue to enable a real change in the sector.

Agrivi CEO believes this is the right time for everybody who is in the industry to put their effort to reach the next level. He also revealed one of his secret missions:

We want to make Agriculture sexy again. We need to attract more and more top talented people to engage in solving the global food problem.

GET IN TOUCH!

We hoped you enjoyed reading about the development of Agriculture and Agrivi. If you did, feel free to share this post with your fellow food techies.

Also, if you’d like to read more about Food Tech, take a look at our European 2020 Trends post. Alternatively, you can access our  Global FoodTech Trends report.

We put together our reports using Forward Fooding’s proprietary data intelligence platform, the FoodTech Data Navigator. Would you like to know more about it? Then book in a free demo to experience the FoodTech Data Navigator directly. Moreover, you can request a free trial period to see how it can benefit your organisation.

At Forward Fooding, we’re powering the Food Revolution through the power of data. We’re offering you consultancy services and access to our global startup network.

If you want to know more about us, visit our website or contact us at info@forwardfooding.com.

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