"It's just a tool, but a tool with a lot of potential"

Phenotyping is looking at the characteristics of the plant (the gene type), the environment that influences it and how you can control that environment. environment. It is often considered in agriculture to be the future messiah: the technique from which the major breakthroughs are expected in terms of expected when it comes to improving crop yields and making plants more resilient. make plants more resilient. In this way, production can increase to feed the growing world population.

For Phenospex, the ambition goes even further. ambition goes even further: the organization wants to bring about a transformation transformation in agriculture, requiring less fertilizers, pesticides and other than today. The adverse effects of intensive agriculture on nature and nature and ecosystems, such as a sharp decline in the number of insects, could be eliminated in this way. be eliminated in this way. With the use of techniques that applied in other sectors, but not yet in agriculture, Phenospex wants to make the difference.

Predicting growth

You can imagine: taking reliable measurements with highly sensitive equipment on a muddy field is not so easy. The Phenospex, based in Heerlen, supplies sensors and robotics worldwide for the crops in greenhouses and in the field and to analyze the data at lightning speed. analysis.

Research institutes, breeders and growers gain important knowledge of growth processes with the Phenospex equipment provides research institutes, breeders and growers with important knowledge of crop growth processes. New experiments become possible and the growth of a crop can be predicted under different circumstances. This saves valuable time and space.
Nevertheless, we are still only at the beginning, warns Hummel: "It provides a lot of interesting data, but the reality is enormously complex. It provides a lot of interesting data, but the reality is enormously complex. Only when can you translate that data into concrete action and influence the the results in practice, we will make that breakthrough. What use is it to a What use is it to a grower if he knows that a crop is growing too fast, but he cannot control it? What use is it to a grower if he knows that a crop is growing too fast, but is subsequently unable to control its growth? What does he gain if he knows he's using too many using too many pesticides, if he doesn't know what the right amount is in exactly those circumstances? Automated phenotyping is a powerful tool, but you have to combine it with well thoughtful concepts, cleverly designed experiments and know how to incorporate the data into prediction models. That's why we like to work with our clients and partners to bring all that together.

"It produces a lot of interesting data, but the reality is enormously complex."

It was also immediately one of the most important lessons Hummel learned when he started Phenospex in 2011. "I started talking to potential customers, but nobody wanted to buy my solution. Why not? Because I immediately started talking about my solution and didn't ask about their problem. I discovered that you can only really help people if you are willing to listen. Only when I did that and asked a lot of questions about what exactly they were I could offer them something relevant. Generating a lot of data and reports is not that difficult, but really adding value is something else.

Respect

Through those conversations with (potential) customers, Hummel gained a lot of respect for farmers. "Imagine, you have to invest a lot of money invest. In soil, seeds, fertilizers, machinery, labor. At At the beginning of the season you have to make an estimation: is it going to be a Is it going to be a dry year or a wet year? You have to choose, because that determines the choice for your seeds. And then you have to wait and see how it turns out. If you are If you're wrong, your harvest could be very disappointing. Doing business in such a situation is very risky. And breeders have to think much further ahead, which means even more uncertainty. ahead, means even more uncertainty." It is logical that people in that entrepreneurial climate want less risk, not more. From that perspective, the automation of phenotyping offers opportunities. "The The entrepreneur gets more decision-making tools in his hands and can his earnings model based on objective data and more different factors."

International Innovation Award

Phenospex recently won a prestigious award from Agfunder, an online investment platform for ag technology companies and was named as the most innovative international startup in the category 'pre-series A'. Hummel: "A panel of agrifood tech investors nominated five companies per category and of those five we received the most votes received. That was great news, because it makes us visible in this international market as a true innovator. So yes, we are definitely proud of that."
And we are secretly also proud that such an innovative company chooses Limburg Limburg as its business location. "Partly that was out of practical considerations, but partly from the point of view of branding. The Netherlands is known worldwide as a leader in ag. Everyone knows it happens here."

Innovation tips from Grégoire Hummel

1. Start with the problem, not the solution. Nobody is waiting for your product, they have a problem! Keep asking until to make sure there is a match between the problem and your solution. problem and your solution.
2. Try to get 'interesting'. There are legion of startups in agriculture that provide lots of interesting data yield, yet add nothing. Put yourself in your customer's shoes and think think about how you can really add value.
3. Make sure you attract the right people. For the mega-complex issues we face in the agri-food sector, smart people with agro-food sector requires smart people with specific expertise who can translate your can translate your idea into a concrete application. Offer them a lot of challenge and plenty of room to 'shine'.