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Two AI-based startups in Israel are joining forces to combat the pests and diseases that destroy up to 40 percent of all food grown globally.

Fermata uses cameras and artificial intelligence to monitor crops as they grow and automatically detect problems.

yieldsApp translates that data into tailored recommendations, crop by crop, field by field, to maximize yields for the grower.

The two companies have now announced a partnership that will merge their technologies and, they say, provide a “comprehensive farm management solution,” detecting problems and providing precise solutions.

Farmers will receive “personalized, real-time insights that ensure crops get the right nutrients and treatments for their specific environments,” they say in a joint news release.

Hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of crops every year are lost to pests and disease, in addition to climate change, air pollution and wildfires.

Pests alone claim between 20% and 40% of global crop production, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

The effects of climate change are increasing, worldwide food insecurity is also increasing and there is a compelling need to maximize crop protection and minimize losses.

Last month, the World Meteorological Organization warned that harmful materials released by wildfires had already reduced crop yields by up to 15% in China and India.

The organization also said weather changes are increasingly forcing farmers to change the way they grow their crops.

In the past, growers had to manually detect and diagnose crop issues, which was time-consuming and often inaccurate.

The power of AI is transforming the way they now do that. Fermata’s Croptimus platform scans the crop 24/7, analyzing each plant to identify nutrient imbalances, poor plant health, damage (from pests or mechanical sources) and other threats.

It the problem is pest-related, the product will pinpoint exactly what the pest is and what damage it is causing.

YieldsApp uses the Fermata data to deliver personalized, real-time insights that will help the farmer tackle the problem.

The company’s agronomic platform turns data into decisions, predicting, detecting and diagnosing pests, diseases, soil health, and nutrient disorders and automatically generating detailed daily action plans.

“Fermata’s partnership with yieldsApp transforms our detection technology from problem identification into a comprehensive management solution, significantly enhancing the value of our data,” said Fermata CEO Valeria Kogan.

“We’re paving the way for more efficient and effective management strategies in the agritech sector.”

The company says its technology can reduce the application of chemicals by 25% and crop losses by 30%.

Guy Sela, CEO of yieldsApp, said: “As we expand our platform’s capabilities and strive for more sustainable farming practices, partnerships with innovators like Fermata help both of us fulfill our shared mission of helping farms operate more efficiently and profitably, and in an ecofriendly manner.”

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