Terres Inovia, the technical institute for the vegetable oil and protein and hemp sectors, has been working on the subject of agricultural data for several years now. A new example is its EvA calculator (Evaluation of aphanomyces risk in the field), available in API format on the API-Agro platform. The Terres Inovia technical institute, whose motto is "Agronomy on the move", recently set up a data and digital innovation department and has a data program that Frédéric Salvi, an agronomist by training and a research officer, is leading.

"This program covers the entire data value chain: acquisition, management, governance, valuation and sharing," he explains.
Terres Inovia, which conducts research, development and innovation work to improve the competitiveness of oilseed crops, uses agricultural data to establish decision rules, such as the EvA calculator.

EvA is the name of a tool that assesses the risk of aphanomyces in the pea field.
"Aphanomyces is the most common and most damaging soil-borne disease of protein peas. Because of the contamination of plots, pea cultivation has become uncertain and difficult, especially in its historical production basin, i.e. the northern third of France. To combat this phenomenon, a research program was set up and actions were taken to find ways of combating and diagnosing it," explains Frédéric Salvi.

Until now, only a biological test of infectious potential carried out on a soil sample made it possible to assess the risk at the plot level (a paying test). From now on, by taking into account some information such as the history of peas in the plot and the type of soil, the tool developed by Terres Inovia can quickly assess the aphanomyces risk with a result at two levels: low or high risk.

"It is a tool to qualify the level of risk with simple data. The objective? To preserve pea yields and avoid multiplying the pathogen," summarizes Frédéric Salvi.

A validation campaign on 120 plots began in 2017 to measure its reliability. With the benefit of more than ten years of reference acquisition, the EvA calculator is now available to all growers wishing to measure the aphanomyces risk on their plots. Accessible online from the Terres Inovia website, EvA is also available in API format from the API-Agro exchange platform operated by Agdatahub (of which Terres Inovia is also a partner). To determine the risk incurred, particularly in the event of a "high" result, the biological test for infectious potential is the right tool, as it enables a more detailed assessment of the risk on the plot.

CONTROLLED DATA PROVISION FROM A TO Z
"For the past three years, we have decided to digitize all our decision rules using API technology and to make them available internally for our decision support tools". Terres Inovia has also chosen to make its APIs available via the API-Agro data exchange platform as this allows it "to give access to different external stakeholders".

For EvA, the idea is that the API can be used by companies that have a plot database and would like to apply the aphanomyces risk assessment calculator automatically."It is in the general interest that our work is as widely disseminated as possible, as we can do with API-Agro. "”

While EvA is available free of charge on the API-Agro platform, Terres Inovia offers a "discovery" offer for its nitrogen calculator, allowing clients to test the calculator and verify its interest and adaptation to their environment. To go beyond this, it is necessary to contact Terres Inovia, which will make customized proposals according to the client's profile and on the basis of current rates.

IT, MARKETING AND BUSINESS AT THE TABLE
For each of the data offers that Terres Inovia places on the API-Agro platform, the technical institute therefore considers the conditions of availability and uses the platform's functionalities: visibility (restricted or public), free or paid acquisition, download quota, etc.

“"We think on a case-by-case basis, combining three skills each time: IT, marketing and the agricultural profession,"insists Frédéric SalviIn putting his various offers online and setting their parameters, the pilot of Terres Inovia's Data program can count on the support of Nicolas Vannetzel, head of customer service for the API-Agro platform. A privileged contact who will continue to support Terres Inovia in the coming months as the institute plans to make several data offers available via files or APIs.