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Food AI

Artificial intelligence and technology solutions for the agricultural sector

Photo by Shutterstock

Artificial intelligence and technology solutions for the agricultural sector

Compare IOA
Country
Paraguay
Sector
Most major industry classification systems use sources of revenue as their basis for classifying companies into specific sectors, subsectors and industries. In order to group like companies based on their sustainability-related risks and opportunities, SASB created the Sustainable Industry Classification System® (SICS®) and the classification of sectors, subsectors and industries in the SDG Investor Platform is based on SICS.
Food and Beverage
Sub Sector
Most major industry classification systems use sources of revenue as their basis for classifying companies into specific sectors, subsectors and industries. In order to group like companies based on their sustainability-related risks and opportunities, SASB created the Sustainable Industry Classification System® (SICS®) and the classification of sectors, subsectors and industries in the SDG Investor Platform is based on SICS.
Food and Agriculture
Indicative Return
Describes the rate of growth an investment is expected to generate within the IOA. The indicative return is identified for the IOA by establishing its Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Return of Investment (ROI) or Gross Profit Margin (GPM).
15% - 20% (in IRR)
Investment Timeframe
Describes the time period in which the IOA will pay-back the invested resources. The estimate is based on asset expected lifetime as the IOA will start generating accumulated positive cash-flows.
Short Term (0–5 years)
Market Size
Describes the value of potential addressable market of the IOA. The market size is identified for the IOA by establishing the value in USD, identifying the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) or providing a numeric unit critical to the IOA.
The department of Alto Paraná concentrates most of the planted soybeans area with 906 thousand hectares (2).
Direct Impact
Describes the primary SDG(s) the IOA addresses.
Zero Hunger (SDG 2) Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12) Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8) Good health and well-being (SDG 3)
Indirect Impact
Describes the secondary SDG(s) the IOA addresses.
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9) No Poverty (SDG 1)

Business Model Description

Invest in the creation, operation, and management of software, platform, artificial intelligence and/or technological services for monitoring crops, preventing pests and other damages caused by climate change

Expected Impact

Increase sustainable production and provide a means of living to rural population while benefiting the environment

How is this information gathered?

Investment opportunities with potential to contribute to sustainable development are based on country-level SDG Investor Maps.

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Disclaimer

UNDP, the Private Finance for the SDGs, and their affiliates (collectively “UNDP”) do not seek or solicit investment for programmes, projects, or opportunities described on this site (collectively “Programmes”) or any other Programmes, and nothing on this page should constitute a solicitation for investment. The actors listed on this site are not partners of UNDP, and their inclusion should not be construed as an endorsement or recommendation by UNDP for any relationship or investment.

The descriptions on this page are provided for informational purposes only. Only companies and enterprises that appear under the case study tab have been validated and vetted through UNDP programmes such as the Growth Stage Impact Ventures (GSIV), Business Call to Action (BCtA), or through other UN agencies. Even then, under no circumstances should their appearance on this website be construed as an endorsement for any relationship or investment. UNDP assumes no liability for investment losses directly or indirectly resulting from recommendations made, implied, or inferred by its research. Likewise, UNDP assumes no claim to investment gains directly or indirectly resulting from trading profits, investment management, or advisory fees obtained by following investment recommendations made, implied, or inferred by its research.

Investment involves risk, and all investments should be made with the supervision of a professional investment manager or advisor. The materials on the website are not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any investment, security, or commodity, nor shall any security be offered or sold to any person, in any jurisdiction in which such offer would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.

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Country & Regions

Explore the country and target locations of the investment opportunity.
Country
Paraguay
Region
  • Paraguay: Itapúa
  • Paraguay: Alto Paraná
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Sector Classification

Situate the investment opportunity within sustainability focused sector, subsector and industry classifications.
Sector

Food and Beverage

Development need
76% of the total area of ​​the country is used for agricultural activities. The agro-livestock sector is critical in Paraguay since, in 2010, this sector represented 28% of GDP (I).

Policy priority
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock made a Strategic Agrarian Framework in 2013. The objectives are, among others: strengthen the capacity of the agricultural sector and increase competitivity (II).

Gender inequalities and marginalization issues
Rural poverty disproportionately affects women and indigenous communities. Key factors contributing to poverty among family farmers include fluctuating prices, insufficient wages, low productivity, limited technology adoption, declining soil fertility, lack of access to financial services, among others (III).

Investment opportunities introduction
The opportunity to modernize family farming in Paraguay using more inclusive business models can accelerate poverty reduction, increase the productivity of the sector and help close inequality gaps (IV).

Key bottlenecks introduction
Paraguay faces infrastructure gaps that include high transport costs, limited connectivity, disparities in regional development, and health-related impacts (V).

Sub Sector

Food and Agriculture

Development need
76% of the total area of ​​the country is used for agricultural activities. The agro-livestock sector is critical in Paraguay since, in 2010, this sector represented 28% of GDP (I).

Policy priority
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock made a Strategic Agrarian Framework in 2013. The objectives are, among others: strengthen the capacity of the agricultural sector and increase competitivity (II).

Gender inequalities and marginalization issues
Rural poverty disproportionately affects women and indigenous communities. Key factors contributing to poverty among family farmers include fluctuating prices, insufficient wages, low productivity, limited technology adoption, declining soil fertility, lack of access to financial services, among others (III).

Investment opportunities introduction
The opportunity to modernize family farming in Paraguay using more inclusive business models can accelerate poverty reduction, increase the productivity of the sector and help close inequality gaps (IV).

Key bottlenecks introduction
Paraguay faces infrastructure gaps that include high transport costs, limited connectivity, disparities in regional development, and health-related impacts (V).

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Pipeline Opportunity

Discover the investment opportunity and its corresponding business model.
Investment Opportunity Area

Artificial intelligence and technology solutions for the agricultural sector

Business Model

Invest in the creation, operation, and management of software, platform, artificial intelligence and/or technological services for monitoring crops, preventing pests and other damages caused by climate change

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Business Case

Learn about the investment opportunity’s business metrics and market risks.

Market Size and Environment

Market Size (USD)
Describes the value in USD of a potential addressable market of the IOA.

The department of Alto Paraná concentrates most of the planted soybeans area with 906 thousand hectares (2).

Indicative Return

IRR
Describes an expected annual rate of growth of the IOA investment.

15% - 20%

The estimated rate of return of Softwares (both the system and the application) for an investor is 16.26% (3).

Investment Timeframe

Timeframe
Describes the time period in which the IOA will pay-back the invested resources. The estimate is based on asset expected lifetime as the IOA will start generating accumulated positive cash-flows.

Short Term (0–5 years)

Currently, there are some artificial intelligence solutions being offered in the country. Also, on average, software projects take between 4 and 9 months to design and develop (4).

Market Risks & Scale Obstacles

Capital - CapEx Intensive

Large investment requirements
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Impact Case

Read about impact metrics and social and environmental risks of the investment opportunity.

Sustainable Development Need

Paraguay has almost 70. 000 grain producers responsible for more than 60% of the country's exports and about 17% of national GDP. Paraguay's agricultural sector is often hindered by low productivity, alongside restricted access to land, capital, and technology. Frequently, the farming methods employed are outdated, compounded by a lack of sufficient financial resources (5).

Droughts have been a constant for years and that time has already caused several losses and even already affected self-consumption productions. All products are being affected (6).

Gender & Marginalisation

Rural poverty disproportionately affects women and indigenous communities. Key factors contributing to poverty among family farmers include fluctuating prices, insufficient wages, low productivity, limited technology adoption, declining soil fertility, lack of access to financial services, among others (7).

Expected Development Outcome

Increase crop productivity levels and decrease crop sensitivity to climate change

Improve product quality and cost competitiveness

Reduce the use of pesticides and pesticides due to the early identification of problems in production

Gender & Marginalisation

Improve income level of producers

Primary SDGs addressed

Zero Hunger (SDG 2)
2 - Zero Hunger

2.4.1 Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture

Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12)
12 - Responsible Consumption and Production

12.1.1 Number of countries developing, adopting or implementing policy instruments aimed at supporting the shift to sustainable consumption and production

Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8)
8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth

8.4.1 Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP

8.4.2 Domestic material consumption, domestic material consumption per capita, and domestic material consumption per GDP

Good health and well-being (SDG 3)
3 - Good Health and Well-Being

3.9.3 Mortality rate attributed to unintentional poisoning

Secondary SDGs addressed

9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
1 - No Poverty

Directly impacted stakeholders

People

70,000 grain producers

Planet

Ecosystems benefiting from better practices

Gender inequality and/or marginalization

Vulnerable rural population and women

Corporates

Exporters, national and international food markets

Indirectly impacted stakeholders

Public sector

Benefited by increased production, foreign currency and food security

Outcome Risks

The high price of artificial intelligence for the agricultural sector and the development of large producers through it, could increase technological gaps and inequalities in agricultural production (8).

Impact Risks

Execution risks: Lack of basic information on the field, since a lot of data is needed for this model.

Drop Off: Lack of knowledge of farmers about artificial intelligence solutions for crops and their impact

External risks: Internet penetration is low and the gap increases in rural areas (9).

Impact Classification

C—Contribute to Solutions

What

The outcome is likely to be positive because artificial intelligence solutions and the move to digital agriculture could improve productivity and increase incomes

Risk

Although the model is proven, external factors, such as the need for adequate training and capital adequate human resources to use and interpret the data, can limit the extent of the impact

Impact Thesis

Increase sustainable production and provide a means of living to rural population while benefiting the environment

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Enabling Environment

Explore policy, regulatory and financial factors relevant for the investment opportunity.

Policy Environment

National Development Plan 2030 - Its goals include, among others, strengthening the Paraguayan position among the world's leading food exporters (10).

Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) - at Expo 2019, the MAG started with an interesting dissertation on the "Situation and Potentials of Organic Production in Paraguay" (11).

"National Strategy for the Promotion of Organic and Agroecological Production of Paraguay," during 2007/2008. This seeks to promote the development of organic and agroecological production in the country (12).

Financial Environment

The Development Finance Agency (AFD) - PROCRECER - Financing for investment projects. It finances projects such as - Rural, industrial, commercial, and service development projects (15).

Credit Agrícola de Habilitación (CAH) is a public entity that provides financial services and promotes technical assistance and marketing through alliances with the public and private sectors (16).

Exclusive credit for financing the national program of prioritized items for agriculture of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG). For investments directly related to productive activity, operating and marketing expenses at a rate of 10% per year on balance (17).

Regulatory Environment

Paraguayan Organic Production Standard. Production and marketing chain (12).

Resolution 670/13. Establishing and regulating the participatory guarantee system in organic production of plant origin and its processes within the framework of Law No. 3.481/08 on the Promotion and Control of Organic Production and its regulations (13).

Resolution 250/13 "Establishing registration and maintenance forms for operators and certification companies involved in the organic production system" (14).

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Marketplace Participants

Discover examples of public and private stakeholders active in this investment opportunity that were identified through secondary research and consultations.

Private Sector

HEMAV, Bayer (pilot project)

Government

Conacyt, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC), Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies (MITIC), National Development Bank, Centro Agrícola de Habilitación

Multilaterals

IDB, World Bank (WB), European Union, Development Finance Agency, JICA, Mashav, KOICA, GIZ

Non-Profit

Rural Association of Paraguay, Itaipú Technological Park Foundation, Tedic, Red Angel Investment in Paraguay.

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Target Locations

See what country regions are most suitable for the investment opportunity. All references to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of the Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999)
country static map
rural

Paraguay: Itapúa

Itapúa, Alto Paraná: subregion with the highest volume of soybean and corn production in the country. Artificial Intelligence and technology solutions could be used to improve the management and productivity of crops (1).
rural

Paraguay: Alto Paraná

Itapúa, Alto Paraná: subregion with the highest volume of soybean and corn production in the country. Artificial Intelligence and technology solutions could be used to improve the management and productivity of crops (1).
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References

See what sources were used to establish the investment opportunity’s data and find resources that could be consulted to explore more.
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