Brazil already has its first online store selling agricultural inputs

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This year 2019 started the first year of operation of InstaAgro – first online store authorized to sell agricultural inputs via this medium in Brazil. It is a new startup of the AgTech segment, with Brazilian origin and North American and European capital.

Through its innovative business model and state-of-the-art technology, InstaAgro is an online store that markets inputs and agricultural implements directly to the Brazilian rural producer and is already authorized by the regulatory agencies in the states of São Paulo and Goiás, but with programmed expansion for the whole national territory.

With 100% guarantee of origin of the products, the platform offers several options of delivery and ensures, at the same time, online payment security and data confidentiality. At InstaAgro the producer will find a wide range of inputs and agricultural implements, which are guaranteed by direct partnerships with manufacturing companies.

“We have several suppliers with credibility and international reach in the field of chemical pesticides, seeds and fertilizers. In addition, we offer a variety of agricultural implements, including, for example, irrigation products, which the producer would not find habitually at his local reseller, “says Rodrigo Santini, co-founder and chief marketing officer of InstaAgro.

Co-founder of InstaAgro and current CTO (Chief Technology Officer) of the company, Avram Slovic points out that InstaAgro aimed to modernize the chain of agricultural inputs and how one can buy. This is because the online store offers the simplicity of use, a greater number of offers and ease in searching for products, which can be found by searching for terms such as name, brand or culture, for example.

“Our portfolio is vast, combining conventional, biological, chemical fertilizers and organic fertilizers, with the goal of increasingly facilitating the viability of efficient and sustainable agriculture. Farmers will be able to set up a shopping cart and use artificial intelligence to complement tailor made suggestions that best fit their needs. ”

The executive also explains that, in the specific case of the sale of pesticides, the agronomic prescription should always be attached to the application.

If the farmer does not have the document, he should seek the service of an accredited agronomist to issue it after the diagnosis has been made at the place of infestation of the disease or plague.

The release of the online application, invoice and other required documents will only be made through the inclusion of the information by the farmer on the platform, including the agronomic formula. Slovic emphasizes that this innovation promotes more security in the purchase because it makes obsolete and unnecessary the illegal sales that occur today on the internet.

“The industry should receive this initiative positively, as it will start to count on a digital sales solution, which will enable the traceability of products and encourage their correct use in the field,” he adds.

According to Marcos Tanaka, Director of Operations of InstaAgro, a key innovation that will be brought is related to logistics. In addition to the current traditional delivery, the startup has its own warehouse centers – different from everything that exists today -, as well as several options for delivery and possibility of breaking the cargo into smaller boxes, following all the existing regulations, and the offer of fast and efficient service.

“We know that the last mile is the most complex, that is, to get from the warehouse to the final consumer in the field, and we will innovate the logistics chain to improve this service,” he says. In addition, InstaAgro promotes reverse logistics for the return of used packaging, assuring packing stations close to the farmers.

“Our initiative is premised on logistical excellence and full attention to the ‘bottom of the pyramid’, that is, those three to four million small farmers who until today was not satisfactorily served by traditional industries and channels.

This is our first target audience and we will empower this rural producer not only with more offers, but above all with more transparency and knowledge – for this purpose we have the mission to provide, free of charge on the platform, several tutorial videos showing concepts and application techniques of pesticides, with emphasis on the correct use of these products and the best agricultural management practices, “explains Santini.

Fuente: efarm News

Post available in: English