# Smart Avocado: Promote Sustainable Production and Consumption 13:00 - 15:00 (CET) 14:00 - 16:00 (SAST) **Online Meeting** [Join the online meeting now](https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_NmI3ZmY0MjItM2RmNy00Njg2LTk4ZGYtOWFhMDJhODUxMmNh%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22723246a1-c3f5-43c5-acdc-43adb404ac4d%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22fe54a3de-bb85-43e7-ac23-4b77021d157d%22%7d) Meeting ID: 315 661 211 156 Passcode: eo6Vz9kk **Venue** Aristo Meeting Center Utrecht [Godebaldkwartier 357, 3511 DT, Utrecht](https://maps.app.goo.gl/vvDHegHmc4xQky3Y6) --- Smart Avocado is a NWO-funded project. We are partnering for this research with [Westfalia Fruit](https://www.westfaliafruit.com/), [University of Limpopo](https://www.ul.ac.za/), and local community. |  |  |  |  | | - | - | - | - | --- **Contact** Dr. Yue Dou yue.dou@utwente.nl +31 6 131 90 255 smartavocado.org --- ## Welcome to the Workshop Collaborative Document! This document is synchronized as you type, so that everyone viewing this page sees the same text. This allows you to collaborate seamlessly. --- This document is available at https://notes.crib.utwente.nl/SmartAvocado --- ## Code of Conduct (Normally we have this section, but feel free remove if it is out of context.) Participants are expected to follow these guidelines: * Use welcoming and inclusive language. * Be respectful of different viewpoints and experiences. * Gracefully accept constructive criticism. * Focus on what is best for the community. * Show courtesy and respect towards other community members. ## License (The same, feel free to remove.) All content is publicly available under the Creative Commons Attribution License: [creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). --- ## Participants Name / Institution / Role / E-mail address / Background or interests (optional) * Agrivet avocado farm * Avocado farmers * Representatives from Westfalia Fruit (Dr Zelda van Rooyen, Andre Lutge) * Prince Lufto Dlamini of Philani Maswati Charity - Sivuno Setfu Cooperatives （Eswatini） * Representatives from Department of Agriculture, South Africa * Representatives from Limpopo Economic Development Agency, South Africa * Representatives from South African Embassy to the Kingdome of the Netherlands * Representative from SAAGA, Ulrich Koster from SUBTROP (South African Subtropical Growers' Associations) - for SAAGA (South African Avocado Growers' Association) in the Mpumalanga province as well as Eastern Cape and Cape Winelands. * Prof Dr. Kingsley Ayisi University of Limpopo * Dr. Queen Tlou Magale, University of Limpopo * Representative from Westfalia NL * Representative from Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands * Ninja Lacey NL Food partnership * Robert van Melle EOSTA * True Price * Andre Blignaut Digital Matter * Francois Datanet * Richard Franklin - Halls * Rosanne le Roux - The Fruit Farm Group SA, rosanne@tffgsa.co.za * Dr. Melvin Lippe - Johann Heinrich von Thuenen Institute, Institute of Forestry (Germany) * Dr. Roshanak Darvish University of Twente * Dr. Serkan Girgin University of Twente * Lisette Meulman - University of Twente - Project officer for the department of Natural Resources - previously worked in value-chain project management in Rwanda and East Africa. * Bérénice Guglielmi University of Twente * Dr. Yue Dou University of Twente * Francois Leroy - Datanet IoT - Tracking Solution Integrator - francois.leroy@datanetiot.com Dr Konanani Liphadzi - Dzima Agri - Avocado Producer, SAAGA Board Member, liphadzik@gmail.com ## Agenda | Time | Topic | | ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 12:00 - 13:00 | Greetings and Lunch (onsite) | | 13:00 - 13:15 | Greetings (online) and short introduction | | 13:15 - 13:50 | SmartAvocado project results | | | - Overview of the project (Dr. Yue Dou) | | | - Data collection and challenges (Dr. Serkan Girgin) | | | - Consumer questionnaires and survey (Bérénice Guglielmi) | | 13:50 - 14:00 | Break | | 14:00 - 14:30 | Round table discussion: Challenges and Opportunities | | | - Comments from avocado producers | | | - Comments from policy makers | | | - Comments from other stakeholders | | 14:30 - 15:00 | Possible next steps | | | - Dr. You Dou: Using Earth Observation for monitoring water use efficiency on a large scale (for EUDR and Green Deal) | | | - Comments from Prof. Dr. Kingsley Ayisi | | | - Comments from Dr. Roshanak Darvish | | 15:00 | Conclude online session | | 15:00 - 16:00 | Continue discussion onsite | | 16:00 | Drinks (for South African online participants we will send a voucher!) | --- ## Meeting recording The hybrid meeting is recorded, you can watch it here: https://utwente.yuja.com/V/Video?v=848857&node=4518092&a=80255827 The video of our project can be watched here: https://utwente.yuja.com/V/Video?v=801120&node=4147024&a=149852312 ## Collaborative Notes - For producers this technology can be useful also because we need lower cost for all the regulations and optimize transportation route, as farmers are price takers - Melvin mentioned that government cares more about the origin than the second half of the supply chain; they pay attention to collection centers (but depending on the type of commodities) - The ‘mystery’ location on the way to Cape Town is likely a ripening facility. - Answer to questions: Isn’t the journey of fruit already known by exporting companies? – Yes, but the knowledge is not aggregated and shared amongst the different involved stakeholder. - Suggestion to deploy consumer-end survey and research in more uran area than Ensched, where avocado consumption might be higher. - Expansion of the tracking approach to multisensory approach: gather information about the damage to the avocado and the nutritional values. This information can at the end be embeded in the app amongst the other information. - Avocado Producers highlighted the ‘piling up of cost’ effect on producers due to the increase in regulation and stressed that any new experiment should be crafted so that the cost do not fall only on farmers. - Premium prices (e.g. for sustainably-labeled avocado) might not trickle-down to farmers and thus not promote sustainable farming. - The Smart Avocado technology can be valuable in regard to the EU policy requiring suppliers to map their entire supply chain. - Tracking individual avos with QR code might be challenging as they are mixed up in the pallets. Alternative would be sticker or lazer printing on the avocado. - Lisette can help with contact to create realistic avocadi pouch. - Question from Richard: There are currently trackers added in the packhouse to export pallets or containers to track location and conditions of the fruit (temperature etc) - while they are not as camouflaged in the avo shapes you developed, did you consider using data from this source, rather than be limited to the few trackers you were able to add? - The challenge is how to validate the sources from the packhouse, to be used for EUDR operators. Therefore, a third party tracking method may needed; - Suggstion for further research: Look into the 3D printed avocado developed previously by University of Pretoria team (in collaboration with SAAGA), that also mimicked the size and feel of avocado, and could be used to track conditions from source to destination. presentation on website: SmAvo article: https://avocado.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/850.pdf - Indeed our project is inspired by Prof Wyand's team "smart tomato and avocado" (pretoria). The challenge with 3D priting is the cost, also the transmitting of signal (because we want to have access over the air). - While they used the device to diagnose where fruit get damaged in the supply chain (transport, sorting, etc), maybe the same device could help you address your research objective of linking it to sustainability and deforestation. You still need to overcome the challenge of motivating the farmer to place the tracking unit at the right point into the supply to link it to the right orchard / growing area, otherwise you will be limited to tracking starting from the first packhouse (and not the field). - Please ask SAAGA to share with you the report on the 'cost of compliance to the SA fruit producers' from a study which was done by Fruit SA - The concerns of farmers are indeed legitimate and of cause introducing technologies that assist is crucial as long as responsibilities for growers ( both small and big) are not compounded. - Digital Matter (IoT) has new technologies and it might be interesting to test them together. ## Additional Links (Put additional links here, if any.)