AGRO INNOVATION

Romanian Agri-Tech startup OGOR helps farmers with satellite images analysis

Roberta Kostadinova17. November 2021, 11:58

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OGOR, which in Romanian means “land”, is a Romanian Agri-Tech startup that offers a smarter way to understand the evolution of the field. With the OGOR web and mobile application, farmers could easily track what impact different factors have on their fields and production. By collecting data from satellite images, the OGOR app enables farmers to identify precisely where the crop is most affected looking at components such as sowing date, harvest date, hybrid, and work performed.

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The main goal of OGOR is to build and grow a sustainable business that contributes to the economic development of the European agricultural sector. The team behind the project is highly concerned with the impact of climate change and acknowledges the need to adapt the practices in the field to respond to the current environmental challenges. Founded in 2019 by five Romanian entrepreneurs, the startup has more than 49 regional trial farmers using their service, covering 88,000 hectares of agricultural fields.

“In 2019, we established Ogor starting from three things: a team of experienced programmers, passionate about processing satellite images, a successful entrepreneur who understood the development potential of Romanian agriculture and the essential role technology is to play in this development, and the high interest of many successful agronomists in Romania for our idea,” shares Dafina Jeacă, co-founder and COO of OGOR.

What does the OGOR application offer?

Satellite NDVI*, NDWI** images, and management areas
Tracking the evolution of crops during the season
Tracking crop rotation history from 2017 up to date
Tracking soil humidity reserve for wheat and corn
Field inspection with GPS location
Weather forecast for the next 7 days

What is a satellite image?

NDVI is a dimensionless index that describes the difference between visible and near-infrared reflectance of vegetation cover and can be used to estimate the density of green on an area of land. The values are between 0 and 1. For example, 0.8 means that you have a very green culture. When you notice too much vegetation compared to the rest of the plot, you may have weeds.

How does it work?

The chlorophyll in the plant absorbs some of the light for photosynthesis, the reflected light reaches the satellite with a certain “fingerprint”, indicating vegetation. OGOR takes the measurements from the satellite and builds images and maps.

How accurate is the data?

Each color dot in our images represents 10 by 10 meters and is updated on a weekly basis. The satellite passes over a point once every 4-5 days. In the cloudy months (December, January, February) the data is updated less frequently.

* NDVI = Normalized Difference Vegetation Index

**NDWI = Normalized Difference Water Index