Interview with Wydo van der Lee ICT and supply chain manager, FarmPlus
First published . Roles, figures and future plans reflect the original interview date.
The story at a glance
The challenge
Information was spread across notebooks, Excel, email and WhatsApp.
Using iCrop
FarmPlus brings crop information together in iCrop and uses standardised recipes by crop and soil type.
What changed
The team can analyse field information more specifically; standardised recipes give growers more clarity and advisers fewer repetitive questions.
From the interview of
When FarmPlus — the former CZAV — began deploying AppsforAgri’s iCrop three years before this interview, it was still pioneering. A small group of 30 arable farmers and a handful of advisers went to work testing the system in practice.
“We deliberately started with a compact group that was willing to think along,” says Wydo van der Lee, ICT and supply chain manager at FarmPlus. “This allowed us to learn and at the same time build something that really connects to daily practice.”
From thinking to doing
The first approach focused on growers who were not yet active with digital crop registration. “We thought: if we get that group on board, we’ll really make a profit. But that turned out to be unrealistic. Those who are not yet doing anything with registration often have a reason for doing so.”
In the second year, FarmPlus reversed the strategy and worked with a leading group of forerunners. “That immediately gave much more speed. Those growers are critical, curious, and ask for smart solutions. You learn a lot from that.”
By the time of the interview, the platform was being rolled out more broadly. All growers participating in Nedertarwe, a certified wheat programme requiring full traceability, were due to work with the system that crop year. “This places high demands on transparency. Thanks to the app, we can show exactly what resources were used, when, where and how.”
From fragmentation to overview
Previously, information was scattered across notebooks, Excel files, apps, emails and WhatsApp conversations. “If one grower had a top yield and another did not, we had to puzzle everything together afterwards. Now everything is in one system and we can analyse much more specifically.”
That central location also offers internal advantages. “We can give better advice because we have a better view of what is really happening in the field.”
Developing together
The collaboration with AppsforAgri quickly grew into a partnership. “We involved consultants from the beginning, not only for support, but precisely because their practical knowledge is crucial for a well-functioning system.”
Van der Lee calls the weekly brainstorming sessions “insanely valuable”. “We identified a bottleneck, thought about a solution together, and the development team often came up with something tangible a week later. That speed, that thinking along — that’s worth its weight in gold.”
Standardisation as a strength
Working with standardised recipes by crop and soil type gives the advisory process more structure. “It creates fewer questions and more clarity for growers. And advisers can focus on content instead of repetitive questions.”
That fits with the role FarmPlus sees for itself: not throwing everything digitally over the fence, but making choices together with the grower — from cropping plan to harvest.
Looking ahead: smarter and better connected
At the time of the interview, FarmPlus was looking ahead to further process optimisation. “We want to automatically link external data streams — such as item information, customer data and RVO data — so that the entire process runs seamlessly.”
Van der Lee also sees potential in AI, provided more internal knowledge is captured first. “We have a lot of agronomic knowledge in-house, but it’s still too much in heads and loose documents. If we digitise that, AI can really add value to it.”
He does emphasise that part of the strength of the collaboration is the customisation. “We now talk a lot one-on-one with AppsforAgri. As the number of customers grows, that ratio will change. But that doesn’t have to be a disadvantage. With the right structure, cross-pollination between clients can actually lead to faster innovation.”
Moving forward with confidence
FarmPlus is enthusiastic about the steps taken — as well as the cooperation itself. “It can always be done faster, but the progress is there. We keep each other on our toes, and we keep building together. That way, this will grow into a system we all won’t want to be without in a few years.”
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