12/31/2024
It’s been ten seasons, a decade!, since SatAgro went online. During this time, we have managed to create from scratch a platform that is well recognised in Poland and has a very interesting track record of digitizing hundreds of farms, satellite monitoring and crop optimization. This alone is a good reason to celebrate, but this year is also special for us because we have returned to a pathway of growth after a difficult two years.
Previously, after seven seasons of rapid growth, we hit a low point. The main causes of the slowdown were the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by Russia’s attack on Ukraine. These events had a negative impact on farms, including the availability of machinery and equipment and fertiliser prices, and resulted in less willingness to cooperate. Admittedly, our result at the end of 2021 was still very satisfactory, but this was because at that time the first symptoms of the crisis had been fully neutralised by “bundled” R&D funding from two foreign sources (the European Space Agency, Horizon 2020) and one domestic source (the Agency for Agricultural Development and Modernisation). While completing these projects, we simultaneously suffered failure after failure in applying for further grants in national NCBiR competitions that seemed closest to our specificities. Finally, at the end of 2023, we recorded the first drop in turnover in our history. Then, in the spring of 2024, Grupa Azoty terminated our long-standing partnership. This led to another sad “first” – redundancies due to lack of funds.
We started 2024 in a very pessimistic mood. But the threat mobilised and synchronised us like the best symphony orchestra. And good things began to happen. Some of the farms that previously had our services reimbursed by the Groupa Azoty turned out to be willing to switch to paid subscriptions. Our precise fertilization plans (implementation of the results of the AgricaptureCO2 grant from Horizon 2020 and the fertilization-related project subsidized by the ARiMR), as well as the appreciated high quality of customer service, proved to be an important argument. Overseas, American Crystal Sugar Company again contracted a monitoring service, this time extended to include, among other things, a new yield forecasting method (implementing the results of the ESA-funded project). Finally, the biggest positive development was the inclusion of SatAgro subscriptions in the precision/digital farming systems subsidised by the government for individual farms under the Agriculture 4.0 programme. All these factors have made us more optimistic about the future, and saved this Christmas for us.
We recognise that our journey to growth is neither unique nor certain, and that many companies have faced and continue to face similar difficulties. We know from our own experience how much such situations can affect our personal lives – stress levels, relationships, health. This is especially true when the business being created is, for better or worse, the adventure of a lifetime and one of the most important defining elements of our existence.
In this special time of reflection, rest and relationship building, we wish our clients and partners, as well as all entrepreneurs, especially those working under high pressure, that the season of 2025 will be a time of success and peace. At the same time, as always, we would like to thank all those who have placed their trust in us. It is thanks to you that we can continue to develop the SatAgro platform and redefine modern farming. It is a source of constant satisfaction for us, both in difficult moments and in happy ones like this one.
