Marrying Tech and Agriculture with Bela Farbas

I had the chance to get to know Bela Farbas back in 2019, he was introduced to me as this IT wizz that had come into agriculture and had an incredible set of skills.

After 15 years of consulting, Bela decided he needed a change,

"I realised that I was right in my initial assessment of enterprise IT, and all respect to the people who work in it, but it ain't for me because it's so far removed from the real world."

"And then I got the opportunity to do some work in telemetry IoT [Internet of Things] systems on feedlots up in Queensland and just fell in love with it.."

Does he consider himself part of agriculture? Absolutely.

“I can see the actual benefit of the stuff we do there. So it just gives me that warm and fuzzy. So as far as I'm concerned, yeah, I am. I'm a part of the agriculture industry in a potentially different way than others have done before."

With his IT background, the application of technology into farming has Bela incredibly excited.

"Technology has revolutionized farming practices, leading to increased productivity, improved efficiency, and more sustainable methods."

With the increasing use of technology, it also means that the traditional ideas of ‘being a farmer’ are changing.

"We're no longer just farmers; we're also data analysts and technology adopters."

We hear plenty about AI (read: ChatGPT 😉 ) Bela see’s Artificial Intelligence being key to helpoing to empower farmers in their decision making, marrying the years, and often generations of knowledge, with the latest in information.

"AI-powered monitoring systems and sensors enable farmers to make informed decisions and take proactive measures to prevent crop loss or disease outbreaks."

What are the opportunities?

Where does Bela see the opportunities marrying the two together, well, they’re just about limitless and we know one fella who’s pretty excited about it! When it comes to addressing challenges such as food security and creating a more sustainable food system, well….

"Autonomous farming machinery, vertical farming systems, and genetic engineering techniques are just a glimpse into the innovative future of farming,"

Now, on the podcast we love to get beyond the surface level so I thought I’d ask a question that goes a little bit deeper.

Oli: Do you think your younger self would be proud and look up to who you are now?

Bela: do you want the fluffy answer or do you want the real answer? The real answer? I think so. But, you know, as you do in real life, I'm kind of going through one of those moments where it's not entirely clear. Like sometimes things get difficult. And sometimes you need to spend the time to try and figure it out. And to take the time to remember that you have done some pretty cool things, mistakes are natural. I'm kind of in the middle of that right now. But I think having said that, yeah, well on on balance. I think so. Ultimately, I live my life the way I think is right. And I don't think you can ask much more than that. So I think so.

A little bit more about Bela & 4Zero:

Bela is now the founder and CEO of 4Zero Technologies and leads a team of diverse professionals, from IT experts and electrical engineers to nutritionists, who work together to tackle the challenges in the agricultural industry. Their mission:

"Bridge the gap between operations and the rest of the organisation through advanced tech like IoT, AI and predictive analytics, and to do this in a way that makes the customer's life easier."

4Zero operates in various sectors, leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as data science and artificial intelligence (AI) to identify significant opportunities for improvement.

By integrating AI into the agricultural landscape, Bela aims to create a more sustainable and transparent food supply chain that benefits both producers and consumers.