Codesian: precision agriculture

Soria is one of the least densely populated areas in Spain. With agriculture being its most prominent economic sector, villages can feel almost uninhabited and abandoned. It’s not where you’d expect technological entrepreneurship to thrive, but there are some innovative entrepreneurs, like David Francés, who could prove you wrong.

In 2014, David founded Codesian, a social enterprise that uses disruptive technology solutions to collect large amounts of data and help farmers maximise their output in an ecological way.

“We use drones, sensors and other more conventional scientific measuring methods, such as physical assessments of the territory and the soil, or humidity and temperature recordings, to learn about the land’s properties,” explains David. “With multiple data points, farmers can make more informed decisions. They can thus better manage their use of water, fertilizer and pesticides, increasing their yields and reducing costs and their environmental footprint at the same time,” says David. Through technology, Codesian is facilitating organic and fruitful farming with health and environmental benefits.

“When you know how to best exploit the properties of each parcel of land, you can move towards a more reliable harvest, which stabilises jobs. Thanks to our services, we have seen a boost in the agricultural labour market,” says David. This has a multiplier effect in the village too: “Greengrocers know that they won’t run out of stock – quite the opposite. Greater stability means that they are also more willing to expand and create long-term jobs,” he adds.

Similarly, Codesian is also creating jobs and putting Soria on the map of digital disruptive technologies: “We started small, in the home market, but we will be internationalising the company very soon. We’ve begun working with agricultural giants who are very interested in our product,” says David, “It’s a great opportunity for us to step up to the global market and attract young and highly qualified workers from all over the world to Soria.”

In this process of expansion, Codesian secured an EU-guaranteed loan from Soria Futuro, backed by the EIF, to move to new installations and carry out research in other product lines that further contribute to environmentally-friendly and efficient farming, doubling its employee numbers. ”At the end of the day, it’s about providing new solutions to old problems and making agriculture financially viable and attractive again,” David adds.

Company: Codesian (Spain)

Type of business: social enterprise; digital technology

EIF financing: EaSI Guarantee Financial Instrument (social enterprise)

Financial intermediary: Soria Futuro

For further information about EIF intermediaries in Spain, please refer to:
http://www.eif.org/what_we_do/where/es