Aptimiz: improving farmers' income and well-being by optimizing working hours

Aptimiz has developed a SaaS platform that enables farmers to measure, optimize and analyze their working time. Let's take a look at what convinced us to invest in this company alongside Demeter, who led the round( Camille Wong of Les Echosreports on this round).

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1. Working hours, regulations: farmers, a profession in search of new status

1.1. The number of farmers is plummeting 

France currently has around 400,000 farmer-operators. 

Whereas in 1982, they numbered 1.6 million (7.1% of total employment), they now represent just 1.5% of the country's total employment, a proportion divided by 4 in 40 years according to Insee (2019). 

Farming jobs are hard and exhausting because of the hours they have to work. According to INSEE, by 2022, farmers will be working an average of 55 hours a week.

There is no time management tool that is both reliable (data quality) and easy to use.

In 2019, 88% of them worked at least one Saturday in the last four weeks, and 71% at least one Sunday.

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Overwork and long working hours generate fatigue and illness among farmers, and can lead to tragic scenarios. 

In 2016, among MSA policyholders aged 15 to 64, the risk of suicide was 43.2% higher than for policyholders in all social security schemes. 

As a result, 72% of France's 400,000 farmers rank reducing drudgery and working hours among their top priorities.

At the same time, regulations are imposing new constraints.

1.2. Tougher regulations to make production systems more efficient

The need for traceability will become increasingly important as the regulatory framework evolves, as demonstrated by the National Strategic Plan for the CAP. 

In fact, it highlights the need to develop "digital tools to improve employment and working conditions, enhance traceability and boost the performance of production systems".

Also, the European RED-II directive will require all methanizing farmers to justify the plot of origin of crops incorporated from summer 2023. 

To date, however, only Aptimiz is capable of automating this traceability for over 1,400 anaerobic digestion sites in Europe, and 18,200 in the rest of the world. 

Similarly, the rise of various specifications (HVE, CRC, Low Carbon...) also represents opportunities, as it implies additional declarative constraints for farmers.

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2. Aptimiz saves considerable time 

2.1. A platform built around two service levels

Aptimiz, founded in 2018 in Angers by three farmers' sons, supports farmers and

winegrowers to manage their human and material resources thanks to a software application

marketed through two service levels. 

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The first responds to the new challenges of traceability by automatically collecting all tasks carried out on the farm via a smartphone application for pedestrians, and using sensors for equipment.

The second is to support farmers in their decision-making through data interpretation, comparison and simulation tools, on an interoperable platform that maximizes user benefits.

Aptimiz supports farmers in their day-to-day business by helping them anticipate change, allocate resources rationally on their farm or in service provision, and optimize the use of farm machinery.

2.2. A promising launch

After 2 years of development in the field, Aptitrack, launched in May 2022, is the world's first 100% keyless 3-in-1 traceability software. 

Aptimiz combines a complete analysis of human time with that of equipment, while offering exact, automatic traceability of all tasks carried out on the farm.

This functionality has opened up enormous prospects, becoming a must-have for the historical declarative software used on over 100,000 farms in France.

By subscribing to Aptimiz, you save over 100 hours of data entry per year per person.

This confirms the relevance of their value proposition and the sustainability of their business model. 

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3. The potential impact is significant  

Aptimiz has a dual impact: socially and environmentally. 

3.1. A clear social impact 

The platform paves the way for fair remuneration for farmers by enabling them to know where they are gaining time and income, and where they are losing time and profitability.

This requires 3 levers: 

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Lever 1: Save time on tedious, non-value-added tasks

Recording phytosanitary operations carried out on crops in accordance with the regulations is a tedious and time-consuming task, and brings no added value to farmers.

They must declare the date, place, dose and nature of the products used during each operation with their sprayer, etc...

Thanks to Aptimiz, there's no need for data entry (automation), so there's no loss of time because it's an easy-to-use tool.

The automated measurement and collection of data enables farmers to draw lessons from it to improve the organization of their work and their farms.

Lever 2. Improving the daily lives and well-being of farmers

Controlling working hours combines performance and well-being for farmers: work fewer hours and be more efficient.

Aptimiz can sound the alarm when operators exceed certain thresholds (100 hours a week, for example).

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Lever 3. Integrate hourly profitability to better negotiate with the value chain

Aptimiz is changing the way decisions are made on farms, by integrating working time. 

By adjusting their working hours according to the needs of the area (plot or building), the period (e.g. during the grape harvest for winegrowers) and the economic profitability, this will improve the overall hourly profitability of the operation.

It's worth noting that few farmers know their cost prices (see this article from 2020). 

Aptimiz paves the way for fair remuneration throughout the processing and distribution chain.

3.2. An indirect environmental impact 

The solution also has an indirect environmental impact that can be seen at 3 levels. 

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Level 1. It promotes local, high-quality agriculture
Matching the farming profession to the living standards of their fellow citizens means encouraging farmers' children to take over farms, and those who are attracted to the profession to consider it with greater serenity. 

It will also be an opportunity for financiers to have better visibility and therefore lower rates to finance transfers or investments.

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‍Level2. It helps to improve the carbon footprint
Aptimiz also generates an indirect impact thanks to more data and analysis on the management of operations (machines), enabling all processes to be optimized. 

For example, our research has shown us that many farmers are looking to measure their fuel (C02) emissions footprint. 

These results are not quantified, but could enable Aptimiz to increase its impact by analyzing the various positive, social and environmental repercussions (inputs, water, health): this is part of the 2023 product roadmap.

For example, optimizing working hours and machinery can reduce fuel consumption. The range of fuel savings can be very wide, from 3% to 15%.

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Level 3. It facilitates the transition of certain farmers

It's a safe bet that, little by little, examples of successful transitions will be identified and shared with all Aptimiz customers. 

By tracking the performance and ROI of different workshops within the farm, farmers have a tool enabling them to measure the effectiveness of the changes they have made, and to go back if necessary, or to continue with full knowledge of the facts. 

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For all these reasons, we are delighted to have brought together 25 renowned investors and the local Anjou Amorçage fund to enable Aptimiz to launch a 3rd generation product and accelerate its commercial development. 

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