The agrifood sector is digitalising at a fast pace, while the administrative burden on primary producers and supply chain partners continues to increase. At the same time, efficient, secure, and standardised data sharing is becoming ever more important to maintain oversight and further professionalise the sector.
How do you create clarity, trust, and value from data? And what does this mean in practice for the future of the agrifood supply chain?
In the article below, published in the Financieele Dagblad (FD), Celik shares his vision on smarter data sharing and explains why this can actually lead to less pressure and more opportunities across the chain.
Gaining control over data leads to less pressure in the agrifood supply chain
The agrifood sector is digitalising at a rapid pace, while the administrative burden on primary producers and supply chain partners continues to increase. At the same time, the need for efficient and secure ways to share data is growing, without losing oversight. The standardisation of data exchange is therefore becoming a prerequisite for further professionalisation of the sector.
In practice, data sharing is still highly fragmented, taking place through separate connections between suppliers, processors, accountants, and other parties. This leads to complex IT structures and a multitude of contractual agreements. Moreover, there is often a lack of insight into which data is being shared and for what purpose. According to Sener Celik, CEO of JoinData, organising control over data is therefore the first step.
Facilitating data exchange
The cooperative platform, which enables secure and standardised data sharing in the agrifood supply chain, is now used by more than 300 parties in the sector. It facilitates data exchange for over 17,000 farmers and growers. “Farmers need to know which data is being shared, for what purpose, and with which party. And they must be able to stop sharing at any time.” This emphasis on explicit consent aligns with privacy legislation and, according to Celik, is a practical prerequisite for digitalisation.
JoinData’s platform streamlines this process and processes over 1 million messages per day. By routing data flows through a single infrastructure, parties can reuse and standardise integrations. This reduces the need to continuously set up new technical connections and legal agreements. For supply chain partners, this means lower costs and less complexity — for primary producers, greater transparency.
Data-driven operations
The immediate benefits are mainly in efficiency. Administrative processes, such as sharing invoices or delivery data, are handled digitally and largely automatically. Providing data for quality assurance, certification, or sustainability reporting also becomes simpler and more consistent. This reduces the risk of errors and creates room for optimisation.
Economic value
Celik emphasises that this is only an intermediate step: ultimately, data sharing must deliver economic value. “Our goal is not only for farmers to experience convenience, but also to gain tangible benefits. This is already reflected in better-informed decision-making, more efficient use of resources, and access to programmes that reward performance, for example in sustainability.”
The growing importance of data-driven work
The relevance of data-driven operations continues to increase as market and regulatory requirements become more stringent. Insights into CO₂ emissions, animal health, and product quality are increasingly supported by data. In addition, improved data analysis makes it possible to act more quickly, for example in response to deviations in production processes or health indicators.
In the coming years, Celik expects the sector to evolve further towards an integrated data ecosystem. He also sees a role for new entrants developing innovative applications based on available data. “The platform is specifically designed to give such disruption and innovative start-ups a stage. The key condition remains that data is only shared with the explicit consent of the farmer or grower.”
