Regional and national agribusiness growth in Brazil relies on the State of São Paulo’s Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply (SAA-SP).
To promote sustainable food, fibre, and bioenergy production, SAA-SP aids rural farmers with market access, research, technical support, and agricultural defence. The Secretariat is also in charge of monitoring agricultural product quality, supporting nutritional education initiatives, and guaranteeing population food security.
Organisations have turned to technology to assist achieve the objectives of food security and sustainability as the world’s food systems have changed and become more intricate. The secretariat of SAA-SP must make sure that its vital systems are operational around-the-clock and safely handle growing volumes of sensitive data. These systems include GEDAVE, a management system for plant and animal monitoring, and the Rural Environmental registration, an electronic registration that is required for all rural properties.
GEDAVE would manage controls for the management of poultry production, where each chick must be moved to a new location within 24 hours of birth and the entire process must be meticulously documented to ensure food safety. This example illustrates the complexity of the system.
The SAA-SP realised it was time to update some of its most critical systems in order to meet the demands of both its ageing IT infrastructure and the expanding worldwide population that depends on dependable, secure food supplies.
The growing pains
The SAA-SP’s Information Technology Coordination organisation houses Google Cloud’s Department of Systems Management team. Google Cloud is in charge of running GEDAVE, a vital SAA-SP system that oversees and manages the health of plants and animals across the state of São Paulo.
Among other information pertinent to São Paulo’s agriculture, GEDAVE keeps track of and oversees statistics on immunisation, pest and disease management, plant productivity, animal mobility, and pesticide usage. In order to facilitate the trade of agricultural products, GEDAVE helps issue papers like the Phytosanitary Certificate of Origin (CFO) and the Animal Transit Guide (GTA).
The back-end of GEDAVE was built in Java and linked to a SQL Server database. It includes private data on farmers, including financial information, management plans, and production statistics. This database was hosted on-premises, causing issues like:
Difficulty in keeping the database up to date
Producers that rely on SAA-SP services were directly impacted by the time and preparation necessary to apply patches and security upgrades in the on-premises environment, which led to periods of system unavailability.
Complexity in performing regular backups
In the on-premises setting, maintaining data security with frequent and trustworthy backups was a difficult and time-consuming procedure.
Challenging high availability
Investing in redundant and intricate infrastructure was necessary to maintain the on-premises database’s high availability, which raised administration expenses and complexity.
Furthermore, SAA-SP had to guarantee these systems’ round-the-clock availability to assist companies in satisfying market needs, including intricate matters like export quality control and internal production monitoring.
Since data on herd types, vaccination plans, pest control, and other topics are extremely sensitive and need strict protection, data security was also essential.
Sowing the seeds of innovation
In order to overcome these obstacles, SAA-SP made the decision to update its data infrastructure, using Google Cloud. They believed that the Google Cloud platform’s high performance could guarantee the availability and effectiveness of applications, and that its manageability would make database maintenance easier and free up the IT staff to concentrate on other tasks.
SAA-SP moved its SQL Server database to Cloud SQL for SQL Server on Google Cloud as the initial phase of this modernisation. The simplicity of setting up high availability (HA) with Cloud SQL for SQL Server was a key consideration in the decision. Without requiring complicated setups, SAA-SP set up automatic database replication and failover with a few clicks, guaranteeing service continuity in the case of failures and SLA compliance. Additionally, SAA-SP’s operations were not negatively impacted by the rapid and simple conversion to Cloud SQL for SQL Server.
Numerous advantages resulted from this tactical shift, including the ability for Java apps to connect to a more contemporary, scalable, and secure database environment.
Harvesting success
Simplified updates
Applying patches and updates is made simpler with Cloud SQL for SQL Server, reducing downtime and guaranteeing that systems are constantly protected with the most recent software versions.
Automated backups
In order to guarantee data protection and recovery in the case of failures, the service provides controlled and automatic backups.
Simplified high availability
The IT team’s workload was lessened and service SLA compliance was guaranteed with Cloud SQL for SQL Server’s streamlined high availability configuration.
Enhanced security
Cloud SQL for SQL Server shields SAA-SP’s private data against unwanted access by encrypting it both in transport and at rest.
On-demand scalability
Even during periods of high demand, SAA-SP may adapt Cloud SQL for SQL Server resources to meet demand, guaranteeing maximum Java application performance.
Focus on innovation
The IT staff at SAA-SP can now concentrate on strategic initiatives, such creating new features for Java apps, rather than worrying about data infrastructure management.
Reduced IT costs
Operating expenses were decreased by switching to Cloud SQL for SQL Server, which removed the requirement to purchase software and hardware to manage the on-premises database.
Cultivating a future of innovation in agriculture with Cloud SQL for SQL Server
By making the strategic move to Cloud SQL for SQL Server, SAA-SP was able to guarantee the availability, security, and scalability of its vital systems while overcoming the difficulties associated with on-premises data administration. The project’s success was largely determined by how simple it was to enable high availability and how easy the transfer was.
But more than that, SAA-SP was able to innovate with Cloud SQL, which made it possible to integrate generative AI for more forceful and effective analysis and decision-making. To help C-level executives make data-driven choices, SAA-SP, for instance, is using Looker and Gemini to deliver real-time data insights housed on Cloud SQL.
Additionally, SAA-SP is giving its clients greater power with Gemini Database, which enables them to use AI to improve database upkeep and performance.
SAA-SP intends to keep updating its services and infrastructure by doing the following:
Migration to microservices
Launch a new version of the microservices-based application to boost the system’s scalability, flexibility, and capacity.
Data analysis with generative AI
Give the agriculture industry the ability to employ generative AI to do predictive analysis and get real-time insights from Cloud SQL for SQL Server data, which will help with strategic decision-making.
Data management with Gemini
Gemini can help with data management and analysis by simplifying access to complicated data and extracting pertinent information.
Together with the development of analysis, SAA-SP’s shift to intelligent management of operations has solidified the organization’s standing as a leader in agricultural technology and innovation, propelling the growth of agribusiness throughout São Paulo and acting as a model for people worldwide.
