Capsat: Information from satellite imagery for better agricultural policy in Flanders and Europe

Procurement

The preliminary process resulted in two government contracts:

  • A contract for the development of a Proof-of-Concept on yield determination using satellite data. The objective is to use satellite data and Artificial Intelligence to predict the yield of parcels for a limited number of crops.
  • A contract for the development of a smartphone app for 'geotagged photos' and parcel features via Augmented Reality. The objective is to develop an app with which farmers can easily and efficiently send the necessary visual material about their parcels to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. In this way, site visits no longer need to be organised.

The two assignments each had a different tendering process:

1. Development of a POC Determining the yield of agricultural crops by means of satellite data

Procurement procedure: Negotiated procedure without prior publication (OPZB).

Together with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, we published the tender document for the development of a 'Proof-of-Concept for yield determination of agricultural crops based on satellite data' on 8 February 2019 on e-procurement. Bids were due by 21 March 2019, 12h (deadline extended!) via email to overheidsopdrachten@lv.vlaanderen.be.

On Wednesday 27 February 2019, we held an information session where we explained the specifications. You can find the slides and the report of the info session at the bottom of this page.  

We received 10 bids of which 8 were admissible. Of those 8, we selected four to present their offer on 4 April 2019. The shortlisted candidates were then invited to submit their final bid (BAFO) no later than Thursday, 25 April 2019.

The contract was awarded to VITO.  

2. Development of a smartphone app for 'geotagged photos' and plot features via Augmented Reality.

Procurement procedure: Competitive procedure with negotiation. This is a two-step procedure consisting of a selection phase (selection of suppliers) and an award phase (actual offer retained).

The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries published the selection guide on TED and e-procurement on 18 October 2019. Applications were expected by 15 November 2019. On Friday 25 October 2019, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries organised an information session on the contract. You can find the slides and report of the Q&A at the bottom of this page.

Twelve companies applied to participate. Based on the selection criteria, three companies were not retained. Nine companies did meet the exclusion and selection criteria and were invited to submit a bid by 19 December 2019. Six companies submitted a tender. As the differences between the six offers were very large, the decision was made to take only the two best candidates to the negotiations on 14 January 2020. The two submitted a BAFO following the negotiations. 

The contract was awarded to Endare bvba. 

Expected start of the execution of the contract: March 2020.

State of affairs about Capsat at Trefdag Digitaal Vlaanderen on 28 November 2019

On 28 November 2019, Tim Ghysels from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries gave an update on the Capsat project. With this presentation he was part of the workshop 'Innovatier by and for the government - the Programme Innovative Public Procurement' at the Trefdag Digitaal Vlaanderen in Ghent on 28 November 2019. You can find the slides under 'documents'.

Share: