UPL, TeleSense Partnership Aims to Reduce Food Waste in Supply Chain

By UPL

UPL Ltd. has announced a strategic collaboration with TeleSense, a California-based IoT (Internet of Things) innovator revolutionizing postharvest grain storage and transport. UPL will help TeleSense strengthen its sales channel by introducing monitoring solutions for postharvest commodity storage and transport to multiple stakeholders across the agriculture value chain.

“Through our OpenAg Purpose, we collaborate with innovative partners to facilitate progress towards reducing food waste while enabling farmer resilience,” said Jai Shroff, CEO of UPL. “With around one third of global food production lost annually due to food waste, this is a problem our industry cannot ignore. Our partnership with TeleSense represents a new vision for how grain is stored, handled and transported by creating a more efficient, data-driven supply chain that will reduce food waste, improve food quality and increase sustainability.”

TeleSense uses scalable sensor technology on an artificial intelligence (AI) platform to monitor the temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels of stored grain. It leverages fixed and portable sensors to monitor the current and future condition of stored grain, while automating the detection and mitigation of potential issues such as hotspots, excess moisture, or pests. Machine learning algorithms provide users with alerts needed to effectively manage and predict grain quality, ensure safety, improve operational efficiency, and increase profitability. Adding TeleSense technology to UPL’s portfolio complements its robust range of gas monitoring, safety and detection devices as well as fumigants.

“Our partnership with UPL represents an unprecedented commitment to reducing food waste, ensuring food security, delivering supply chain sustainability, and increasing profitability for growers,” said Naeem Zafar, Co-Founder and CEO of TeleSense. “The food value chain continues to evolve and become more complex. It takes disruptive innovation to deliver solutions that will keep up with the rate of change, and TeleSense is uniquely positioned to lead the way in delivering the future of postharvest grain management.”

Combining the strength of UPL’s global footprint with TeleSense’s innovative technology will provide new solutions to meet the requirements of both developed and developing countries. The partnership aligns with UPL’s aim to support the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its mission to make every single food product more sustainable.