Introducing The GeoAI Imperative for Commodity Sourcing
A new perspective on why a decade of supply chain visibility investment has stalled, and what an architectural answer looks...
MANAUS, Brazil, and LAUSANNE, Switzerland, 10th September 2026 – Picterra and the National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA), Brazil’s federal research institution dedicated to the Amazon, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishing a framework for collaboration on agroforestry, biodiversity research, and the application of satellite-based, plot-level intelligence in the Brazilian Amazon.
The MOU was signed in Manaus on August 20, 2026, by INPA Director Dr. Henrique dos Santos Pereira and Picterra CEO Pierrick Poulenas. It brings together INPA, the reference institution for scientific research in the Amazon since 1952, and Picterra, whose cloud-native GeoAI platform monitors farms, fields, and forests plot by plot. The introduction was made through nexBio Amazonia, a Swiss-Brazilian program designed to co-create solutions for Amazonia’s bioeconomy. Powered by Swissnex in Brazil, the Swiss Leading House Latin America (University of St. Gallen), and the Brazilian National Council for State Funding Agencies (CONFAP), the program connects Brazilian and Swiss organizations and helped open the door to this collaboration with INPA.
One of the first areas identified for collaboration is agroforestry. The two institutions will explore how continuous satellite monitoring could support agroforestry projects led by INPA researchers working with local commodities such as cupuaçu, açaí, and tucumã. Agroforestry systems are central to Amazonian production and are also among the hardest land uses to monitor from space, since they mix species, canopy layers, and harvest cycles on plots that are often small and irregular.
The MOU also anticipates cooperation on research projects, scientific and technical activities, internships and exchange programs, training and graduate education, and promoting innovation and technology transfer.
The National Institute of Amazonian Research (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia) was founded in 1952 and is based in Manaus, Amazonas. Linked to Brazil’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, it is the reference institution for scientific research in the Amazon, with work spanning tropical forest management and ecology, botany, zoology, tropical agriculture, and freshwater biology, as well as master’s and doctoral programs and major biological research collections.
Picterra is the commodity intelligence company. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, Picterra derisks commodity supply chains by replacing country-level approximations with plot-level intelligence across every farm, field, and forest in the global supply base. Insights Hub, its cloud-native GeoAI platform, unifies continuous satellite observation, machine learning, and curated partner data into a single source of truth across three pillars of supply-chain resilience: climate-driven yield risk, regulatory compliance that determines market access, and sustainability practices that protect long-term supply. Every signal is traceable back to its originating plot. Picterra is trusted by organizations including Nespresso, JTI, Walter Matter, FSC, DEFRA, and The Nature Conservancy.
Picterra: Dan Rushton, Head of Corporate Marketing dan@picterra.ai
INPA: Prof. Dr. Laurindo Campos, DICIN/INPA laurindo.campos@inpa.gov.br
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