History of Cap 2020

Before setting up Cap 2020 and within Arvalis-Institut du végétal (formerly ITCF), Denis Boisgontier was a forerunner of innovations that are now in full development.

In the early 1980s, following work carried out with INRAE in Avignon, he was a promoter of no-till tillage techniques.

In the early 1990s, he understood the importance of the first technological advances in the United States, which led to the development of Precision Farming. He then went on to promote it extensively in France, coining the phrase "the right dose in the right place at the right time".

In the early 2000s, following a project on high-resolution rain radar carried out with the CNRS, he highlighted the value of using weather data at plot level to feed decision-making tools. This led to the development of the 'Virtual Weather Station' concept, which was the basis for the creation of Cap 2020 in 2007.​