Smart Farming
by EdisonTKP
Posted on July 2, 2018 at 12:00 PM
The current technologies are changing the world around us. If you are not convinced, take a look at self-driving cars and the application of artificial intelligence. However, do you think that internet-of-things (IoT) can have the same impact on our farming sector? In this article, we will try to answer the above question. But, before we start, we first need to understand the problem that our farming industry is going through. Currently, we are growing food more than we need. But, this doesn’t mean that we are safe in future. Our population can easily shoot to 9.9 billion by 2050. To make sure that we produce enough food, we need to optimise our farming industry, and this is where IoT comes in. It is also estimated that by 2050, over 2 billion smart agro-sensors will be used. This will improve agriculture by more than 2% while reducing risks and use of water by 7% per acre.
IoT can also help farmers to help deal with thousands of unforeseen circumstances such as diverse weather conditions. It can also help them understand what they are doing wrong and improve their farming practices. But, how it can be done? Let’s explore it in depth below.
1. Precision Farming
Currently, the agriculture sector has to go through a lot of risks. It can range from not knowing when the rains will happen to the lack of knowledge for identifying bad soil conditions. These uncertainties are alarming. However, IoT can change how the parameters can be controlled, all thanks to the agro-sensors. The ago-sensors can collect data which is both accurate and real-time. By doing so, the farmers can take decisions based on the collected data and minimise the risk associated with it.
2. Big Data
When we speak of agro-sensors, we also indirectly speak of big data. In the year 2014 alone, the agricultural land has access to 20 million data points. However, the number can easily jump to 4 billion data points by the year 2050. So, what does that mean for the farming sector? This means that have more information regarding the different aspects such as pest infestations, soil quality, storage, and so on. In short, the huge amount of data will open doors to better understanding how things work, and also help researchers innovate and improve the overall farming sector. That’s why you will find many IoT development companies that are already working on different solutions surrounding farming.
3. Agricultural Drones
Until now, drones have been used for surveillance, saving people’s lives during disasters and so on. Aerial drones can also be used to improve the agricultural sector. Yes, you read it right. Agricultural drones open up new opportunities for the farmers to monitor crop and other important parameters such as health assessment, planning and so on. By using drones, the farmer can save time and use it in finding new strategies to combat farming issues. Things like soil health and weather forecast can also be monitored using agricultural drones. All of this gives the farmer an eagle eye view of their farms. In short, they are pretty useful and hold the key to revolutionise farming sector.
4. Remote control
Farms are huge, and they require multiple workers to be maintained carefully. However, with the use of IoT, it will be possible for the farmers to take control of their farms remotely. There are many problems such as soil dryness, low water presence, etc. All these problems bring huge losses if not fixed early. With IoT and the smart tools, the farmers will know what needs to be done when a problem occurs. This type of technology is known as “middleware technology.” Also, the apps that are created for showing the information are always available on the mobile application.
Conclusion
IoT can change and revolutionise the farming sector. Until now, there was no way for farmers to collect data and act upon it, but with IoT, they will have an eagle eye view on their farms. All this is only possible due to the new technologies that we have. It is a combination of all of them, where IoT plays a core role. The biggest hurdle is to educate farmers about its benefits and equip them with the required tools. So, what do you think about IoT’s impact on the farming sector? Comment below and let us know.