IoT is the modern technology that refers to the growing network of connected objects by using AI, sensors, networking, etc. to exchange data in real-time. The emerging technology plays a vital role in agriculture. IoT helps farmers to monitor crops and soil and gives a solution accordingly which enhances production and minimises waste. IoT also helps in smart farming.
Importance of IoT In Agriculture:
The major importance of IoT in agriculture are:
Precision Agriculture
Precision agriculture is an important aspect, as IoT enables farmers to gather information on many aspects like soil moisture, temperature, and crop health. This information is essential for executing targeted interventions and optimizing resource allocation, which raises agricultural yields and lowers costs. Farmers can decrease waste and environmental damage and practice sustainable farming by effectively managing resources like water, fertilizer, and pesticides through the use of IoT in agriculture.
Increasing Farm Productivity And Lowering Losses
Increasing farm productivity and lowering losses is another aspect of IoT in agriculture. Farmers are able to proactively identify and address concerns like pest infestation, aliments, and poor growth conditions by monitoring crops and environmental factors in real-time. Farmers can avoid crop damage and ensure higher harvesting by responding quickly.
Resource Management
In regards to proper resource management, IoT helps to monitor moisture levels, weather patterns, and the health of crops in real life. The farmers can easily go through their irrigation schedule, water consumption reduction and lower their costs. Use of IoT in agriculture makes resource management easier and flexible.
Agricultural IoT: A Journey Through Time
The concept of IoT was started in the early 80’s however its popularity gained between 2010 and 2011, gaining mass market adoption since 2014. The agricultural IoT is approximately projected to grow from $11.4 billion to $18.6 billion in 2026, which represents a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.8%. Through the use of IoT in agriculture, both the economic and technical aspect of farming is changing.
Top 6 IoT Solutions For Enhancing Agriculture:
1. Use of Robotics
The robotic innovation in automation machines has helped farmers for agricultural purposes. The agricultural robots commonly known as Agribots have efficiently handled sophisticated tasks and increased demand in the market. Though it is in the starting phase, it will definitely help in solving the shortage of labour across the globe.
- Weeding Robots:
With the help of a digital image processor, these agribots can detect similarities between the crops and spray them directly with their robotic arms. The farmers who have to spread the pesticides throughout the farm can get an advantage from it.
- Harvesting Robots:
These are the agribots which use image processing and robotic arms for the delicate process of picking up fruit and vegetables and controlling the quality. These robots can operate 24/7 which will definitely solve the problem of labour shortage. New developments in AI has led to better image processing, which makes the robots more effective and efficient.
2. Use Of Drones
Drones also known as UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) play a vital role in agriculture where they enhance and optimise various activities like crop spraying, crop monitoring, soil analysis, crop monitoring and mapping. The drones having thermal or multi spectral sensor feature helps to locate the area which requires changes in irrigation.
3. Remote Sensing
Remote sensing technology provides valuable insights for decision-making in order to obtain higher crop yields in real-time. Moreover, it helps farmers in crop monitoring, which helps to prevent diseases and monitor the growth of crops. It also helps in determining the quality of soil which allows farmers to know the required water needed for irrigation and the best beneficial type of cultivation.
4. Monitoring Of Climate Conditions
The farmers are highly dependent on climate for farming. The IoT provides the best solution for farmers for the production of high-quantity and quality crops. It uses sensor technology which helps to know about the real weather conditions so that farmers can choose the correct crops that can grow in particular conditions.
5. Precision Farming
Precision farming, also known as Precision Agriculture, is the modern-day approach to smart farming. Smart farming is taking over traditional farming by making farming more precise and controlled by the proper utilization of smart applications. Furthermore, it assists farmers in analyzing the data from the sensors for smart and quick decisions. In addition to this, it inspects the soil condition on the farm and detects the real-time working conditions of connected devices to detect water and nutrient levels.
6. Cattle Monitoring And Management
The total number of animals in the farm can be monitored with IoT sensors attached to them which helps farmers to track down their health and log performance. Moreover, farmers can easily separate sick animals and collect stock for health, well-being and physical location.
Enhancing Agriculture With IoT: Advantages Unveiled
1. Collection Of Intelligent Data
The collection of numerous data via sensors helps farmers to get insights and make smart decisions. This includes information regarding weather, land conditions, livestock and crop health which helps in informed decisions & proactively addressing challenges and increasing farming efficiency.
2. Monitoring Of Animals
The total number of animals present on the farm can be easily monitored by IoT services. This helps track down animal health, even animal pregnancy, and identify which one is sick. The use of IoT in farming technology goes side by side with animal technology through proper monitoring.
3. Waste Reduction
IoT services play a vital role in reducing waste. It includes detecting abnormal and inconsistencies in crop production which helps farmers to reduce waste. Modern farms are surrounded by sensors through which fertiliser and irrigation can be done more effectively. Innovation in AI and use of IoT in agriculture has led to proper waste reduction by detecting and informing farmers about the abnormalities in the production.
4. Increased Supply Chain Management
IoT is an essential factor for increasing supply chain management. It helps to increase openness and accountability in the agricultural sector. It enhances logistic and distribution procedures. IoT has a significant impact on logistics, it is used for optimising operations and real-time tracking.
Barriers And Consideration In The Utilisation Of IoT For Agricultural Purposes:
1. Hardware
You need to choose the sensors according to the required information and the purpose of the solution to build an IoT solution for the agriculture industry. Make sure to choose the hardware which is durable and easy to maintain. For the use of IoT in agriculture, better equipments are required in order to enhance the agriculture industry.
2. Maintenance
The maintenance of your hardware is getting challenging as the sensor used in the field can be easily damaged. Therefore you need to check sensors daily and make sure the hardware is in working condition. The major barrier to the use of IoT in agriculture is the maintenance of the hardware. Since skilled manpower is required to fix the devices, the slightest error in the sensor can cause significant damage.
3. Mobility
You shall get access to the information on-site or remotely of the smart farms. The connected device will be autonomous and have enough wireless range to communicate with the other devices and send data to the central server.
4. Infrastructure
You require strong internal infrastructure in order to protect the data, if there is any negligence then people can break into your system and steal data. Weak infrastructure in IoT devices can cause more harm to agriculture.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, IoT plays an important role in various industries, especially in agriculture. It gives accurate data and automation capabilities to the farmers which helps them in smart farm management, resource management and monitoring of climate conditions. The use of IoT has changed the face of traditional farming. As technology is changing rapidly we can expect IoT to become significant and accessible in the future. Experts from CDR Engineers Australia believe that the use of IoT in agriculture can increase the use of technology among farmers and help them tackle the challenges of IoT in agriculture.
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FAQs:
1. What is IoT (Internet of Things)?
Ans: It refers to the collection of networks which are connected to each other and technology that helps to communicate with each other.
2. How Easy is it to Operate Agricultural IoT?
Ans: Though the general aim of IoT is to make farming operations simple and provide accurate data, the operation can vary according to specific technology and budget.
3. How Can I Integrate IoT for Multiple Farm Management?
Ans: You required the following steps to integrate IoT for multiple farm management.
- Assess farming needs and objectives
- Select compatible IoT devices
- Standardise data collection
- Implement a centralised IoT platform
- Connect farms to the platform
- Install IoT devices
- Data integration and analysis
- Remote monitoring and control
- Alert and notification
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