We are at the doorsteps of the year 2023 with a world population of around 7.8
billion. Have you ever thought about how such a huge mass is going to be fed? This is an
alarming situation for the whole of humanity. This is why our scientists are thinking
of the next level of farming called SMART FARMING. Now let us understand the
basic concepts of IoT IN AGRICULTURE: SMART FARMING IN 2023
Table of Contents
What is Smart Farming
Applications of IoT in Agriculture
Benefits of IoT in Agriculture
Challenges of IoT in Agriculture
Future Scope of IoT in Agriculture
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
WHAT IS SMART FARMING IN 2023 ?
Smart Farming in a simpler term is Digital Farming. To overcome the crisis of food, technological innovations in agriculture have come into the picture. Machines have taken the place of Animals previously used in farming. But yet a large no. of manpower is still required to run and maintain the
machines. This is again a tedious task because of several reasons like limited
availability of labors, less productivity with laborers, nobody interested in farming
as other jobs of ease and highly paying to attract farming workers. Here Internet of
Things play a vital role. Like other areas of human need, IoT IN AGRICULTURE is
expected to change the future of conventional farming to purely a SMART FARMING.
It is the need of the hour to apply IoT with modern information and
communication and lead to the third green revolution.
From the late 20s, the application of mechanical innovation has come into the boom. Farmers
started using tractors, threshers on large scale. Thereafter use of sensors and
actuators came into the picture. But this system has a serious drawback. A memory
card has to be always attached to the device in which data could be stored. Now
IoT has solved this type of problem and thus data are now available in real time. Farmers can use these data like moisture, humidity, temperature from anywhere and
take appropriate action. Smart farming enables farmers to increase the yield with
decreased investment. In broad terms, we can say that the use of IoT with sensors, actuators, drones, robots in agriculture is nothing but Smart Farming.
APPLICATIONS OF IoT in AGRICULTURE
PRECISION FARMING BY REMOTE SENSING
Precision Farming or Agriculture is a crop management system that uses remote
sensing, GPS, and information system to monitor crop and weather conditions.
The sensors used in IoT devices enable the producer to take a more accurate
decision on when to irrigate the field when to add fertilizer, and when to harvest
the crop, existing and predicted climatic conditions. This results in low investment
and reduced price of the crop with high quality and quantity of yield. Let us
understand the concept in a little more depth.
REMOTE MONITORING OF CROP
Temperature, humidity, moisture in the soil, light, etc. are the major factors
affecting any crop production. All these factors can be studied and analyzed
by remote sensing devices by the producer in advance so that farmers can take
corrective action. Also farmers can detect any disease spread in the crop and prevent it to
spread further to other parts of the field crop.
WEATHER AND CLIMATE MONITORING
IoT devices display factors like temperature, precipitation, humidity. The user monitors it from anywhere. The farmers can now plan the irrigation of the crop as per the data received from IoT.
SOIL TESTING
Remote Device records the Soil Data. These include elements available
in the soil and hence It is easy to predict water requirements for the soil for cultivation.
SMART GREENHOUSES
The greenhouse has now become an inevitable need to grow vegetables, fruits, and even
crops. A greenhouse is a manually controlled environment which makes it an ideal condition for the plants grown there. The whole environment is controlled and maintained very carefully by a team of experts.
The maintenance cost incurred here becomes high as so many tools are applied to control the system.
IoT-based greenhouse, also called Smart greenhouse is the solution to this
problem. All the affecting factors are controlled by a single device without the use of
any human being. Thus the cost is drastically reduced and monitored from a remote place.
USE OF DRONE IN AGRICULTURE
The use of drones in the agriculture sector is now gaining high popularity. It is used in this
sector for crop health imaging, integrated GIS mapping, fertilizer spreading, etc. Its
involvement enhances ease of use, time-saving, and pushes to high yield.
A drone is also utilized for water pond mapping, measuring the height of plants, stockpile
measurement, weed mapping, drainage mapping, and predicting the yield
quantity. A good thing is that after completing the allotted task, done lands at the
same place as where it has started.
LIVESTOCK MONITORING
Farm Owners own a big herd of cattle in the field. To keep a close watch on the
cattle, an IoT device may be used. Data thus collected can be used to find their location
and health condition. If anyone is found sick, it can be taken to a safe place or can
be separated from the herd if the disease is communicable.
Similarly, if anyone is found pregnant, appropriate steps may be taken. This also reduces the cost since
everything is taken care of from a remote without engaging a large human power. This
system is so effective that in North America, an organization named JMB has
started giving cow monitoring solutions to cattle owners.
BENEFITS OF IoT IN AGRICULTURE
IoT-based Smart Farming is a blessing of God to the farmers when the agriculture
sector is about to perish. Let us understand its benefits in detail-
SUPPORT TO YIELD HIGH YIELD
IoT in agriculture supports to fight the prevailing challenges which the sector is
facing. It can help to get real-time data so that farmers can visualize and
analyze the actual demand. They can predict the temperature of the day, whether
irrigation is required or not, whether fertilizer is needed etc.
This saves their time and pain as well as increases the quantity and quality of the yield. Farmers have got sufficient time now to think on other issues to improve productivity further.
DATA COLLECTION
We can collect the data automatically online. No manual labor is used for data like irrigation
requirements, weather conditions, cattle health, humidity, etc. Sensors can
perform their duties accurately and timely.
OPTIMUM USE OF RESOURCES
As the data is available in real-time and the system is automated, excess use of
resources is reduced. If water is not required, water pumps can be switched OFF
immediately. This will save both time and money.
RISK REDUCTION
The risk of getting lost in the agricultural sector is much reduced with the more precise prediction of results
. This is again a great boon to our food-feeding farmers. All
the credit goes to IoT-based Smart Farming. In context to India, this is very
crucial as many farmers even commit suicide due to losses incurred in farming.
GREEN AND CLEAN FARMING.
Last but not least IoT in agriculture is green and clean farming. Apart from
Saving energy for irrigation, optimum use of water, reduced used of pesticides
and fertilizers is moving towards a clean environment and safe from health hazards.
CHALLENGES BEFORE IoT IN AGRICULTURE
IoT in Agriculture or so-called Smart Farming has made the life of farmers easier.
But in this world, where there is Pros there is Cons too. Agriculture sector using
IoT also faces problems. Some of the major challenges are briefed below-
NETWORK CONNECTIVITY
Though Smart farming is a boon for farmers, it is totally dependent on Internet
connectivity and that too should be uninterrupted. This network may be in the
form of WiFi or LiFi or GSM. Unfortunately, this sector lacks strong reliable
network connectivity.
This affects the data collected from the fields. Most of the lands don’t even cover networks where there is no scope for such farming.
The launching of 5G internet technology may solve this problem. 5G will help not only in data collection but also in remote monitoring through IoT.
ADVERSE ENVIRONMENT
In many areas, the environment is so adverse that networks cannot be established.
Stormy or snow-covered areas create problems in the proper functioning of sensors
and drones proving the IoT in agriculture totally fruitless. Companies have
shown interest and many have started designing robust sensors suitable for such
climatic conditions.
ILLITERCY RATE OF FARMERS
Farmers in many parts of the world are still illiterate who do not expose to using
sensor-based devices and read the data collected online and they remain away
from the use of this technology. This is a major setback to this new farming system.
SENSORS IN SMART FARMING
DIELECTRIC MOISTURE SENSOR
Dielectric is an electric property. This sensor measures the moisture of the soil using the property dielectric.
OPTICAL SENSORS
The sensors measuring soil property using light are optical sensors. Optical sensors are friendly enough to place on drones or any vehicles.
LOCATION SENSORS
This type of sensor can determine the exact location of any cattle or any plant in the field using GPS.
MECHANICAL SENSORS
The mechanical sensor is generally placed on vehicles or tractors and determines the soil compaction.
HIGHLIGHTS OF A SURVEY REPORT BY RESEARCH AND MARKETS ON IoT IN AGRICULTURE IN MARKET BY TECHNOLOGY, AUTOMATION (ROBOTS, DRONES AND SMART EQUIPMENTS)
- The largest IoTAg application by revenue is monitoring, which will reach $6.99 billion globally by 2026
- The fastest growing IoT solution area by revenue is automation, which will grow at a CAGR of 63.8% through 2026
- The market for smart sensor systems will reach $2.48 billion globally by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 66.0% through 2026
- The global market for agriculture drones will reach $1.12 billion by 2026 with an average price of $1,250 per unit for UAVs
- Intelligent solutions for aquaculture operations will $980 million globally by 2026, which we see as a significantly underserved market
- The implementation of combined AI and IoT solutions for agriculture will provide a substantial lift for both operational efficiency and effectiveness
FUTURE SCOPE OF IoT IN AGRICULTURE
Based upon the current rising trend of networks, it is very clear that IoT in
agriculture has a very bright future. Most of the Governments are making a good
attempt to explore the opportunities of smart farming, If we refer to the Indian
context, the world leader and Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Mody is
committed to increasing the income of farmers by two folds. The method of smart farming or so-called digital Farming shall be helpful to achieve the target.
Many NGOs are also in the race to create awareness among farmers about this new technology of agriculture. Hope that India will emerge as a global leader in Smart Farming.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
What is Smart Farming?
Smart Farming is a new concept in agriculture in which digital
information and communication are integrated to use sensors like
moisture, humidity, precipitation to take the right decision.
Why do we need Smart Farming?
Taking the right decision at right time improves the health condition of
crops. The yield of high quality and the cost is less.
How is IoT used in Agricuture?
Devices used in Smart Farming include IoT devices like sensors, Robots,
Drones for crop monitoring.
What is future of IoT in Agriculture?
The future of IoT in Agriculture is very bright. Hope that in the coming years,
IoT in agriculture, also called smart farming will double the earnings of
farmers.
What is the scope of Smart Agriculture in India?
The government of India has good support for smart farming. Engineers and agricultural scientists are committed to implementing this next-level technology so that there is an increase the crop production at a low cost.
Can IoT harm crop in anyway?
No, IoT is not harmful to crops in any way.
CONCLUSION
The agricultural technology of “Smart Farming” also called “digital farming” has a great potential to take the agriculture to next level. The use of drones and robots in agriculture makes the monitoring of crops very accurate, perfect, and real-time.
The data collected by farmers help them to analyze the situation in a better way. They can judge the
health of the crop to decide about the irrigation requirement, fertilizer requirement, pesticide requirement, etc.
When all these critical factors are handled in the best possible manner, two things happen. Firstly, the cost incurred for crop production reduces drastically. Secondly, the quantity of production gets
increased. And this leads our farmers to achieve the desired goal.