SMART AGRICULTURE

 SMART AGRICULTURE IS FUTURE

The use of technologies like the Internet of Things, Sensors, Artificial Intelligence etc. to increase productivity with less usage of chemicals besides preserving the quality of soil and environment.

INTRODUCTION

• Agriculture and its allied sectors have always played a vital role in the economic development process of India. According to the latest census(2011) data around 68.8 per cent of the country's population resides in rural areas and more than 50% population of the country depends on agriculture and its allied sectors for its livelihood.

• Presently Agriculture contributes nearly 20% in GDP of the country which was nearly 54% at the time of Independence.

NEED FOR SMART AGRICULTURE

Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO) has estimated that the world's population would reach 9.73 billion by 2050 and the increase will continue till it reaches 11.2 billion by 2100.

• As the population is increasing so is the food demand which is putting huge pressure on agriculture to meet the requirement that leads to excess use of fertilizers, pesticides etc for greater productivity which ultimately causes land degradation, soil infertility, lowering of water tables etc.

• Climate change is adding fuel to the problem related to agriculture e.g Occurrence of frequent droughts, Floods, Irregular monsoons etc. forcing farmers to use unsustainable practices.

WHAT IS SMART AGRICULTURE

• It can be defined as the use of technologies like the Internet of Things, Sensors, Artificial Intelligence etc. to increase productivity with less usage of chemicals besides preserving the quality of soil and environment.

TECHNOLOGY FOR SMART AGRICULTURE

• Sensors can be used for the precise application of inputs with minimal losses and misuse.

• Data Analytics for decision making and prediction.

• Satellites help in gathering data round the clock and collected data sent to the IT system for analysis.

• Telecommunication technologies like high-speed internet and GPS are key to smart agriculture.

APPLICATION OF TECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURE

a)Robotics- Labour shortage can be easily solved with the use of robots which can perform multiple tasks like harvesting, seedling, irrigation etc with greater efficiency and in a sustainable way.

b)Drones- They are useful in monitoring crop health, soil analysis, crop spraying etc. Drones fitted with a 3D camera and thermal sensors can monitor plant diseases, canopy cover mapping nitrogen measurement etc.

c)Smart Decision Support Systems(SDSS)- It helps in proper decision-making in the fertilisation process, irrigation management etc. which decreases wastage of water and increases crop yield and quality.

d)Monitoring and Risk Management- Bangalore-based agritech startup Yuktix Technologies has developed a handy digital tool to help farmers to implement best practices to reduce losses. Their solar-powered weather stations provide real-time weather conditions anytime from anywhere.

e)E-NAM- National Agriculture Market is an electronic trading platform which connects buyers and sellers aiding farmers in getting better price discovery and greater marketing options.

f)Animal husbandry management- Animal husbandry has a crucial role in agriculture and the lives of farmers so monitoring of cows in dairies, poultry farms etc with sensors-enabled technology can help in the early detection of diseases.

CHALLENGES IN TECHNOLOGY USAGE

Precision agriculture aka Smart Farming presents some challenges to farmers and technology-developing industries which needs to be addressed. Some of them are:

a)Internet connectivity- Smart farming hugely depends on high-speed internet connectivity and our villages lack good connectivity and access to the internet.

b)Managing Data volumes- Even a small farm generates a huge amount of data in smart agriculture. Managing this data for maximum benefit with systematic analysis is a major challenge.

c)Learning Challenge- As India has a poor literacy rate in villages and learning technology and implementing it on the farm can be difficult for farmers.

d)Energy requirement- Uninterrupted and continuous power supply is necessary for data collection centres and IoT-based sensors. A developing country like India faces long power cuts in villages, which diminishes the prospects of technology adoption.

e)Others- One of the main challenges associated with smart agriculture in India is small landholdings, fragmented farms and heterogeneous topography like hilly, forests and fields with dense tree planting.

WAY FORWARD

Smart Farming is a need of the hour and its scenario is very promising in India. However, for its faster adoption, the innovation must be focused on low-cost technology, easy and simple driven portable tools, timely grievance redressal etc.

-RAGHU NANDAN SINGH.

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