Smart Farming: The Future

Posted by : Aaditya Aggarwal  

Smart farming is a new concept that refers to the management of farms using technologies, such as Internet of Things, robotics, drones and artificial intelligence, to increase the quantity and quality of production while optimizing the human labor required for production. The Internet of Things (IoT) has provided ways to improve almost every industry imaginable. In agriculture, IoT has not only provided solutions to often time-consuming and tedious tasks, but is also completely changing the way we think about agriculture.

Applying Modern tech to agriculture

• Monitoring and controlling crop irrigation systems via smartphone

Mobile technology is playing an important role in monitoring and controlling crop irrigation systems. With the modern technology, a farmer can control his irrigation systems from a phone or computer instead of driving to each field. Moisture sensors in the ground can communicate information about the level of moisture present at certain depths in the soil.

• Ultrasounds for livestock

Ultrasound is not only for checking on baby animals in the womb. It also can discover what quality of meat might be found in an animal before it goes to the market. The testing of DNA helps producers to identify animals with good pedigrees and other desirable qualities. This information can also help the farmer improve the quality of his herds.

• Usage of mobile technology and cameras

Some farmers and ranchers use apps like ‘Foursquare’ to keep tabs on employees. They also put up cameras around the farm. Livestock managers are wiring up their barn feedlots and pastures with cameras that send images back to the central location like an office or home computer. They can keep a closer eye on the animals when they are away or home for the night.

• Crop Sensors

Crop sensors help apply fertilizers effectively, maximizing uptake. They sense how your crop is feeling and reduce the potential leaching and runoff into groundwater. Instead of making a prescription fertilizer map for a field before you go out to apply it, crop sensors tell application equipment how much to apply in real time.

Optical sensors can see how much fertilizer a plant may need, based on the amount of light reflected on the sensor.

Final thoughts

The world population is projected to grow to around 9 billion by 2050. The challenge is to find ways and means to produce enough to feed it. The challenge of reducing acreage and food waste in production and distribution is having a big impact around the world. The increasingly important role of technology in addressing these problems is the only way to move towards a future of food safety. Technology can help save foreign currency for countries, increase productivity and lead to an improvement in the overall level of farming communities. India still has a long way to go in adopting modern agricultural practices through technology. The pace is slow and innovative efforts need to be made to educate farmers about the benefits of technology.  Technology in agriculture has the potential to make India truly "Atmanirbhar Bharat" in all respects and less dependent on external factors.