The agriculture industry has excessively grown in recent years. It is anticipated to continue to evolve in the coming years- thanks to agricultural and marketing prospects offered by big data, advanced techniques, and the growth of the IoT under Smart farming.
Predictive analysis has evaluated that world food production will have to rise by 70% by 2050 to cater to a projected population of 9.1 billion under IoT solutions.
- As the name recommends, Smart farming leverages and applies various techniques and equipment, such as GPS, auto-guidance systems, drones, remote sensors, and geographical information systems under IoT solutions.
- And IoT capabilities to control crop production better and improve observing capabilities and farm efficiency under Smart farming. However, building a Smart agriculture system may be more challenging than just deploying a few sensors in the field under IoT solutions.
- Though several benefits are linked with precision agriculture, it also presents particular challenges to farmers and agribusiness owners that are overcome to ensure more extraordinary ability and maximum profitability under IoT solutions.
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Challenges:
Connectivity and Bandwidth problems
- As technology continues to proceed and big data and the IoT become a progressively significant part of the farm operation, having access to a solid and continuous internet connection has become a common difficulty, especially in rural locations under Smart farming.
- Most precision agriculture practices require reliable internet connectivity – 4G or higher- to work efficiently and process acquired data under IoT solutions.
- A need for good connectivity or poor network presentation and bandwidth accelerations will pose a barrier to the assumption of digital technology and slow down the rise of Smart farming and sustainable agriculture.
- Furthermore, farms with tall, dense trees and hilly terrains also face problems receiving GPS signals, making it even more challenging to execute precision agriculture techniques in such locations under IoT solutions.
Managing data magnitudes
- While data plays an imminent role in Smart farming, data management is an ongoing objection for many farmers and agribusinesses under Smart agriculture.
- It is nearly impossible to monitor or analyze those hundreds of thousands of data points daily over the growing seasons. The problem grows significantly in extensive, multi-crop farmlands with increasing seasons under IoT solutions.
- To overcome this objection is to take a Smart perspective on data processing and management under IoT solutions. It requires farmers to identify which data points to track regularly and which data can be left to be analyzed during specific seasons only under Smart farming.
- The agriculture industry is rapidly assuming big data. Still, for thriving precision agriculture to occur, farmers must acknowledge when and how to use the available data stored in their agriculture information under Smart farming.
The steep learning curve
- Precision farming comprises four stages: data acquisition, interpretation, analysis, and control under IoT solutions. To successfully position and run a Smart agriculture system, you must execute various cutting-edge techniques across these points to experience the considered benefits of Smart farming.
- For the regular farmer, however, setting up the essential IoT architecture and field observing systems in their areas can be complex and challenging under IoT solutions.
- It is necessary to note that the room for mistakes is minimal in Smart farming set-up and poor execution or management under Smart farming.
- To ensure the desired results of increased profitability, decreased environmental possibility, and better crop production, farmers must thoroughly acquaint themselves with precision agriculture and the tools involved in the system before proceeding with the deployment and other stages under IoT solutions.
- Lack of knowledge can not only cause difficulty in implementing a Smart farming system, but it will also cost you time and effort under Smart farming.
Why does Smart farming matter to farmers?
With the availability of a wide range of innovative digital technologies and tools in the market, it does not make sense to follow the traditional and obsolete practices that involve personally inspecting huge farms and managing different types of crops and food production under Smart farming.
Integrating data, automation, and Smart methodologies into agriculture helps farmers to take better care of their farms, mitigate risks, reduce costs and increase profitability under IoT solutions.
Successful adoption and implementation of precision agriculture contributes to a healthier environment, increased food availability, and keeps food costs reasonable to end consumers under Smart farming.
Below are some opportunities that farmers are presented with within a Smart farming system are:
- Monitor health in real-time and identify crop diseases before they cause damage under Smart farming
- Conserve water with accurate insights into soil conditions and weather predictions under IoT solutions
- To reduce consumption and overall costs, automate various farm operations like planning, harvesting, and spraying under Smart farming.
- Evaluate production rates accurately
- Reduce environmental footprint
- Improve livestock monitoring and management under IoT solutions