The agricultural industry needs urgent digitisation, today, more than ever
The industry has to overcome major obstacles when it comes to increasing prices of stock, insufficient labour, and changes in consumer preferences for transparency and sustainability.
Apart from this, when we talk about crop production, individuals solely think of the process of production of the specific crop, i.e., right from the sowing to the cultivation. However, there is a lot more to crop production than just the yearly crop cycle of three to eight months. Farmers prepare for the sowing season months before its commencement. They have to look after the soil, make sure they have the right seeds according to the current grade of soil in their farms, whether or not they have enough capital, and if there is enough market demand for the specific seed they are cultivating.
Having sufficient information and knowledge of any new seed they might be growing according to the market’s demand and getting the best price from the buyers also goes into this proliferated process. Amidst all this, they also have to be prepared for any natural crisis or phenomenon, pest attacks or crop diseases, an unexpected turn of events in financial matters, all of which could hinder the process of getting a good harvest and in turn getting decent sales along with an adequate income. Keeping all of these factors in mind, the use of a farming technology can change the entire picture of this process while making the entire cycle of crop production streamlined and more profitable.
Facilitating an agricultural technology platform, or more specifically a farming technology platform would bridge the gap between farmers and other stakeholders in this industry. A Tech-empowered agribusiness adds to the profitability of the farmers directly from giving better access to seeds, to guaranteeing support in the form of information, services, and agri-contributions during the time of cultivation, and offering direct access to a selection of business sectors, stockrooms and cold stockpiling post-reap.
Cloud computing in agriculture - Fortifying farm functions with data-driven decisions
With food demand bound to increase substantially in the next decade, it will be imperative for farmers to adopt data-driven decision making. However, changing weather conditions, growing pest infestations, infertile lands are affecting data acquisition processes and ultimately, the final crop outcomes. A need for SaaS-based agriculture has been observed that can provide precise and error-free information to adapt to these changes efficiently.
Attaining financial stability with the help of smart farm analytics capabilities
With the increasing demand for safe and quality produce, many food producers and farmers are modernising their existing operations for better productivity. SaaS-based agriculture can employ farmers with farm analytical capabilities to help them yield high-quality crops at minimal costs. The adoption of smart agriculture analytics can help agribusinesses to track costs, production yields, and profits against benchmarked values. This can guarantee remarkable cost savings and efficient farm management, enabling agribusinesses to manage the industry and cost threats better.
Precision farming strategies
Climatic conditions have a major influence on the quality and productivity of crop yields. Without exact climate expectation, harvests can be seriously harmed by devastating downpours, floods, or intense temperatures and winds. This can result in monumental losses for the farmers with a deteriorated farm management system.
Monitoring weather conditions is one of the most important applications of hardware devices in agriculture. Smart farming sensors can give ranchers basic information related to humidity, temperature, dampness precipitation, and dew identification. This can additionally help the farmers in calculating climate patterns to make the correct yield development decisions. Today, to turn out to be more efficient, farmers need to gather and assess plenty of data from different devices. Precision farming, in particular, is emerging as an effective solution for farmers to manage their farms to not only sustain food needs but also to meet scarcity challenges.
Farm GIS and data management for improved decision-making
Farm GIS allows efficient planning and analysis of a lot of geospatial information including field limits, soil data, yield information, imagery, application maps, and remotely sensed data. Satellites combined with farm GIS are utilised as an administration tool to characterise a field and accordingly permit more concentrated cultivation practices. In the view of significant advancements, farmers and industry operators are showing a duality in their approach. In addition to using technology to analyse and monitor the use of fertilisers and pesticides, remote sensing for agriculture is emerging as a major tool to ensure healthier vegetation.
Variable rate technology - An invaluable farmer’s tool
Another traditional agricultural practice that can be ended now is the blanket use of fertilisers and pesticides. The variable rate technology works in tandem in modern crop analysis to apply different rates of agrochemicals and water at each location across the field. VR fertiliser strategy and VR seeding might be a newer concept in precision farming. In contrast to the traditional broad application of nutrients and seeds in the same ratios everywhere, VR technology today gives farmers precise control and measurements for exactly what they put in every zone of their fields.
A barrage of technologies in the 1960s – the Green Revolution – raised agriculture output significantly in developing countries. Since then, a confluence of a rise in the world’s population and advances in automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been fuelling a new wave of innovation.
It is clear that advanced agricultural technologies could help farmers and different individuals from the farming production network, in horticultural planning as well as in better risk assessments. Sensors additionally play a vital function by recognising zones that need water or synthetic compounds, while tracking yield qualities during harvest.
Agriculture is a conventional industry, yet the journey for tech-empowered management and sustainability proceeds onward in an upward swing. Eminently, government endeavours have reacted to food challenges and expanded the production to an amazing level. With the advent of advanced farm management technologies and smart farming methods, governments will have an opportunity to make yet another contribution to the success of the agriculture community.
-By Santosh Shinde, COO & Co-Founder, FarmERP.
