In recent years, the subject of Smart Agriculture or Argitech has emerged as a global initiative. Agritech and ecological projects have been around for a while now, to help with farming and forestry. However, IoT connectivity presents an unparalleled opportunity to revolutionize agriculture, farming, and forestry as covered in this piece. Here is how IoT connectivity in agriculture and forests is changing those industries.
The rising concern of environmental conditions
The exponential growth of industries and urbanization globally has had several consequences that can not be neglected anymore. As per United Nations’ statistics from 2019, the global population will reach 10 Billion by 2050. With the growth of the global population, a significant loss of natural resources, fertile farmland, and environmental stability is observed. Global warming, flooding, and Salinization are the cause of concern.
The challenge here may not be experienced by an individual however the outcome of environmental detriment can be as severe as food security. Such a burning challenge asks for the best possible advancements for agriculture and forestry. IoT, M2M, and next-generation agriculture machines are the inevitable part of that advancement.
IoT-enabled applications for Agriculture, Farms, and Forestry
IoT-based devices can allow farming to be smarter, automated, and insightful to achieve better results. Here are several ways agriculture machines and ecosystems can be upgraded with IoT connectivity:
- IoT/M2M SIM for connected farms
Even in such times, a lot of agriculture exercises rely on predictions and observations due to a lack of quantified insights. Through IoT, one can measure all the necessary parameters for farming including soil moisture, pH (acidity) level, temperature, humidity, and light exposure. These insights can be used to transform crop farming, forest development as well as Aquaponics.
- Precision farming with IoT
Precision farming is another result-oriented approach where the emphasis is on measured farming management. As the name suggests, here technologies like IoT and M2M are used to take precise actions for nutrition feeding. It is a proven method to increase crop yields beyond conventional methods.
- Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, popularly acclaimed as drones, are the latest trend in agriculture and forest domains. These drones can be used to watch over farms, leverage image processing with IoT connectivity, and identify the needs of different areas of massive farms within minutes. It can expedite decision-making, reduce erroneous feeding, and make farming physically easy for farmers.
- Tracking and tracing from farms to consumers
Consumers are now evolving and they demand complete knowledge of the products they receive to protect themselves from bad consumption. Farmers can leverage M2M SIM-based tracking to ensure that the products offered are clean, fresh, and without any artificial involvement. Consumers can know that the food they eat is received straight from the farms.
- Greenhouse farming
Greenhouse farming refers to a controlled environment that is favorable to grow the crops required. There are several sensors that can be used to create a favorable environment to grow a particular item. Such sensors include soil moisture, soil UV light, temperature, and other such parameters.
- Constant forestry monitoring with IoT
Forestry monitoring is critical globally as there are areas that can not be watched or examined constantly. That’s where IoT plays a role to monitor forest temperature, concentrations of gasses, as well as the occurrence of rain. To prohibit unauthorized deforestation, IoT devices can process sounds such as that chainsaws, vehicles, and natural forest sounds.
The best IoT solution for agriculture and farming
So far the major gap between agriculture, farms, and forests was the lack of traceability and measurable outputs. IoT/M2M monitoring devices address that challenge and facilitate better decision-making. Are you curious to know more? Reach out to us, and let’s have a chat!
