More than 60% of the world’s population depends on agriculture for their survival and as time passes by, this number is bound to rise exponentially. As countries develop, the share of population involved in farming declines while the number of people that need to be fed grow. This puts us in a situation where comparatively larger amount of food needs to be grown by a relatively smaller group of people. In such a case, it becomes all the more important to take advantage of technology which has the potential to not only increase food production but can also help in eliminating uncertainties in the field of agriculture.
The use of modern technology in agriculture, also called AgriTech, comes with at least the following benefits:
- IoT-based soil and crop sensors: Smart sensors are being used that can read everything from plant health and water needs in the crops to nitrogen levels in the soil. It also helps to measure field moisture and temperature to better understand the conditions at which seeds should be planted.
- Unmanned aerial systems: By operating a small aerial drone over fields, farmers can receive detailed pictures of their crops. From images, or a live video, they can see exactly what parts of their fields are struggling with plant diseases, insects or lack of water.
- AI powered farm management systems: Precision farming systems use AI technology to detect diseases in plants and assist farmers in generating more bountiful yields by determining crop choices, the best hybrid seed choices and resource utilization.
- Real time tracking and monitoring: Mobile technology is playing an important role in monitoring and controlling crop irrigation systems. With this modern setup, a farmer can control devices deployed in their fields from a phone or computer instead of driving to each one of them.
For centuries, farmers have been toiling in the fields and relying on intuition as well as traditional wisdom to make the most of a bad situation. Shifting market trends and changing climate has only made things worse. However, if modern techniques are applied widely in the near future, millions of farmers are sure to feel empowered to feed the ever-growing population.