Farming, as the oldest occupation of the country, had come a long way since the days when manual handheld tools were used to the usage of technological machinery in modern times. From manually inspecting the fields to using remote sensors to study the crops, smart farming has significantly transformed Indian agriculture.
However, agriculture in India is facing various challenges like labour shortages, increasing costs, and changing consumer demands. Nowadays, customers prefer sustainability and transparency in everything they invest in, especially food items. So, it becomes even more critical to turn to smart farming. To tackle these challenges, agri-tech companies like Leads Connect are working towards providing AI-oriented farming solutions like precision agriculture, smart irrigation, biotechnology, and automation.
Now let us explore some intelligent farming technologies that are transforming Indian agriculture:
Weather Monitoring
Climatic conditions directly affect crop growth. Minor weather fluctuations can cause crop failure, pest infestations and diseases. Some developed countries prefer indoor farming to protect their crops, but developing countries like India lack the capital to invest in indoor farming. In such situations, weather monitoring systems can help farmers plan their farming activities based on weather conditions. These hi-tech weather monitoring tools enable farmers to study the changes in soil moisture, temperature, humidity level, wind speed and direction and rainfall updates.
Remote sensors
Accurate watering is essential for crops as over or underwatering can damage them. Watering the crops manually puts crops at risk of being over or underwatered. Moreover, keeping track of every square inch of the field is also challenging. But if the farmers use remote sensors, they can monitor every part of the field. These sensors transmit information wirelessly. These sensors help create a smart watering system by capturing data on moisture and mineral levels in the soil. With the help of these sensors, you can better plan when to harvest the crops and when not.
Cloud Computing
All the smart technologies used in agriculture work collaboratively. Similarly, cloud computing is an essential aspect of smart farming as it helps assimilate the data received by remote sensors. It helps the farmers manage the production output, weather forecast and quality assurance of the crops. Different algorithms can suggest how certain changes, like the usage of herbicides or pesticides, will affect crop growth. Farmers will get an in-depth analysis and suggestions based on real-time data about water requirements, climate changes, the requirement of fertilizers etc. Precise planning and accurate usage of resources will ultimately help in sustainable agriculture, thereby cutting down on wastage.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is a technology that is being used in almost every domain. It can also contribute to improving the agriculture of India by providing real-time data about crop growth, harvesting, processing and marketing. It can also help detect and diagnose diseases that hit the crops in different seasons.
Moreover, it can also solve the country’s labour shortage issue. Farmers who use AI-based machinery like smart spraying systems, driverless tractors, smart irrigation systems and fertilization machinery won’t have to worry about hiring labourers for such tasks.
GIS Technology
This technology is used to create interactive maps in layers that helps in the visualization of complex field data and its organization. If farmers start using this modern technology in agriculture, they can monitor their crops without physically being present there. GIS Technology enables farm automation through robotics, satellite monitoring and drones.
This is an essential part of Precision Agriculture. Precision agriculture, also known as precision farming, uses information from GIS Technology about the land to help farmers use resources in the best way possible and get the most from their crops.
These are the five smart farming technologies that are transforming Indian agriculture. Companies like Leads Connect are constantly working towards introducing these technologies in Indian agriculture.
