What is the role of the Internet of Things in agriculture?

Agriculture is the main source of food around the world. It not only provides food and raw materials for many industries, but also greatly promotes the GDP growth and economic growth of all countries. In addition, it is a major source of income in many countries.

With the development of urbanization, changes in weather and the increase in population, the agricultural sector is facing many challenges. There is an urgent need to increase the output per unit area. Due to the uncontrolled use of resources, fertilizers and pesticides, traditional farming methods have led to the degradation of farmland.

Smart agriculture is increasingly becoming an important measure to increase output and optimize resource utilization. Smart farming is also very important for the increase in the organic farming and variety of fruits, vegetables or grains that consumers need.

Smart farming is not only important for crops, but also important for livestock. Technology can help increase livestock production, improve their health, and avoid the outbreak or spread of any disease.

The Agricultural Internet of Things (IoT) consists of sensors, processing, connectivity, gateways and cloud solutions that are optimized for work based on specific use cases.

The role of the Internet of Things in agricultural use cases

Crop monitoring

In order to obtain maximum crop productivity, the humidity and temperature of the soil and environment need to be monitored. It is important to monitor not only absolute humidity and temperature, but also changes over short and long periods of time. This data can be correlated with the ideal condition of the crop. This monitoring also helps determine when and how much pesticides and fertilizers need to be used in order to minimize their use.

Greenhouse

With the growing demand for various fruits and vegetables, it becomes very important to create ideal conditions for the growth and luxuriance of certain types of plants. Greenhouses supporting the Internet of Things can monitor environmental conditions and make adjustments to avoid any deviations.

Plant growth lamp of horticulture

Remote irrigation

Remote irrigation is the next step in monitoring, which involves irrigation control based on soil and ambient temperature and humidity. Irrigation systems that support the Internet of Things can not only save water, but also ensure that the crops are provided with an appropriate amount of water. In irrigation that supports the Internet of Things, the need to irrigate is determined based on soil moisture, rather than irrigation at preset or predetermined intervals.

Livestock monitoring

On farms that support the Internet of Things, conduct health monitoring of livestock such as sheep, pigs, chickens, and cattle to determine all diseases, insemination periods, and activity levels. Install sensors that support the Internet of Things in the ears or other body parts of livestock to monitor their body temperature and activity. For livestock with abnormal temperature, isolation and medical care can be provided to prevent diseases from spreading to other livestock. The activity of livestock is not only closely related to health, but also to the quality of output. Active cows produce more milk than lazy cows.

Farms supporting the Internet of Things will also monitor the environment in which livestock are raised to ensure that they have appropriate living conditions.

Geo fence

In large farms, livestock can be allowed to stock and survive under natural conditions. Without locking the livestock, it is important to ensure their safety and ensure that they are not far from the farm. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor it with a tracker that supports GPS. The tracker includes a motion sensor to monitor its movement, and a GPS-enabled geo fence to alert the livestock when they leave the designated area.

Framework for smart agriculture supporting IoT

The typical IoT system used in agriculture includes the following modules:

• Sensors

• Signal conditioning

• Processing & Security

• Power Management

• Connectivity

• Positioning