Over the last 50 years, the agriculture business has seen significant changes. Farm equipment has enabled growth by improving speed and productivity. All thanks to technological advancements that allow better practices and devices. Improved seeds, irrigation methods, fertilizers, and application for farmers have improved, allowing farmers to boost the harvests.
Why do we need better means for farming?
- To accomplish the productivity jump, considerably more advanced digital technologies are now required. However, some means are currently here to aid farmers. But there is a call to utilize resources more effectively and sustainably. These new technologies can enhance decision-making by enabling better risk & variability management, allowing optimized yields and improved economics.
Agriculture is now moving towards a massive transformation, with digitalization, the internet, and application for farmers at its core. AI, sensors, and other technologies have significant potential to boost yields and enhance efficiency and sustainability.
- One of the oldest businesses must embrace a digital, connectivity-fueled revolution to cope with rising demand and a slew of disruptive forces. None of this is possible without solid connectivity and infrastructure. If the agricultural connection is effectively implemented, the industry may add billions of dollars to the global gross domestic product.
Researches and estimates also suggest that It’s one of just seven industries that (because of enhanced connectivity) will add trillions of dollars to global GDP over the next decade.
- Food demand is also increasing, but the land and farming supplies are becoming scarce. By 2050, the world’s population is expected to reach 9.7 billion people, necessitating a 70 percent increase in accessible calories, even as the cost of the means to production rises.
- Water supplies are expected to fall 40 percent short. Around a fourth of arable land has been damaged and requires substantial rehabilitation before it can be used to grow crops on an extensive basis again.
These are a few critical reasons that call for a sturdy action with innovative means like smart and accessible applications for farmers. There are further increasing environmental & cultural obligations for more ethical and ecologically balanced farm practices.
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There is a demand for higher standards for farm animal welfare, reduced use of chemicals, social pressures, such as the economic impact of catastrophic weather events. However, the sector faces two significant challenges:
- Some areas lack the essential connection infrastructure, necessitating its construction.
- Farms have been hesitant to adopt digital technologies and applications for farmers’ areas where connectivity infrastructure is already in place, owing to a lack of evidence of their effectiveness.
Agriculture is expected to encompass a technological revolution empowered by connectivity. It will further confront the pressure to improve the opportunities. Agriculture, on the other hand, is less digitized than many other industries throughout the world.
Most previous advancements were mechanical, such as more powerful and efficient machinery, and genetic, such as more productive seed and fertilizers.
The issues and bottleneck:
- Agriculture suffers in five areas majorly affected by the COVID-19 crisis: efficiency, resilience, digitalization, agility, and sustainability.
- Margin pressure has increased due to lower sales volumes, compounding the need for farmers to cut expenses even further.
- The necessity of having more local providers, which might enhance the resilience of global supply chains, has been emphasized by gridlocked global supply networks.
- The significant reliance on physical labor has exacerbated the worldwide pandemic’s impact on farms with limited mobility.
- Meaningful environmental gains are also expected to fuel a desire for more sustainable practices.
- Many farmers have begun to examine data on critical elements such as soil, crops, animals, and weather in recent years. However, few, if any, have had access to modern digital technologies that may aid in the transformation of these data into useful, actionable information.
- Almost all farmwork in less-developed areas is done by hand, with no modern connection or equipment.
In many situations, current technologies and applications for farmers operating on 3G and 4G cellular networks are adequate to support more straightforward use cases, such as improved crop and livestock monitoring.
Notably, the hardware costs were high in the past, so the integration of IoT in farming could not hold up for long.
The price of devices and hardware is constantly decreasing nowadays, and numerous companies have already provided economical solutions.
In summary, the crisis has highlighted the importance of extensive digitization and automation, while rapidly altering demand and sales channels have highlighted the importance of quick response. If the farmers take the right help at the right time, there is much room for improvement.
