Technology has a vital role to play in many industries and agriculture is no exception to this. Agri industry can benefit a lot from the emerging technologies. Technology is now helping farmers in farming, providing relevant data and information, livestock farming, etc. On a futuristic approach, the land and water resources will not be sufficient for the growing population but technology will address some important concerns and help reduce water consumption and mass produce in a lesser space and thereby increase the bottomline. There are various technologies that are emerging and can be highly beneficial for agri industry. We have curated some of the existing and emerging technologies that can be used in agri:
- Mobile Technology
Mobile technology has influence in agri in more ways than one. Right from accessing information online, monitoring to evaluation, everything can done on your mobile or ipad or tablet. Even data entry is possible through phones and tabs. What used to be done with conventional pen and paper can all be digitsed. Data collection can be done through the touch of the hand and thanks to the cellular network which is now available even in the rural areas.
- Big data analytics
Smart farming is now possible mainly because of data analytics. Data analytics is largely helpful in precision-agriculture. By smart-farming we mean increase in the crop yield at a reduced cost compared to conventional farming. Farmers can get hold information like soil health, pattern of weather, pattern of crop yield based on fertilisers, and animal health in a way that they can parse easily. All these data can be highly helpful in making decisions that are logical. You can also track your water usage with the help of water sensors. This is particularly useful for drought-prone agri areas.
- Cloud computing
Cloud computing is here to stay and it is helpful in so many ways. Farmers can make use of cloud based application called SaaS (Software as a Service). These applications can help farmers to create a budget plan suitable for their needs, plan their daily operations, manage their workforce easily and efficiently. Farmers can take decisions based on the weather forecast and monitor the day’s progress. You can get all the information from anywhere at anytime as everything will be stored on cloud.
- Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
Radio Frequency Idenfication or RFID is a tracking based technology used in agriculture for security. This is especially useful for livestock farmers. Livestock can be tracked using the tracking tags especially when they are out grazing on the meadows. This provides data on a daily basis on their location, health, and keep a history of their record. RFID is also helpful in crop transportation and helps avoid counterfeiting of the most-wanted organic crops.
Conclusion:
Aforementioned are some of the important applications of technology in the agri industry. It is evident that crop yield can be increased, make things easier for farmers by tracking progress, get data on weather, process the water consumption and take necessary steps and more. Emerging technologies aim to sort the global crisis out and make food available for every last person on earth.
