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Farmers around the world face challenges ranging from increasing demand for food, shortages of natural resources, high labour costs and increasingly strict regulations on sustainable agriculture. To feed more than 10 billion people by 2050, the agricultural industry needs to increase its production capacity by 70% (compared to 2009), creating a need for better solutions.

At the same time, agriculture consumes 70% of freshwater globally, and 50-60% of it is wasted due to inefficient application. Digital technologies have tremendous potential to address this problem and transform the sector by improving the efficiency of farming methods, leading to better use of resources and energy.

Key digital solutions

Transforma Insights' recent report, Digital Transformation in Agriculture, identified several digital transformation solutions dedicated to the agricultural sector that can bring new performance to the sector.

Crop management

Monitoring crop, soil and plant condition via field sensors or satellite imagery by collecting and analysing data such as temperature, moisture and fertility. These solutions can reduce water consumption by 15-30%, allowing farmers to adjust their irrigation techniques based on comprehensive soil probes. They also help reduce site-specific fertiliser application, which can reduce production costs by around 15% and increase yields by 15-20%.

Automatic irrigation

Automation of irrigation activity based on data collected from crop management sensors, smart weather stations, weather reports and other environmental factors. Automated irrigation systems further increase the water savings of crop management solutions. In addition, they help reduce the need for farmers to physically visit the field to turn pumps on and off, saving time and fuel for travel.

Animal management

Use of digital transformation technologies to monitor animal health and location. Animal management solutions are deployed in various use cases including healthcare management, heat detection, calving management, feed management, weight management and more.

These technologies in animal management limit administrative labour losses, ensure early detection of diseases, thus reducing operational expenses. They also significantly reduce veterinary bills and lower insurance premiums based on cattle health.

Indoor vertical farming and smart greenhouses

The use of digital technologies in controlled environments, adapted to the needs of vegetation in a greenhouse or on indoor farms (using hydroponics or aeroponics). These use controlled environment farming technology, where all environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, CO2, light can be monitored and controlled to create the most favourable growing conditions.

These farms rely heavily on the use of artificial intelligence, IoT and robotic process automation to operate. Indoor vertical farms use 70-95% less water (using hydroponics and aeroponics) and require 90% less land than traditional farming.

Farming with drones

Using drones to improve various farming practices, including crop health assessment, irrigation, field analysis, crop spraying and planting. Benefits for farmers include less labour effort, higher productivity and more efficient use of resources. Remotely operated drones are used extensively in crop spraying applications in agriculture.

Farm automation and robots

All technologies are used to automate repetitive, labour-intensive tasks for farmers. Technology has huge potential because robots are more agile, for example, harvesting robots are ten times faster than humans. Harvesting, weeding and planting robots are still areas in development, and at the moment most companies are doing early commercial trials, with plans to expand in the coming years.

Farm management

This solution in agriculture is essential for data collection. Platforms for integrating data collected from all devices and sources to maximise productivity, farm planning and efficient operations management. The combined data generated by field sensors, drones, field equipment and satellite monitoring solutions is often decentralised due to the lack of interoperability of these centralised farm process management systems.

Product monitoring

Technologies used in post-harvest operations such as silo monitoring, grain storage monitoring, sorting and packing systems. Nearly 50% of cereals, vegetables and fruit can spoil during storage due to inadequate infrastructure, delays and uncertainties in supply and demand. Monitoring solutions can optimise storage conditions, improve storage utilisation efficiently, reduce energy consumption and lower stock handling costs.

Supply monitoring

Monitoring input resources such as fertiliser, fuel/diesel, feed (in the case of livestock) and water. These solutions optimise delivery shifts, pre-emptive storage and efficient route planning, saving fuel and labour costs. They also increase worker safety by reducing spillage and complying with environmental requirements regulated by the authorities (which can otherwise lead to heavy fines).

The digital solutions mentioned above are proving to be an innovative force that will revolutionise traditional practices by providing real-time data to farmers, based on which they can make informed choices about crop health, soil conditions, irrigation requirements and other agricultural issues. It can reasonably be concluded that evolving farming practices (together with digital technologies) hold tremendous potential and can ensure food security, increase efficiency and promote sustainable farming practices.

Source: https://www.iotforall.com/nine-key-digital-solution-areas-creating-value-in-agriculture

https://farmersreviewafrica.com/smart-farming-solutions-help-farmers-agritechnica-2023/