We all know the fact that the global population is growing, and so its food demands. The limited agricultural land can not produce sufficient yield with traditional farming practices. In need of multiplying agricultural productivity, various successful revolutionary experiments were carried out previously. One of these experiments has started recently: the introduction of modern technology and new ideas in agriculture. Among different new concepts, smart agriculture is widely accepted as it helps farmers in making smart decisions in available resources, information and the marketplace. It uses technology to collect, share, store, analyse and transfer data from fields without human interference.
Smarter agriculture solutions are still evolving. Different technologies are integrated to design farm solutions allowing multiple activities. Recently, the Internet of Things (IoT) was introduced to smarter agriculture solutions. It has opened a new paradigm of managing agricultural land, produces and animals more efficiently and effectively. IoT-enabled agriculture solutions are connecting physical objects with the digital environment. Sophisticated sensors, data analytics, Information & Communication Technology (ICT), and mobile applications are fundamental parts of IoT in agriculture.
IoT in agriculture develops ‘things’-oriented sensor network systems with high intelligence, integration, security, energy independence and connectivity. Combined with cloud computing and big data analytics, it offers
Sensing hardware platforms in more ingenious agriculture solutions
Energy harvesting sensor systems
The edge-based smart sensor system
The energy-efficient network-based analysis system
Security for sensing hardware deployable in the field
Modern image processing applications and techniques in more intelligent agriculture solutions
IoT based sensor applications
Low energy wireless connectivity solutions
Emerging sensing methods with IoT in agriculture
Multimodal sensor integration in smarter agriculture solutions
IoT is the future of intelligent agriculture as it helps to provide meaningful data for farmers, big enterprises and all stakeholders in the agriculture value chain. It helps in reducing agricultural waste in fields, supply chains and marketplaces. IoT in agriculture helps bridge the supply-demand gap by ensuring high yields, environment protection, and profitability. The BI Intelligence survey estimates that the adoption of IoT in the agriculture industry will triple by 2025 from 2020 and reach 15.5 billion United States Dollars (USD).
Emerging smarter agriculture solutions, ranging from calculating the quantity of fertiliser to deciding the right time for each activity in the agriculture life cycle, are based on IoT technologies. It enables the efficient use of resources like water, chemicals, and electricity. IoT-enabled innovative agriculture solutions will slowly but definitely reshape modern agriculture to provide the world sustainable agriculture industry in the coming years.