The oldest industry in the history of mankind, agriculture has gone through numerous technological changes and developments through the years. During the 19^th and 20^th centuries, the industrial revolutions replaced horse-drawn plows and handheld tools with chemical fertilizers and gasoline engines.

And in this new millennium, the agricultural industry is witnessing another significant change with the introduction of smartfarming.

What is Smartfarming?

Smartfarming is an up and coming concept that pertains to managing farms with the use of modern technologies on information and communication to improve the quality and quantity of products and optimize the required human labor at the same time.

Some of the technologies that contemporary farmers can use include the following:

1. Software – These include specialized software solutions targeting specific types of farms or using case-agnostic Internet of Things platforms.
2. Sensors – temperature management, humidity, water, light, soil
3. Location – satellite, GPS, and others
4. Connectivity – LoRa, cellular, and others
5. Data analytics – data pipelines for the downstream solutions, standalone analytics solutions, and others
6. Robotics – processing facilities, autonomous tractors, and others

With the use of these tools, modern farmers will be able to keep an eye on field conditions with no need for them to personally go to the field. They can also make strategic and wise decisions for one plant or for the entire farm.

IoT is the key driving force behind smartfarming as it connects smart sensors and machines integrated on farms to help make the processes of farming data-enabled and data-driven.

Smartfarming and Its Benefits

As farming becomes more intelligent and connected, precision agriculture can help lower the costs and enhance the quantity and quality of products, agriculture’s general sustainability, as well as the overall consumer experience.

The improved control over production can result to better waste reduction and cost management. For example, the ability to monitor anomalies in the health of livestock or growth of crops can help reduce the risks of losing yields. Automation can also help boost efficiency. Through the use of smart devices, it is possible to activate multiple processes simultaneously. Meanwhile, automated services can increase the volume and quality of products through better control of processes of production.

Smartfarming systems also allow careful management of forecast of demands and delivery of the goods to the market right in time to lower wastes. The focus of precision agriculture is to manage the land supply and according to its condition, concentrate on the suitable growing parameters such as material content, fertilizer, or moisture to offer production  for the in demand crop.

The specific types of systems implemented for precision farming is dependent on the usage of software for business management. Control systems can manage input of sensors, deliver remote data for decision and supply support aside on top of automation of equipment and machines to respond to production support and emerging problems.

Smartfarming is expected to lay the groundwork for a new revolution in the agricultural industry with the hope of making production processes better to benefit not only the farmers but more importantly, the consumers.