Smart Agriculture: Advantages and Disadvantages

This page explores the pros and cons of smart agriculture, outlining its benefits and drawbacks.

What is Smart Agriculture?

Introduction:

The agriculture sector is vital for fulfilling a nation’s food demands. Smart agriculture, also known as smart farming, leverages sensors and cutting-edge technologies like IoT and cellular connectivity.

• Sensors play a crucial role in mapping fields, providing insights into their micro-scale variations. This allows for optimized resource management, such as water and fertilizer conservation.
• By mapping crop yields, farmers can precisely monitor and apply fertilizer and weed treatments only where needed.
• The advent of GPS for civilian use marked a turning point in the development of smart agriculture.
• Smart agriculture relies on IoT and cellular wireless technologies for remote connectivity and control.

Figure 1: Smart Agriculture Farming using Sensors

As illustrated in Figure 1, sensors are deployed for various applications, with monitoring and control facilitated through mobile phone apps. These sensors measure parameters like air and soil temperature, humidity, solar radiation, wind speed and direction, rainfall, atmospheric pressure, leaf wetness, and fruit or trunk diameter.

Benefits or Advantages of Smart Agriculture

Here are the key benefits of smart agriculture:

• Optimized Resource Utilization: Smart agriculture allows farmers to maximize yields while minimizing the use of essential resources like water, fertilizers, and seeds.
• Cost-Effective Solutions: Solar-powered and mobile-operated pumps contribute to electricity cost savings.
• Enhanced Data Collection and Monitoring: The use of drones and robots significantly improves data collection processes and facilitates wireless monitoring and control.
• Economic Efficiency: Smart agriculture presents a cost-effective approach to farming.
• High-Quality Crop Production: Ultimately, smart agriculture contributes to the production of high-quality crops.

Drawbacks or Disadvantages of Smart Agriculture

Here are the main challenges associated with smart agriculture:

• Internet Dependency: Continuous internet availability is crucial for smart agriculture to function effectively. However, many rural areas in developing countries lack reliable internet infrastructure, and connection speeds can be slow.
• Technological Proficiency: Operating smart farming equipment requires farmers to understand and learn how to use the technology. This poses a significant challenge to the widespread adoption of smart agriculture, especially in areas with lower levels of technological literacy.