Mohammed NaserThe use of IoT devices in agriculture is praised as the dawn of a new revolution in food production. Here is an overview of the benefits and applications.
The use of IoT (Internet of Things) devices in agriculture is predicted as something that can have a vast futuristic impact. In fact, it is even being compared to the industrial revolution that transformed the global agricultural landscape in the 19th century. The truth is that the world desperately needs such a revolution, as the human population is skyrocketing, effectively increasing consumption needs along with it. The time for manual experimentations and trial and error is becoming obsolete, and we need mechanisms that support transmission, processing, and analysis of data in vast quantities and foster innovations. This is where IoTs and smart farming practices come in for the agriculture industry. Here is a more in-depth look.
Advantages of IoT in Agriculture
The adoption rates for IoT devices in agriculture are accelerating globally. And this is only the beginning. Similar to other industries, IoT implementation in agriculture promises many advantages. Additionally, it also solves many issues that plague the industry. Let us see what these beneficial solutions are.
- Efficiency - Farmers are facing increasingly hostile environments to grow/raise their products, and there is the added pressure of increased production to keep up with the demand. With IoT aiding in their agriculture efforts, farmers get faster insights and make informed decisions. IoTs also help the automation of many labor and resource-intensive tasks.
- Agility and Growth - Real-time analysis of data can help predict and monitor weather, humidity, crop-health, etc., increasing the agility of overall processes. With farmable areas decreasing, IoT devices can also help urban greenhouses, and similar systems mimic ideal farming conditions and enable production.
- Sustainable Resource Utilization - Since IoT devices in agriculture improve efficiency, the use and wastage of precious resources like water and energy are reduced. Saving these resources also makes the overall process greener and sustainable.
Applications and Use Cases
Previously, we saw the various benefits IoTs can bring about in agriculture. Now, here is a look at the several real-world applications and use cases of the technology.
- Weather monitoring - Data collected via IoT-powered sensors in weather stations can be sent to farmers so that they can take measures accordingly. Accurate forecasting can also help farmers avoid resource and crop losses.
- Automation of Greenhouses - IoT devices in greenhouses can automatically take action depending on the data sent to them.
- Crop and Livestock Monitoring - IoT devices in agriculture can be used for crop and gauge data regarding crop and livestock health, enable temperature control, determine harvest times, disease identification and spread prevention, etc.
- Drone technology - The applications of IoT drones in agriculture range from monitoring and surveillance, soil and crop analysis, planting, spraying, locating livestock, and more.
VEXXHOST Cloud to Provide Support
IoT devices have a bright future in agriculture. The technology is still at its nascent stages and we are yet to witness the wider usage and adaptation. Enterprises using IoT devices still need to use central storage systems such as the cloud to back up and provide additional processing and storage support. At VEXXHOST, we specialize in cloud solutions. Our cloud services are based on OpenStack, making the environments free from licensing fees or vendor lockins. For many of our clients, private clouds are the preferred choice because of their highly scalable and secure nature.
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