The Internet of Things (IoT) has a much-extended reach, moving the world to a new industrial revolution by automating the industrial processes. The technology’s reach has affected every industry, with farming being no exception. Today, the IoT tech promises to deliver livestock monitoring, crop growth and soil quality assessments, water use limitations, temperature control, and much more to farmers, to make it easier for them to raise crops and animals.
Apart from simplifying the task for farmers, the IoT tech is also capable of making the food that we grow more sustainable by significantly reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, minimizing the resources that we use, and maximizing the quality of food. As the world’s population reaches a whopping 9.6 billion by 2050, along with the planet’s depreciating weather conditions and climate change, which makes it harder to grow traditional crops, smart farming could be the key to meet the rising demand for global food needs.
We already know, the advantages greenhouses possess – having helped farmers to grow crops in poor weather conditions; they also act as a protection shield for plants when there are heavy gusts of wind, snow, hail, cold temperatures, and even pests and parasites. A greenhouse is basically an enclosed ecosystem, which enables the farmer to control the temperature and the amount of light, water, and nutrients that plants get.
With automated greenhouse technology, that employs the wireless tech, along with a range of sensors and control mechanisms to help farmers monitor the conditions inside their greenhouses 24/7, a smart greenhouse ecosystem can be attained.
Then there are Drones, that can watch over fields and do the heavy grunt work, giving farmers a sense of relief. They help farmers in keeping an eye on their fields and even help them in performing some farming tasks. With both aerial and earth-bound drones, farmers can monitor the health of their field crops and perform soil analysis. Apart from monitoring the progress and health of growing crops, drones can also plant new seed, irrigate fields, and spray crops when its deemed necessary.