The IoT can transform agriculture

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Using IoT technologies can push the efficiency of farming to new levels as the food demands of a growing global population puts increasing pressure on agriculture around the world.

According to a report by Business Insider published at the end of last year, the world will need to produce 70% more food in 2050 than it did in 2006 in order to feed the earth’s growing population, based on numbers produced by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

André Strauss, director of partnerships at IoT.nxt, highlights five key areas where the use of IoT technology can improve efficiencies and reduce costs:

Digitisation of the value and supply chains allows for produce to be tracked and traced from source to retail shelf, delivering quality control and the ability to identify problem areas at production source.

By connecting all legacy machinery warehousing/packaging plants can be more productive and efficient. Farm managers can, for instance, assess how many packers, machines and delivery trucks will be required on any given day.

Energy management, a significant cost at large scale farming operations. Use of power, management of irrigation, pumps, dam levels, water required at production plants are all aspects of energy use that can be managed in real time and changed seamlessly for exceptional cost savings and improved efficiency.

Tracking of livestock which, amongst other things, will allow for management of health of livestock.

Management of fuel, another variable cost that has a direct impact on the cash flow of any farm. Using a digitised, connected management system allows for exact planning of fuel supply required for times of peak and reduced levels of activity.

BI Intelligence, Business Insider’s research service, predicts that IoT device installations in the agriculture world will increase from 30 million in 2015 to 75 million in 2020, for a compound annual growth rate of 20%.

According to the BI report the value of using IoT smart agriculture is evident in numbers available for the current leader of using IoT in farming, the United States, where 7 340 kg of cereal (e.g. wheat, rice, maize, barley, etc.) is produced per hectare of farmland, compared to the global average of 3 851 kg per hectare.

For more information contact Daleen van Wyk, IoT.nxt, +27 (0)83 302 0827, [email protected], www.iotnxt.com

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