Importance of Technology in Agriculture

Mechanisation of Agriculture

Manual labour and hand tools used in agriculture have limitations in energy and output, specifically in tropical environments. Resistance to agricultural mechanisation, especially among smallholder farmers due to accessibility, cost, and maintenance issues, is detrimental. To reduce manual labour and accelerate processes, combine harvesters find greater use. With small landholdings, the need is to collaborate with others to leverage modern machines. Farmers' building capacity through hand-holding, making modern machines available to small farms, and handling affordability issues through policy will lead to greater mechanisation service adoption. Agricultural mechanisation has the potential to both directly and indirectly impact yields through a reduction in post-harvest losses and an increase in harvest gains.

Weather Prediction Through Artificial Intelligence

Optimising artificial intelligence (AI) in agriculture is gaining major importance. Modern AI-powered devices and tools enable data gathering and assist in precision farming and informed decision-making. Drones, remote sensors, and satellites amass real-time data on weather patterns in and around the fields, offering farmers information on rainfall, temperature, soil, humidity, etc. AI-based technologies will positively bring precision to large-scale farming and lead to an extensive productivity rise.

Biotechnology to Develop Resilient Crops

Biotechnology spinoffs in agriculture result in all-around benefits for farmers and end consumers. Although some approaches have led to resistance to adopting biotechnology, the agriculture future depends on safe biotechnology in the changing climate and increasing population scenario.

Agriculture Sensors

Communications technology has evolved rapidly, making smart farming a possibility. Sensors are used in agriculture to provide data to farmers to monitor and optimise crops, given the environmental conditions and challenges. These sensors are wireless connectivity-based and find application in different areas such as determining soil composition and moisture content, nutrient detection, location for precision, airflow, etc. Sensors assist farmers by saving on pesticides and labour and providing efficient fertiliser application. Moreover, they maximise yields using minimal natural resources.

Big Data to Improve Farm Yields and Supply Chain Management

The collection and compilation of data, as well as its subsequent processing to leverage decision-making or problem-solving, is expanding the way big data works. Big data plays a significant role in smart farming and benefits the entire supply chain and the markets. It is important to understand agriculture's expansion and its dependence on many variables.

This, in turn, results in the greater collection and more complex data usage, which has to be meaningfully managed and interpreted. Data is also delivered from external sources such as social media, supplier networks, markets, or sensor or apparatus data from the fields. Agriculture transformation using big data affects crop yield, supply chain management, yield prediction, etc.