Feeding the world with IoT

Farmers are under pressure to improve yields and reduce wastage to feed the ever-increasing world population. But they are being asked to do so using sustainable practices, while still maintaining economically viable production methods.

Smart farming using Internet of Things (IoT) technology is seen as one way of meeting these goals. IoT is about providing the right information, at the right time, so the farmer can make the right decisions to get the best from his soils, crops and animals.

IoT in agriculture

IoT applications in agriculture can be divided into five main areas: arable (including fruit and small vegetable farming); livestock; aquaculture (fish farming); equipment monitoring and telemetry; and smart monitoring for compliance with government regulations such as nitrate directives.

For large-scale arable farming, the aim is to improve crop yields by more precise irrigation, application of fertilisers and pesticides, tillage, field preparation, planting, harvesting and storage. Precision farming also means reducing input costs for fuel, fertilisers, pesticides and labour.