Smart agriculture is a fairly new term and the majority of farmers are not familiar with what exactly stands behind it. In this post we will shed light onto the concept of smart agriculture and why it is the future of farming. Next posts on our blog will dive deeper into the benefits of using smart agriculture for your farms.
The term smart agriculture refers to the usage of technologies like Internet of Things, sensors, location systems, robots and artificial intelligence on your farm. The ultimate goal is increasing the quality and quantity of the crops while optimizing the human labor used.
Example technologies used in smart agriculture are:
- Precision irrigation and precise plant nutrition
- Climate management and control in greenhouses
- Sensors – for the soil, water, light, moisture, for temperature management
- Software platforms
- Location systems – GPS, satellite, etc
- Communication systems – based on mobile connection, LoraWan, etc
- Robots
- Analytics and optimization platforms
The connection between all these technologies is the Internet of Things – this is a mechanism for connectivity between sensors and machines, resulting in a complex system that manages your farm based on data received. Thanks to this system, farmers can monitor the processes on their farms and take strategic decisions remotely – from their tablet, phone or other mobile device – without being on the open fields, in their greenhouse, orchard, vineyard, etc.
What are the processes taking place on a farm using smart agriculture?
- Data collection
The sensors installed at all critical places in the farm gather and transmit data about the soil, air, etc - Diagnostics
The data collected is analyzed by the system and conclusions are made regarding the status of the object or process monitored. Potential problems get identified. - Decision making
Based on the problems identified in the previous steps, the software platform and/or a human managing the platform decides on actions that need to be taken. - Actions
The actions identified in the previous step are performed. A new measurement on the soil, air, moisture, etc is performed by the sensors and the whole cycle starts again.
The result from this automated smart farming process is – high precision and 24/7 control, eventually leading to considerable savings in all key resources used – water, energy, fertilizers, time spent by strategic people, time spent by lower-qualification human resources.
Customers using ONDO Smart agriculture solution on their farms can save up to 85% in water consumed and up to 50% in energy consumed. They also report up to 40% increase in crop yield, while reducing the cost of fertilization and chemical treatment, and up to 60% less losses resulting from human error.
Case Studies
See other examples of how ONDO can help you
Orchard garden “ARSI Fruit” growing apples
6 ha orchard garden
Parvomay, Petrich region, Bulgaria
Greenhouses “Nikol Agro” growing tomatoes and lettuce
0.45 ha greenhouses
Kresna, Blagoevgrad region, Bulgaria
Greenhouses ‘Versol’ for bio vegetables
0.35 ha greenhouses
Lik, Mezdra region Bulgaria
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