What, Why and How of Precision Agriculture
14 May, 2021
What, Why and How of Precision Agriculture
The growing concern for the environment and the imperative need to produce food in quantity and quality sustainably and respectfully with the environment places the agri-food sector in the focus of society.
Today, the farmer must face an increasingly competitive sector, with demanding requirements and demands, increasingly tight price trends and the demand to obtain higher quality food, being the application and adoption of new agricultural technologies an obligation immediate, a necessity to survive.
PRECISION FARMING
Introduction
There is evidence that we are experiencing a change of time, the agro-industrial era is not going through its best moment and what some authors call post-industrialism or the era of knowledge is beginning to move through.
There are currently profound technological changes: the development of electronics and information and communication technologies that has favored the spread of precision agriculture.
A concept linked to the management of spatial and temporal variability in agricultural production, a systemic and interdisciplinary vision.
There are national and international agricultural research institutes, centers, and private companies that have highly specialized human resources in agricultural technology but have limited capacities to disseminate these new technologies.
It is essential to train and develop knowledge through a network of universities, technological institutes and extension systems, in the specialization of professionals in new technologies.
What is precision agriculture?
In 1999, Pierce and Nowak defined it as:
"The application of technologies and principles to manage the spatial and temporal variability associated with all aspects of agricultural production, to improve the response of crops and environmental quality"
Precision farming is a term that defines agronomic management agricultural parcels based on the observation, measurement, and performance against variability inter and intra culture.
This activity makes use of tools and technologies that allow increasing the profitability of crops, as well as their quality, quantity and yield.
It favors productive efficiency considerably, carrying out an in-depth analysis of the area in question.
It requires a set of technologies made up of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), sensors and both satellite and airborne imagery, together with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to collect, estimate, analyze, evaluate and understand existing variations.
3 concepts to highlight from the definition of precision agriculture
1. Technology in permanent development
We are experiencing a modification of existing technologies and the incorporation of new ones to improve the knowledge and management of variability. These technologies demand electronic devices with different degrees of technical complexity, georeferenced information management and specific or generic software.
2. Space-time variability
It is a priority to know the causes of the Spatio-temporal variability and its magnitude, to make an accurate diagnosis and propose management strategies. Evaluate, record and monitor the management variables or modify the dimensions if necessary.
3. Efficiency and sustainability
The focus is not on obtaining the highest performance, but the best result from the efficient management of productive, economic and financial resources, so that the result is stable and sustainable over time.
The generation of goods and services must take into account the well-being and development of the people involved in production.
How does precision agriculture work?
It works as an ecosystem of multiple technologies, intending to collect useful data that allow to have a favorable production, promote it and move towards improvements that benefit agriculture at different scales.
Importance of precision agriculture
It aims to optimize the management of a plot from 3 approaches:
- Agronomic Approach: adjustment of cultivation practices to the needs of the plant.
- Environmental Approach: reduction of the impact linked to agricultural activity.
- Economic Approach: growth of competitiveness through greater efficiency of practices.
Precision agriculture in the world
The constant technological evolution allowed the development of performance monitors and sensors, and their use, together with the appearance of GPS systems, has not stopped growing globally.
Throughout the world, it develops at different rates depending on the country. Among the pioneer countries, we find, of course, the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Latin America most involved with this crop management methodology, both in the adoption rate and in the development of agro-components of high complexity is undoubtedly Argentina, a country that thanks to the efforts of the private sector and research institutions. Today, it has a large amount of surface planted under this modality and with a significant number of professionals very well trained for this new paradigm of modern agriculture.
Another Latin American country that is emerging as a great demand for this type of technology is Brazil, which is moving towards efficient production with the protection of the environment.
In Europe, the forerunners were the English, closely followed by the French. In France, this practice appeared in 1997-1998. The development of GPS and modular recreation techniques helped to establish these practices.
Precision agriculture vs. traditional agriculture
Traditional agriculture took to agricultural fields as homogeneous and input application did not include the spatial and temporal variability of production nor the analysis of the causes of this variability.
The advantages of precision agriculture over traditional agriculture are clear and overwhelming due to the possibility of using the inputs in an increasingly careful way with adequate doses and according to the requirements of the crop.
This environmental management allows the application of inputs only in the necessary areas and where the response of this intervention will have an economic benefit.
I highlight the advantage over the environmental sustainability of production, by reducing and avoiding the application of agricultural inputs and agrochemicals in particular, in areas that are not necessary or that require in lower quantities.
Clearly, there is a reduction in the impact on the environment and on energy resources.
Precision agriculture causes a metamorphosis in the work methodology, allowing small producers to be less dependent on agricultural inputs outside the farm.
Precision agriculture. Philosophy of thought
The concept of precision agriculture, in its current form, appeared in the United States in the early 1980s. The satellite Geo positioning system, used up to that time for strategic-military purposes, became generalized for civil uses and its use was extended in Agriculture.
From there, it was observed that the agronomic information collected was related in the field and was grouped spatially, showing different response patterns, which was called “spatial variability”.
Spatial variability is natural when yields express different behaviors due to soil, topography or climate characteristics. Spatial variability can also be induced by the management of the lots and is related to the history of the lots, the inputs used, or the different cultural practices.
The variability of the batches is one of the factors that can justify the application of variable rates of sowing, fertilization and spraying to obtain better results.
This possibility of knowing and managing spatial variability will depend on its being stable over time, that is, that the behavior of spatial distribution patterns is not significantly altered due to interannual environmental effects (Pierce and Nowak)
Advantages of precision agriculture
- Costs reduction.
- Reduction of the use of inputs. Pesticides and fertilizers.
- Lower environmental impact.
- Higher yields with the same level of inputs.
- Higher quality in the harvests due to a better combination of the requirements and the inputs applied.
- Producer of higher nutritional value
- Reduced fuel consumption in tractors
- Optimized farm management
For whom is precision agriculture good?
Importantly, precision agriculture serves small and large producers in equal measure.
A small producer with only one tractor and one combine can benefit from the extensive benefits of employing this technology.
How to apply precision agriculture?
The problem that many producers face is that they do not know where to start applying these new technologies. It is important to note that there is no single answer, but that it will depend on the areas of greatest demand from the agricultural producer
A farmer must recognize the importance of these techniques have and can assess the benefits achieved through the implementation thereof.
Usually, most agricultural producers start using satellite flags, mainly because they provide a quick return on investment (ROI).
Many companies provide services for precision agriculture for small to large farms. In India, Precision agriculture is yet to see any large adoption but it sure has a promising future.
