Optimization of agriculture through the use of information and communication technologies. A brief journey from traditional agriculture to precision agriculture

ufv (52)in #steemstem • 6 years ago

^{Pixabay CC0 Public Domain}

Hello, my dear friends Steemians!

It is a pleasure to share with you again. I always enjoy being in contact with this space.

When I was a child and the school vacations arrived, I really enjoyed visiting my grandparents. They lived in a town in the Venezuelan Andes called Escuque located in the Trujillo state of Venezuela.

The patio of the house was extensive where my grandfather raised animals and had small crops. A cow, a horse, a corral with pigs, a corral with chickens and a rooster that lifted us every morning with its song. Ducks, goats and a pack mule were also part of the animals he had there.

He planted bananas, corn, coffee, and vegetables for family consumption (polycultures). His knowledge of agriculture had been learned from generation to generation.

^{Traditional agriculture

Pxhere CC0 Public Domain}

My grandmother helped him pick up the coffee when it was ready. They placed it on a cement floor on the patio to dry it in the sun, then they cooked it and finally they ground it in an old manual grinder they had in the kitchen. All this process was done to be able to drink a rich cup of hot coffee in the mornings.

^{Coffee drying patio

Pxhere CC0 Public Domain}

It was a traditional agriculture, typical of those areas, which used rudimentary tools (shovel, hoe or sickle) and that only produced enough for the farmer and his family's consumption since this type of agriculture depends on the physical capacity of the sower and his workers in case he had them. The methods of work used were based on knowledge and empirical practices.

^{Agricultural implements

Author: Midir - Wikimedia Commons - CC BY-SA 4.0, 3.0, 2.5, 2.0, 1.0}

But this type of agriculture has a limited production that does not respond to the demand for food in large cities due to its low yield. It also requires permanent control and dedication by the farmer. I remember seeing my grandfather cleaning his small crops every day of weeds and pests. An exhausting job and of a lot of dedication!

To improve these disadvantages, modern agriculture is born. In this post I want to talk about this type of agriculture and its evolution towards precision agriculture through the use of new technologies that allow better management of crops increasing their quality and profitability, making them sustainable.

Sowing with Science and technologies

Modern agriculture is more complex than traditional agriculture! This uses technology and science so that the agricultural production processes generate more quantity of food with higher quality. This type of agriculture seeks to satisfy the demand or needs of the domestic and foreign markets of a country, saving resources and time.

^{Modern agriculture

Wikimedia Commons Public domain}

The use of machinery, the monitoring of crops, irrigation systems, pest control, the application of fertilizers, among other techniques, help modern agriculture to be more productive and successful.

In the video below you can see the use of large technological machines designed to improve agricultural processes by making them more efficient. I invite you to take a look!

Impacts to the environment

The practice of modern agriculture allows to guarantee farmers stable production, reducing costs and avoiding losses. However, its impact on the environment is important.

The felling and burning of the forests with the affectation of the existing ecosystems in these zones, the erosion of the soils, the contamination of the soil and waters by the excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides, the disappearance of the diversity of plants due to monocultures, among others, are some of the environmental impacts of modern agriculture.

^{Deforestation

Pixabay CC0 Creative Commons}

^{Zone cultivated with corn (monoculture)

Pixabay CC0 Creative Commons}

^{Eutrophication of a river

Wikimedia Commons CC0 Public domain}

Use of new tools for a precision agriculture or specific location

In the search for greater efficiency, control, and quality in agricultural processes, producers are using a group of technological tools that allow them to better manage their crop plots. This type of agriculture is known as Precision Agriculture and makes use of tools such as agricultural machinery with sensors, GPS, mobile applications, radars, drones, satellite images, geographic information systems, performance monitors, etc.

I suppose that my grandfather never imagined that those activities that he did to keep his Conuco productive, in the near future would be made with computers and equipment of the latest technology and with such precision.

With the use of these technologies, farmers can to have accurate information on any of the crop that allows them to make the most accurate decisions according to the needs of the planting and soil characteristics. Its objective is to manage and control an area of specific cultivation in an automated way. The information collected refers to:

Know what to produce in a certain plot.
Take samples of the soil and determine the deficiencies it presents, the nutrients it has and the type of organic material it.
Amount of irrigation that the area needs.
Know the weather forecast.
Know if the application of fertilizers is needed and in what quantities.
Keep a check on pests that can attack crops.
The most suitable cultivation technique.

This precise and localized information helps reduce costs, save fertilizers, water, and energy, producing more nutritious food and, most importantly, reducing environmental impact and making agriculture sustainable.

To better understand how precision agriculture works, I leave you with a video below, in which you can see, in a simple and fast way, how these technological tools are used for crop management.

In conclusion

Precision agriculture has become an invaluable option for farmers since it allows improving and optimizing agricultural processes by controlling crops more quickly, safely, accurately and efficiently than traditional methods and in any condition climatological.

Thanks for accompanying me with your reading in this new publication. Your time is very valuable and important to me. Have a nice day!