| | DECEMBER 20209Consultants Reviewwhile improving the shelf life of produce. All this can be done with minimal human intervention. Sensors can generate alerts as and when the environment de-teriorates avoiding rotting or infestation by rodents or pathogens. IoT Sensors can also be mounted on farm animals. Farmers can use this data to check on the health and well-being of livestock, as well as the ambient environment. It could notify a farmer that an animal is sick, thereby preventing the spread of disease. Controllers can manage autonomous or self-driving tractors from a remote loca-tion thereby providing significant cost and time savings.A piece of land that offers a good harvest rep-resents a good balance of various elements includ-ing some I have mentioned above. IoT comes handy in keeping all these elements at an optimal lev-el so as to ensure the best functional synergy and environment friendly output. Beyond Fields Agricultural produce is quite vulnerable dur-ing transit. Here again, sensors and micro-envi-ronments can ensure safe transport and prevent any wastage. IoT enabled smart farming is good for the environment too. In addition to reducing wastage of organic nutrients and water, sensors can also warn farmers about any pest infestation of their fields well in advance so that micro and localized measures can be adopted to contain the infesta-tion with minimal environmental impact. A country like Israel which is a major exporter of agro-tech remain a huge champion of IoT. Agritech IoT in Israel is a multi-billion dollar opportunity for local start-ups and the government and the private sector have been encour-aging innovation using IoT.A study conducted in the United States found that following use of IoT on the average farm, crop yield in-creased by 1.75 percent, energy costs dropped $7-13 per acre, while water use for irrigation fell by eight percent. In India also we have seen some innovative projects take off. Most of these projects are in areas which are immedi-ate pain points for Indian farmers. Like there is one IoT project directed towards managing pumpsets to prevent wastage of water. India just needs to focus a bit more. We have the re-sources and wherewithal to achieve food security. We need to bring in more focus and tie-in an enabling eco-system to deliver results. This can be backed by a bit of creative thinking and tech application. With a little more imagination, we can do a lot more. Sensors that offer information on soil nutrient status, pest infestation, moisture conditions which can be used to improve crop yields over time
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