Ready to boost your agricultural yields? Discover how modern agricultural technology, or AgriTech, is revolutionizing farming practices. From seed quality testing to precision agriculture, this blog explores the various ways technology is improving crop production.
To feed a growing world population, we must increase agricultural yields. By 2050, we will need to produce 60% more food to feed over 9 billion people. Climate change poses a great challenge to this goal. For example, South and Southeast Asia, home to nearly one-third of the world's population, are among the regions at highest risk of crop failures largely because of the frequency and severity of extreme weather events in the region.
But despite the challenges of climate change, new agricultural technologies offer strong promise for increasing crop yields. There is convincing evidence that turning to technology can help us achieve intensive but sustainable crop production. Modern agricultural technology (AgriTech) leverages sensors, data analysis, software applications, and others to help farmers make smarter decisions on the farm. Let's explore how that works in this article.
The quality of seeds farmers sow is directly proportional to the quality of produce that they will get. High-quality seeds are disease-free, contain the proper amount of water, so they are more likely to produce high yields.
Knowing or measuring seed qualities requires thorough seed testing and analysis, a service JIVA provides to smallholder farmers through its app. To increase agricultural yields today, farmers also need new superior seed varieties with qualities that are resistant to emerging climate conditions.
Monitoring the growth of crops is the best way to determine the care they need at each stage of development. To identify areas of stress or disease, farmers can now use drones to take aerial images of their field. They can also use soil moisture sensors to monitor the water levels in their soil, and data analytics platforms to track crop growth and predict yields.
Inadequate or excessive water can stunt plant growth and reduce crop yields. Proper irrigation is especially important in the face of El Niño, a disruptive weather pattern currently experienced in South Asia and Southeast Asian, including Indonesia and India. El Niño often leads to drought, which can make it difficult for crops to get the water they need to grow. By using irrigation and water conservation strategies, farmers can protect their crops from the effects of drought and increase their yields.
Rapidly changing climate has left historical data quite unreliable for predicting weather conditions. Smallholder farmers who want to safeguard their crops and increase their yields must rely on accurate weather predictions, which are now provided by the government, NGOs, and private companies like Jiva, through mobile app solutions. For accessibility, most of these apps provide weather forecasts in dozens of languages and feature user-friendly interfaces.
Field productivity zoning means dividing a field into different zones based on their expected levels of yields. This method has been used in various forms for generations, often involving manual assessments of factors like soil texture and historical crop yields in different areas of the field.
In modern times, however, field productivity zoning has evolved to incorporate advanced technologies that involve satellite imagery and data-driven methods. These technologies make it easier and more accurate to determine high, moderate and low productivity zones, allowing farmers to make wise decisions on crop selection, irrigation and planting density.
From the planting stage to harvest time, farmers must regularly inspect crop health to find potential pest threats. This is called regular scouting. It should be done weekly or more often during periods of high pest pressure. As information on crop growth is being recorded in each scouting, farmers can gain accurate insights on the timing and type of interventions needed to protect and maximize their yields.
Smart application of fertilizers is a modern farm practice that uses technology to optimize fertilizer use. It involves more than just applying fertilizer at the right time and in the right amount. It’s based on understanding the soil type and nutrient levels of the field and using that information to choose the right fertilizer and apply it in the most efficient way possible. Farmers can use a variety of tools to help them implement smart fertilization practices. For example, soil and crop sensors can be used to collect data to create fertilizer recommendations.
Crop protection methods are designed to directly protect crops from pests, diseases, and weeds while crop rotation methods are designed to improve soil fertility and break the pest,weed and disease cycle. Drones, satellite imagery and mobile apps are modern methods of crop protection and rotation. These technologies offer precise information on the condition of crops, plants and weather conditions.
The challenge for weed and pest management is sustainable pesticide and herbicide use as weeds and pests adapt to their environment. To address this, farmers require precise knowledge about when and how to apply pesticides. Advanced technologies such as high-resolution imaging and deep learning can be used to identify specific weed species or pests in real time and target them with precise herbicide or pesticide applications.
Experts agree that the most important step in managing a plant disease is accurate diagnosis. However, manual inspection of plants can be time-consuming and error-prone. Affordable technologies such as smartphones and machine learning can help to improve the accuracy and efficiency of plant disease diagnosis.
Soil testing helps farmers to identify the nutrient levels in their soil. This information can be used to develop a fertilization plan that ensures that crops are getting the nutrients they need to grow and produce high yields. For smallholder farmers who cannot afford soil testing tools, DNA extraction and sequencing can be a cost-effective and reliable alternative method of soil testing.
Farmers are on the front lines of climate change. They see firsthand the aftereffects of drought, flooding, and extreme temperatures on their crops. That's why it's so important for them to have access to the latest technologies to help their crops adapt to changing conditions. In this section, we will talk about precision agriculture and some important technologies that have enabled farmers to treat crops and manage fields more efficiently for a better yield.
Precision agriculture is a data-driven approach to farming operations enabled by technology such as artificial intelligence (AI), GPS tracking systems, information communication technology (ICT), and satellite imagery. This farming approach often involves putting cameras on drones and sensors on the ground to check if plants are healthy or stressed. When farmers get this info in real-time, they can apply inputs where it's needed, ensuring plants get what they require at the right time. The following tools are driving precision agricultural practices today.
Remote sensing technology uses various sensors, GPS technology, and data analysis to collect and interpret relevant information about crops without physical interaction. In response to the high cost of on-site sensors, companies are investing in smartphone sensors that are price-friendly for smallholder farmers. These smartphone-based sensors, just like the on-site ones, are used to assess crop yields by measuring factors such as plant density, biomass, temperature and humidity.
Here are a few examples of remote sensing technologies used in agriculture:
Yield monitoring sensors are used to measure the yield of crops during harvest. With this information at hand, farmers can identify areas of the field that are under or over-producing, and develop field-specific crop management systems onward.
Variable rate fertilizer application tools typically use yield data to apply fertilizer at different rates throughout the field. It’s all about applying fertilizer more precisely and efficiently.
This sensor technology is used to identify and map weeds in a field. It also targets herbicide applications to the areas where they are needed.
Remote sensing tools can create topographical maps to identify variations in field elevation and boundaries. It’s suitable for field productivity zoning.
GPS systems in farming use satellite technology to help farmers operate their equipment more precisely. Its most important function is to act as navigation aids for farmers to figure out exactly where farm machinery is, so they can avoid overlap and empty spaces when planting, spraying, or harvesting.
Data-driven farming is the use of data analytics to improve farming decisions and outcomes, such as crop yields, profits and environmental sustainability. Through various hardware like sensors, satellites and drones, farmers can receive and analyze crop, weather, and soil data. This data helps in identifying the best planting times, irrigation schedules, fertilization rates and pest or weed control methods.
Farm software apps are typically designed to be compatible with specialized farming hardware used on the field. Built with cloud-based infrastructure, they can be accessed anywhere with low or high internet connectivity. These software tools aid in various agricultural tasks such as the following;
This software app acts as a continuous monitoring mechanism for pests and diseases. For example, the Jiva's app ''Crop Doctor", powered by Vertex AI, uses computer vision to diagnose crop diseases and suggests unique remedies for problems like potassium deficiency.
With a Fertilizer Calculator app, growers can easily determine what's in their fertilizer and the right amount to use. Some apps also provide tips on fertilizing and keeping a record of fertilizer schedule.
Software apps for recording and managing soil test data can help farmers measure soil nutrient levels in the field and receive instant recommendations. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), for example, provides an online tool called the Web Soil Survey, which offers access to detailed soil maps and reports for specific locations in the US.
Apps used for water management in agriculture are often connected to IoT sensors that are installed in the soil. They are designed to work in rural areas where there is little or no access to an internet connection, thanks to cloud connectivity.
Fruit, vegetable, and grain growers can now leverage software apps to monitor factors such as soil moisture, weather conditions and crop maturity. Tracking these can enable them to optimize harvest timing for maximum yield and quality.
Mobile phones, radio, and the internet are providing farmers with accurate information on crop growth. They connect them with buyers and suppliers directly, and enable them to save money, access credit, and send and receive payments more easily. For example, farmers using the Jiva app's advisory services have seen their yield and input costs decrease by nearly 20%. This app also provides them with a reliable channel to seek the best market price in the local markets and receive daily updates for their produce.
Telematics involves sending information remotely over long distances. It’s a system that extends the functionalities of moving farming equipment to include advanced monitoring and control capabilities. Telematics enables real-time data transmission from farming equipment to a central control center or mobile devices.
Genetic engineering is a type of biotechnology that involves the direct manipulation of an organism's gene. These scientific processes are mostly done to increase yields, build natural resistance to certain diseases or climate change, and improve the nutritional value of food. As we speak, Indonesia is actively exploring the potential of genetically modifying wheat for increased yields.
Hydroponics involves growing plants in a nutrient-rich solution without the use of soil, while vertical farming involves growing plants in stacked layers. With controlled environments powered by technologies such as LED lighting and HVAC systems, these hydroponic and vertical farming methods can be used to grow crops year-round. Today farmers in arid regions are using hydroponics to grow crops without using large amounts of water, while farmers in urban areas are leveraging vertical farming to grow crops near soaring urban consumers.
Technology plays a significant role in driving agricultural productivity and meeting global food demands. Several pieces of evidence show that it can be used to improve crop yields, reduce waste, and make farming more efficient and sustainable, anywhere in the world.
But this cannot happen without the Five A's of Technology Access. The "Five A's" (availability, affordability, awareness, ability, and agency) are essential for ensuring that all farmers have the opportunity to benefit from these technologies. Smallholder farmers, wherever they are, should not be left out. In India and Indonesia’s rural areas, JIVA is removing the barriers to technology adoption for smallholder farmers through the JIVA app. This app provides them with access to affordable financing, high-quality inputs, fair markets, and free agronomy advisory services.
November 22, 2023
To feed a growing world population, we must increase agricultural yields. By 2050, we will need to produce 60% more food to feed over 9 billion people. Climate change poses a great challenge to this goal. For example, South and Southeast Asia, home to nearly one-third of the world's population, are among the regions at highest risk of crop failures largely because of the frequency and severity of extreme weather events in the region.
But despite the challenges of climate change, new agricultural technologies offer strong promise for increasing crop yields. There is convincing evidence that turning to technology can help us achieve intensive but sustainable crop production. Modern agricultural technology (AgriTech) leverages sensors, data analysis, software applications, and others to help farmers make smarter decisions on the farm. Let's explore how that works in this article.
The quality of seeds farmers sow is directly proportional to the quality of produce that they will get. High-quality seeds are disease-free, contain the proper amount of water, so they are more likely to produce high yields.
Knowing or measuring seed qualities requires thorough seed testing and analysis, a service JIVA provides to smallholder farmers through its app. To increase agricultural yields today, farmers also need new superior seed varieties with qualities that are resistant to emerging climate conditions.
Monitoring the growth of crops is the best way to determine the care they need at each stage of development. To identify areas of stress or disease, farmers can now use drones to take aerial images of their field. They can also use soil moisture sensors to monitor the water levels in their soil, and data analytics platforms to track crop growth and predict yields.
Inadequate or excessive water can stunt plant growth and reduce crop yields. Proper irrigation is especially important in the face of El Niño, a disruptive weather pattern currently experienced in South Asia and Southeast Asian, including Indonesia and India. El Niño often leads to drought, which can make it difficult for crops to get the water they need to grow. By using irrigation and water conservation strategies, farmers can protect their crops from the effects of drought and increase their yields.
Rapidly changing climate has left historical data quite unreliable for predicting weather conditions. Smallholder farmers who want to safeguard their crops and increase their yields must rely on accurate weather predictions, which are now provided by the government, NGOs, and private companies like Jiva, through mobile app solutions. For accessibility, most of these apps provide weather forecasts in dozens of languages and feature user-friendly interfaces.
Field productivity zoning means dividing a field into different zones based on their expected levels of yields. This method has been used in various forms for generations, often involving manual assessments of factors like soil texture and historical crop yields in different areas of the field.
In modern times, however, field productivity zoning has evolved to incorporate advanced technologies that involve satellite imagery and data-driven methods. These technologies make it easier and more accurate to determine high, moderate and low productivity zones, allowing farmers to make wise decisions on crop selection, irrigation and planting density.
From the planting stage to harvest time, farmers must regularly inspect crop health to find potential pest threats. This is called regular scouting. It should be done weekly or more often during periods of high pest pressure. As information on crop growth is being recorded in each scouting, farmers can gain accurate insights on the timing and type of interventions needed to protect and maximize their yields.
Smart application of fertilizers is a modern farm practice that uses technology to optimize fertilizer use. It involves more than just applying fertilizer at the right time and in the right amount. It’s based on understanding the soil type and nutrient levels of the field and using that information to choose the right fertilizer and apply it in the most efficient way possible. Farmers can use a variety of tools to help them implement smart fertilization practices. For example, soil and crop sensors can be used to collect data to create fertilizer recommendations.
Crop protection methods are designed to directly protect crops from pests, diseases, and weeds while crop rotation methods are designed to improve soil fertility and break the pest,weed and disease cycle. Drones, satellite imagery and mobile apps are modern methods of crop protection and rotation. These technologies offer precise information on the condition of crops, plants and weather conditions.
The challenge for weed and pest management is sustainable pesticide and herbicide use as weeds and pests adapt to their environment. To address this, farmers require precise knowledge about when and how to apply pesticides. Advanced technologies such as high-resolution imaging and deep learning can be used to identify specific weed species or pests in real time and target them with precise herbicide or pesticide applications.
Experts agree that the most important step in managing a plant disease is accurate diagnosis. However, manual inspection of plants can be time-consuming and error-prone. Affordable technologies such as smartphones and machine learning can help to improve the accuracy and efficiency of plant disease diagnosis.
Soil testing helps farmers to identify the nutrient levels in their soil. This information can be used to develop a fertilization plan that ensures that crops are getting the nutrients they need to grow and produce high yields. For smallholder farmers who cannot afford soil testing tools, DNA extraction and sequencing can be a cost-effective and reliable alternative method of soil testing.
Farmers are on the front lines of climate change. They see firsthand the aftereffects of drought, flooding, and extreme temperatures on their crops. That's why it's so important for them to have access to the latest technologies to help their crops adapt to changing conditions. In this section, we will talk about precision agriculture and some important technologies that have enabled farmers to treat crops and manage fields more efficiently for a better yield.
Precision agriculture is a data-driven approach to farming operations enabled by technology such as artificial intelligence (AI), GPS tracking systems, information communication technology (ICT), and satellite imagery. This farming approach often involves putting cameras on drones and sensors on the ground to check if plants are healthy or stressed. When farmers get this info in real-time, they can apply inputs where it's needed, ensuring plants get what they require at the right time. The following tools are driving precision agricultural practices today.
Remote sensing technology uses various sensors, GPS technology, and data analysis to collect and interpret relevant information about crops without physical interaction. In response to the high cost of on-site sensors, companies are investing in smartphone sensors that are price-friendly for smallholder farmers. These smartphone-based sensors, just like the on-site ones, are used to assess crop yields by measuring factors such as plant density, biomass, temperature and humidity.
Here are a few examples of remote sensing technologies used in agriculture:
Yield monitoring sensors are used to measure the yield of crops during harvest. With this information at hand, farmers can identify areas of the field that are under or over-producing, and develop field-specific crop management systems onward.
Variable rate fertilizer application tools typically use yield data to apply fertilizer at different rates throughout the field. It’s all about applying fertilizer more precisely and efficiently.
This sensor technology is used to identify and map weeds in a field. It also targets herbicide applications to the areas where they are needed.
Remote sensing tools can create topographical maps to identify variations in field elevation and boundaries. It’s suitable for field productivity zoning.
GPS systems in farming use satellite technology to help farmers operate their equipment more precisely. Its most important function is to act as navigation aids for farmers to figure out exactly where farm machinery is, so they can avoid overlap and empty spaces when planting, spraying, or harvesting.
Data-driven farming is the use of data analytics to improve farming decisions and outcomes, such as crop yields, profits and environmental sustainability. Through various hardware like sensors, satellites and drones, farmers can receive and analyze crop, weather, and soil data. This data helps in identifying the best planting times, irrigation schedules, fertilization rates and pest or weed control methods.
Farm software apps are typically designed to be compatible with specialized farming hardware used on the field. Built with cloud-based infrastructure, they can be accessed anywhere with low or high internet connectivity. These software tools aid in various agricultural tasks such as the following;
This software app acts as a continuous monitoring mechanism for pests and diseases. For example, the Jiva's app ''Crop Doctor", powered by Vertex AI, uses computer vision to diagnose crop diseases and suggests unique remedies for problems like potassium deficiency.
With a Fertilizer Calculator app, growers can easily determine what's in their fertilizer and the right amount to use. Some apps also provide tips on fertilizing and keeping a record of fertilizer schedule.
Software apps for recording and managing soil test data can help farmers measure soil nutrient levels in the field and receive instant recommendations. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), for example, provides an online tool called the Web Soil Survey, which offers access to detailed soil maps and reports for specific locations in the US.
Apps used for water management in agriculture are often connected to IoT sensors that are installed in the soil. They are designed to work in rural areas where there is little or no access to an internet connection, thanks to cloud connectivity.
Fruit, vegetable, and grain growers can now leverage software apps to monitor factors such as soil moisture, weather conditions and crop maturity. Tracking these can enable them to optimize harvest timing for maximum yield and quality.
Mobile phones, radio, and the internet are providing farmers with accurate information on crop growth. They connect them with buyers and suppliers directly, and enable them to save money, access credit, and send and receive payments more easily. For example, farmers using the Jiva app's advisory services have seen their yield and input costs decrease by nearly 20%. This app also provides them with a reliable channel to seek the best market price in the local markets and receive daily updates for their produce.
Telematics involves sending information remotely over long distances. It’s a system that extends the functionalities of moving farming equipment to include advanced monitoring and control capabilities. Telematics enables real-time data transmission from farming equipment to a central control center or mobile devices.
Genetic engineering is a type of biotechnology that involves the direct manipulation of an organism's gene. These scientific processes are mostly done to increase yields, build natural resistance to certain diseases or climate change, and improve the nutritional value of food. As we speak, Indonesia is actively exploring the potential of genetically modifying wheat for increased yields.
Hydroponics involves growing plants in a nutrient-rich solution without the use of soil, while vertical farming involves growing plants in stacked layers. With controlled environments powered by technologies such as LED lighting and HVAC systems, these hydroponic and vertical farming methods can be used to grow crops year-round. Today farmers in arid regions are using hydroponics to grow crops without using large amounts of water, while farmers in urban areas are leveraging vertical farming to grow crops near soaring urban consumers.
Technology plays a significant role in driving agricultural productivity and meeting global food demands. Several pieces of evidence show that it can be used to improve crop yields, reduce waste, and make farming more efficient and sustainable, anywhere in the world.
But this cannot happen without the Five A's of Technology Access. The "Five A's" (availability, affordability, awareness, ability, and agency) are essential for ensuring that all farmers have the opportunity to benefit from these technologies. Smallholder farmers, wherever they are, should not be left out. In India and Indonesia’s rural areas, JIVA is removing the barriers to technology adoption for smallholder farmers through the JIVA app. This app provides them with access to affordable financing, high-quality inputs, fair markets, and free agronomy advisory services.
