| Introduction: Contextual introduction. Body: Explain the benefits associated with precision farming. Conclusion: Write a way forward. |
Precision Farming is aimed at optimizing use of inputs through use of technology, improving economic returns and reducing environmental impact. Precision farming is able to increase input efficiency using sensors for ground data acquisition, wireless networks for interconnecting them, geospatial data analytics and Smart Decision Support Systems (SDSSs) for optimised farming decision-making. It can give us “more from less”.
It is referred to as “precision” because it is possible to perform the right intervention, in the right place, at the right time, responding to the specific demands of individual crops and individual areas of land with superior levels of precision.
Benefits associated with precision farming:
- Reduced costs: Being able to accurately decrease fertilizer, herbicide etc. in areas where it will not be economical to utilize is one of the key benefits of precision agriculture.
- Increased Profitability: Increasing yields because of applying agronomic principles at a high resolution, while reducing costs increases overall profitability.
- Enhanced Sustainability: Ensuring that crop input products applied actually get into the plant and not elsewhere affecting the environment.
- Better Harvestability: with the ability to understand the farm nutrient levels and soil types across the farm. As fields and geographies are not created equal, and can impact the amount of nitrogen mineralizations, water holding capacity, and much more.
- Increased Land Values: precision farming makes land more productive and profitable clearly translates into higher rent value and market value for farmland.
- Higher resolutions understanding of farm: Precision agriculture gives the ability to understand why certain areas of the farm under produce, or are producing better, to make decisions that continually improve the farm.
- Better in season yield understanding: Using precision imagery, or precision weather services, we can provide accurate yield prediction in-season, empowering better decisions agronomically as well as for marketing or asset purchasing purposes.
- Furthermore, improvements in storage by technological means can greatly reduced crop spoilage in the storage stage as well.
Rapid socio-economic changes such as economic growth, urbanization, and energy consumption are creating new opportunities for the application of precision farming in India.
