According to a new research report from the IoT analyst firm Berg Insight, the global market for precision agriculture solutions is forecasted to grow from € 3.1 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.4 percent to reach about € 5.2 billion in 2027.

A set of technologies are applied in precision farming practices, which are aimed at managing variations in the field to maximise yield, raise productivity and reduce consumption of agricultural inputs. While solutions such as auto-guidance and machine monitoring and control via on-board displays today are mainstream technologies in the agricultural industry, telematics and Variable Rate Technology (VRT) are still in the early stages of adoption. Interoperability between solutions remains a challenge, although initiatives to provide common protocols and language structure for data sharing are making progress.

Most major agricultural equipment manufacturers have today operations related to precision agriculture with varying strategies. Leading vendors of precision agriculture solutions include the world’s largest manufacturer of agricultural equipment Deere & Company, followed by the precision technology vendors Trimble, Topcon Positioning Systems, Raven Industries and Hexagon. Major input manufacturers like BASF, Bayer, Corteva Agriscience and Syngenta have entered the space primarily through acquisitions and focus on providing mapping tools and decision support for the purpose of input optimisation and yield maximisation. A group of companies have surfaced as leaders on the nascent market for in-field sensor systems. These include Semios, Pessl Instruments with its METOS brand, Davis Instruments and Sencrop.

The move from automation to autonomy is the next step in the evolution of the agricultural industry. “Although autonomy on a component level has been exploited by multiple manufacturers, autonomous agricultural operations on an equipment level are now on the rise”, said Veronika Barta, IoT analyst at Berg Insight.

Today, original equipment manufacturers are developing autonomous machines such as driverless tractors and seed-planting robots. Agricultural drones are the most advanced segment, performing autonomous operations by utilising multispectral cameras, LiDAR sensors and route algorithms. Aerial imagery for crop monitoring is the most common application area, followed by spraying operations of crop protection chemicals. Satellite navigation, sensors, artificial intelligence and machine learning will be the main facilitators of autonomous equipment in the future of farming.

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A partnership between Solinftec, Wabash Heartland Innovation Network (WHIN) – and Still Waters Manufacturing combines the expertise of these three companies to manufacture the Solix robot, contributing to regional development in Indiana.

Solinftec, a global leader in artificial intelligence solutions and sustainable agricultural practices, strengthened its partnership with WHIN and expanded its manufacturing capacity in the United States through collaboration with Still Waters Manufacturing.

The production of the Solix robot in the WHIN region of Indiana strengthens Solinftec’s presence in the United States from the last quarter.

The collaboration and efforts of the companies will make robotic technology more accessible to American producers, leading to a significant reduction in herbicide use and promoting sustainable agriculture. “This partnership represents a significant milestone for the US agricultural industry, and it’s gratifying to see two companies from our network bringing innovation to our region. Collaboration among all parties was crucial to the success of this project,” says Johnny Park, CEO of WHIN.

The factory, with the capacity to produce up to 20 Solix robots per day, benefits from the experience of Jake Church, CEO of Still Waters Manufacturing. “There’s something truly special about building these robots in rural Indiana. They will come out of what used to be a school, where many farmers and livestock producers in this area received their primary education. This venture is an opportunity to ‘rewrite’ history. A dear friend of mine often says, ‘If you want to know the future, go build it,’” Church states. The business received an initial investment of over 2 million dollars from Solinftec for the next two harvests, ensuring continued annual growth.

The CEO of Still Waters Manufacturing, added:

“This will be the first agricultural robotics factory in the American Midwest.”

The team involved in Solix manufacturing will consist of workers living near the region served by Still Waters Manufacturing, with many of them being local farmers. “This work brings the community close, seeking to develop and innovate agriculture in the region with technology,” says Guilherme Guiné, Chief Operations Officer of Solinftec for North America.

The use of Solinftec solutions has already led to a reduction of up to 97% in herbicide volume on properties using the Solix robot in the United States. The key differentiator is that, through the collaboration of the three companies, the solutions will be adapted to the reality of the American Midwest.

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The intersection of agriculture and technology has given rise to a transformative movement in the form of Smart Agriculture, often referred to as Agriculture 4.0. The adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) in agriculture is at the core of this evolution, allowing farmers to make data-driven decisions and optimize farming practices. In this article, we will delve into the world of IoT in smart agriculture, exploring its applications, benefits, challenges, and the promising future it holds for sustainable and efficient food production.

The IoT Revolution in Smart Agriculture

Agriculture has always been at the forefront of innovation, from the invention of the plow to the introduction of tractors and mechanized farming. Now, with IoT technology, smart agriculture is changing the way we cultivate and manage crops and livestock. IoT involves the connection of sensors, devices, and machinery to the internet, enabling data collection, analysis, and real-time decision-making.

Key Applications of IoT in Smart Agriculture

1. Precision Farming

Precision agriculture uses IoT to monitor and manage crops with precision, optimizing resource use. Sensors collect data on soil quality, moisture levels, and weather conditions. This information guides decisions about irrigation, fertilization, and pest control, reducing resource waste and increasing crop yields.

2. Livestock Management

IoT in smart agriculture isn’t limited to crops; it extends to livestock management. Sensors and GPS technology can track the location, health, and behavior of animals. This data helps farmers identify sick animals, manage herd movements, and improve breeding programs.

3. Climate Monitoring

IoT sensors can monitor environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity, and precipitation. This data assists farmers in predicting weather patterns and adapting farming practices accordingly.

4. Automated Machinery

IoT-enabled machinery, such as tractors and drones, can perform tasks like planting, harvesting, and monitoring fields autonomously. This automation reduces the need for manual labor and increases efficiency.

5. Supply Chain Management

IoT technology helps optimize the supply chain by tracking the location and condition of agricultural products during transportation. This ensures that produce reaches its destination in optimal condition.

6. Irrigation Control

IoT sensors in soil can monitor moisture levels and automatically control irrigation systems, ensuring that crops receive the right amount of water at the right time.

7. Crop Health Monitoring

Drones and sensors can assess crop health by detecting diseases, nutrient deficiencies, and pest infestations. This early detection allows for timely interventions to protect crop yields.

8. Food Safety and Traceability

IoT technology can help ensure food safety and traceability by tracking the journey of agricultural products from farm to table. This is crucial for meeting food safety standards and responding to recalls if necessary.

Benefits of IoT in Smart Agriculture

The integration of IoT in smart agriculture offers numerous advantages:

1. Increased Efficiency

IoT technology optimizes farming operations by reducing waste, automating tasks, and providing real-time data for decision-making. This leads to increased efficiency in resource use and productivity.

2. Cost Savings

By automating and optimizing processes, farmers can reduce operational costs, such as labor and resource expenses. This results in cost savings for both small and large-scale agricultural operations.

3. Enhanced Crop Quality

IoT technology enables farmers to monitor crop conditions closely, ensuring that crops are healthy and of high quality. This is essential for producing crops that meet market standards.

4. Sustainability

Smart agriculture promotes sustainable practices by reducing resource waste, minimizing the use of chemicals, and improving the environmental impact of farming.

5. Increased Crop Yields

IoT technology helps farmers maximize crop yields by optimizing conditions and taking proactive measures to protect crops from diseases and pests.

6. Climate Resilience

Climate monitoring and data analysis can help farmers adapt to changing weather patterns and reduce risks associated with extreme weather events.

Challenges and Considerations

While IoT in smart agriculture offers numerous benefits, it also poses challenges and considerations:

1. Data Security and Privacy

Collecting and transmitting sensitive agricultural data raise concerns about data security and privacy. Protecting this information is crucial for farmers and their partners.

2. Connectivity

Many rural areas lack reliable internet connectivity, which can hinder the adoption of IoT technology in smart agriculture. Expanding network coverage is essential for reaching all farmers.

3. Cost of Implementation

The initial cost of implementing IoT technology can be a barrier for some farmers, especially those with limited resources. Government support and subsidies may be necessary to facilitate adoption.

4. Education and Training

Farmers need the knowledge and skills to use IoT technology effectively. Education and training programs are necessary to ensure that farmers can take full advantage of smart agriculture practices.

5. Regulatory Compliance

IoT in agriculture must adhere to regulatory requirements, especially regarding data protection and food safety standards.

The Future of IoT in Smart Agriculture

As technology continues to advance, the future of IoT in smart agriculture looks promising. Here are some trends and developments to watch for:

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

IoT and AI will work together to analyze vast amounts of data, providing insights into crop management, disease detection, and precision agriculture.

2. Blockchain Technology

Blockchain can enhance traceability and transparency in the agricultural supply chain, ensuring the authenticity of data and promoting trust among stakeholders.

3. Autonomous Farming

Autonomous vehicles and robots equipped with IoT sensors will become more prevalent, performing tasks like planting, weeding, and harvesting with minimal human intervention.

4. Digital Twins

Digital twins are virtual replicas of physical objects, like crops or livestock. These can help farmers simulate various scenarios and make informed decisions.

5. Remote Sensing

Advanced remote sensing technology, such as satellite imagery, will provide farmers with more data for monitoring and decision-making.

Conclusion

The Internet of Things is revolutionizing smart agriculture by offering precision, efficiency, sustainability, and improved crop quality. Challenges related to data security, connectivity, and education must be addressed to ensure that the benefits of IoT in smart agriculture are fully realized.

As IoT technology continues to evolve, it will remain a driving force in agriculture, offering a glimpse into a future where farming practices are more efficient, sustainable, and resilient, ultimately meeting the challenges of feeding a growing global population.

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Semtech’s LoRa devices and gateways utilizing LoRaWAN® help to improve farming practices, lower operational costs and increase crop yields.

Semtech Corporation, a high-performance semiconductor, IoT systems and Cloud connectivity service provider, announces that Sustainable Hrvest Sdn Bhd (SH) has deployed LoRa-enabled sensors and LoRaWAN-based gateways across its Durian fruit farms in greater Malaysia.

While one of the country’s most popular fruits, Durian trees are challenging to grow and harvest. These plants are sensitive to weather and moisture conditions and need 24X7 maintenance for high yield. LoRa-enabled sensors now give Malaysian farmers real-time data on the health of their farms every step of the growth cycle from pre-harvest, harvest, until post-harvest. This real-time visibility has made farmers’ lives easier, while also helping improve their bottom line.

LoRa is the de facto wireless platform of Internet of Things (IoT). Semtech’s LoRa chipsets connect sensors to the Cloud and enable real-time communication of data and analytics. This instantaneous management helps to enhance the efficiency and productivity of sustainable IoT use cases. Globally, there are more than 300 million LoRa end nodes deployed across a wide array of customer applications from agriculture and healthcare to industrial and transportation, and more.

“We founded this company to address the farming barriers and pain points here in Malaysia. To better serve our community, we knew that we needed to improve farming practices, reduce operational costs, and help farmers deliver better yields,” said Han Wei, co-founder, and chief technology officer at SH. “LoRa was an easy choice for our team. One of our biggest farms, Musang Valley Plantation, is more than 700 acres with 11,000 Durian trees. The land includes many steep hillsides which make managing the crops challenging.”

“LoRa monitors the trees, alerts the farmer if there is an issue, and allows them to take immediate action. This response saves not only time, but also mitigates potential tree loss and revenue. Sustainable IoT and LoRa have completely overhauled farming in Malaysia.”

Currently, there are 30 LoRa-powered farms in Malaysia with new plantations expected to go live in the coming 12 months. Designed by Sustainable Hrvest, the IoT nodes utilizing LoRaWAN implement LoRa’s low power, long range sensors and last upwards of four years in the field without needing replacement. This purpose-built chip-to-Cloud sensor platform monitors the flow rate and pressure of irrigation systems to maintain soil moisture levels. It also tracks the nutrients in the soil. The data-driven farming practice gives Malaysian farmers the ability to remotely care for their crops and helps to deliver a more sustainable planet for future generations.

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Globalstar, Inc. today announced a commercial agreement with Wiagro, an Agtech start-up from Argentina.

Globalstar is supplying Wiagro with 2,500 ST100 satellite modem transmitters for their Smart Silobag®, which allows for the remote monitoring of grain conditions stored in silo bags. The partnership is effective immediately with completion of deployment anticipated through the end of 2024.

The Smart Silobag is utilized during the post-harvest process to increase efficiency during storage and transport. The IoT solution developed by Wiagro can collect information on the temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, and detects rips caused by animals or acts of vandalism, in addition to real-time geolocation. The Globalstar ST100 satellite modem was selected due to its reduced size, low consumption, reliable service, and affordable price.

Juan Porras, Globalstar Latin America General Manager, stated, “Agriculture is quickly adopting IoT technology in Latin America and Globalstar is well equipped to provide developer solutions that enable reliable satellite connectivity for tracking and monitoring. We have already established a presence in Brazil, and we are now expanding into Argentina with our partner, Wiagro.”

Ariel Ismirlian, founding partner of Wiagro, said:

“Through the implementation of satellite technology, we’ve delivered optimization of field operations through the real-time monitoring of crops. Our innovation has supported producers, collectors, and transporters in reducing the margin of error by providing precise visibility on the status of each batch. Through increased visibility, we can guarantee our customers that the quality and quantity of the harvest is not compromised during the process.”

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The LoRa Alliance Membership will enable Agrology to quickly expand its network reach and engage in new partnership opportunities.

Agrology, the leading Predictive Agricultural company and a Public Benefit Corporation, today announced the company has joined the LoRa Alliance®, one of the fastest growing Internet of Things (IoT) alliances in the world.

Using LoRaWAN® Low Power Wide Area Networking (LPWAN) technology, Agrology is accelerating the development of its proprietary IoT network of GroundTruth sensors across rural farming communities. In addition, Agrology is engaging with LoRa Alliance members for new business opportunities.

The LoRa Alliance is an open, nonprofit association that has become one of the largest and fastest-growing alliances in the technology sector. Its members closely collaborate and share experiences to promote and drive the success of the LoRaWAN standard as the leading open global standard for secure, carrier-grade IoT LPWAN connectivity. With the technical flexibility to address a broad range of IoT applications, both static and mobile, and a certification program to guarantee interoperability, LoRaWAN has already been deployed by major mobile network operators globally.

“Our approach to agriculture technology has been unique since day one and our LoRa Alliance membership is the perfect representation of that,” said Tyler Locke, Co-Founder and CTO at Agrology. “LoRaWAN technology inspired us to enhance our approach by developing our own network that provides connectivity in the most remote locations. This not only advances our ability to deliver in-depth, real-time data to growers, but also keeps our highly advanced platform inexpensive to deploy.”

Agrology GroundTruth sensors gather multiple data points in real time. When cellular connectivity isn’t available, low-cost wireless technology like LoRaWAN enables Agrology to securely deploy private networks, ultimately creating a private, secure wireless network for Agrology customers. This solves a number of issues with agriculture technology deployments. Agrology is also supporting the LoRaWAN ecosystem and the development of technical standards for IoT connectivity by bringing carrier-grade IoT LoRaWAN connectivity to Agrology customers.

Locke added:

“We can now further our reach and gather the largest amount of data through low-cost IoT connected devices in fields everywhere,”

“I’m very excited to welcome Agrology to the LoRa Alliance,” said ​​Donna Moore, CEO and Chairwoman of the LoRa Alliance. “LoRaWAN represents a massive opportunity for smart agriculture because of its ability to transmit data over long distances for 10 years or more. By providing access to critical data, Agrology enables true precision agriculture that will optimize farm productivity and conserve water by reducing waste. Its understanding of this critical vertical market will add value to the alliance and further advance LoRaWAN’s use in smart agriculture.”

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Supporting mission to expand access to 4G coverage and precision farming technologies with portfolio of products and services that enable agricultural applications.

Telit, a global enabler of the Internet of Things (IoT), today announced a strategic partnership with the ConectarAGRO Association, a Brazilian nonprofit revolutionizing the way agricultural fields connect to the world by promoting and enabling access to 4G mobile internet throughout the country.

As an industry expert in mobile connectivity solutions, Telit will work closely with solution ecosystem members to develop IoT devices for several agro segments. In addition to a strong portfolio of products and services for agricultural applications, Telit will offer support, from idea to design, as well as testing, certifications and deployment.

Lack of internet signal is one of the greatest challenges facing rural farmers in Brazil. In an Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) hosted webinar, it was stated that only 23% of the Brazilian agricultural space has some level of connectivity. The webinar also covered the significance of digital sciences in contributing to productivity enhancement and recommended taking a comprehensive look at digital platforms and the digital delivery of services.

“The increasing usage of 4G in rural areas will be critical to production along with the adoption of smart farming techniques and technologies,” said Gregory Riordan, President, ConectarAGRO.

“Through integrated technologies from members like Telit, producers are enabled to easily communicate with customers and suppliers from the field, as well as process and monitor field data, all of which will save time and boost productivity. As we advance our mission, it is our goal to ensure every producer can achieve greater development by taking advantage of the most current technological and digital resources available today in Agriculture 4.0.”

Andy Castonguay, Vice President of Strategic Intelligence at James Brehm & Associates, said:

“With significant investments and technological innovations in recent years, agriculture is one of the most exciting IoT sectors in the market right now.”

“Telit’s comprehensive portfolio of modules, data plans and platform capabilities give agricultural producers and solution providers the crucial connectivity, data and management tools they require to deliver IoT applications like crop/livestock monitoring, water/irrigation management, farm-to-fork regulatory compliance and precision farming.”

According to CNH Industrial, one of the founders of ConectarAGRO, in 2019 alone, the association expanded connectivity to more than 5.1 million hectares of rural areas in Brazil via 4G LTE 700 MHz broadband. This coverage helped more than 575,000 individuals, 218 towns and eight states, as well as more than 24,000 kilometers of roads in an area greater than the size of Belgium, Holland and Switzerland combined.

“The ConectarAGRO Association charter is to bring accessible connectivity to producers across Brazil and we joined to help transform agribusiness,” said Fernando Guerra, Regional Sales Director Latin America, Telit.

“Agriculture IoT application developers and system integrators have a unique opportunity to build connected agricultural solutions that can lead to improved yields, reduced costs and a well-fed world. Telit’s sensors, smart gateways, modules and monitoring systems that collect and analyze information will help in ensuring connectivity and informing decisions that drive improvements, even under adverse circumstances.”

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Agrology to integrate Wyld Network’s satellite-based IoT connectivity into its predictive agriculture platform for global, 24/7 data collection.

Wyld Networks and Agrology have announced a partnership to integrate Wyld Connect into Agrology’s ground truth predictive agriculture platform.

Wyld Connect is a low-cost, IoT global connectivity network based on low-orbit satellite systems. The technology ensures that Agrology ground truth sensors will continue to gather data, from even the most remote locations and can deliver that data quickly to Agrology customers, regardless of connectivity status.

“We are delighted to be working together with Agrology in the agtech sector,” said Alastair Williamson, CEO of Wyld Networks.

“Only 15% of the world’s surface has access to wireless connectivity and agriculture traditionally has suffered from very poor or no wireless coverage. Agrology provides farmers with affordable, actionable data and machine learning predictions that help them plan and mitigate threats by leveraging IoT technology.”

Agrology’s predictive agriculture platform combines proprietary, affordable sensor arrays with machine learning, to provide actionable insights and trends via a mobile app. Agrology is the first company to offer one agriculture system to mitigate, predict and address a variety of issues including smoke taint, irrigation and climate change. The streamlined system of sensors, machine learning technology, data processing and data delivery, makes it easy for farmers to micro-track their crops, receive data and make decisions.

“IoT for agriculture presents a number of challenges, with connectivity being one of the most arduous,” said Adam Koeppel, CEO and Co-founder of Agrology. “By integrating Wyld Connect into the Agrology platform we can ensure that farmers will always have the real time data they need to make important decisions.”

“We will continue to put together agreements ahead of the commercial launch with end-users, system integrators, sensor manufacturers in agriculture, energy, utilities, transportation and logistics, as well as data analytics platform providers, to ensure we create a broad eco-system to capture a greater customer base,” added said Williamson of Wyld Networks.

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Cloud-based platform uses the LoRaWAN® standard to monitor plants in real time.

Semtech Corporation announced that Communicate2Integrate GmbH, an intelligent Internet of Things (IoT) company based in Munich, Germany, has chosen to integrate Semtech’s LoRa® devices and LoRaWAN® connectivity for its Florja solution.

Florja is a Cloud-based plant management platform that allows users to monitor the current status of their plants from anywhere. Florja sensors enabled by LoRa and using LoRaWAN connectivity can monitor for the temperature, humidity and salt level found in the soil which then relays the data to the Florja platform accessible via desktop and smartphones for further intelligent analysis.

“Florja is innovating toward a new and easier way to manage plants,” said Michael Urban, chief executive officer of Communicate2Integrate. “Moreover, Florja is scalable from the everyday home plant enthusiast to large scale businesses that need real-time information, automated and intelligent plant care advice or a smart irrigation system. No matter how the platform is used, LoRaWAN is providing that necessary plant data in real time, combined with internal know-how and external data to maintain its health.”

According to a 2020 McKinsey article, advanced technology such as connected sensors “could further increase yields, improve the efficiency of water and other inputs, and build sustainability and resilience across crop cultivation and animal husbandry.”

With a renewed focus on sustainability for businesses and consumers, the plug and play Florja platform is an ideal solution for smart plant care for environmentally conscious users. The Florja system includes LoRa-enabled sensors utilizing LoRaWAN to measure temperature and humidity in soil and air, electrical conductivity in soil and light irradiation as well as a Florja Cloud platform for users to remotely view that data.

“Semtech’s LoRa devices and LoRaWAN are a complementary fit for the smart agriculture industry,” said Marc Pégulu, vice president of IoT product marketing and strategy for Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group.

“The long range coverage coupled with low power usage of the technology is making the lives of farmers and plant growers much easier and smarter.”

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Point One and Quectel partnership creates highly affordable, small and easy to use high precision GNSS module integrating RTK for mass market applications.

Point One Navigation, a leader in precision location technology, and Quectel Wireless Solutions, a global supplier of IOT modules and antennas, today announced the LG69T-AM, the latest addition to the LG69T GNSS Module Series.

Point One’s positioning engine powers the LG69T-AM and enables centimeter-level global accuracy by integrating augmented GNSS in an affordable yet easy to use module with open-source API.

The LG69T-AM GNSS module features STMicroelectronics’ TeseoV dual band L1/L5 positioning receiver platform with 80 tracking and 4 fast acquisition channels compatible with GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS and NAVIC. The LG69T-AM leverages Point One’s RTK and SSR technology for centimeter-level accuracy and ultra-fast convergence time. It is designed for easy integration with minimal e-BOM modification and is well-suited for mass market adoption without the need for an expensive external co-processor. Due to its small package size, light weight, and excellent power consumption, it is ideal for applications such as robotics and precision agriculture.

Embedded in the LG69T-AM is Point One’s FusionEngine and its Polaris correction service client. FusionEngine is compatible with standards-based corrections services including those based on RTCM. Polaris is Point One’s own GNSS correction service that unlocks better than 10cm absolute accuracy with a coast-to-coast footprint in the USA and coverage across Europe. It offers a variety of connectivity options including delivery over cellular and L-Band. The network is purpose-built for precision agriculture customers and includes advanced anti-jam, interference mitigation, end to end security and automatic integrity monitoring unmatched by any other provider.

Mark Murray, Vice President of Sales for GNSS and Automotive at Quectel Wireless Solutions, said:

“Quectel is excited to be working with Point One Navigation to deliver a high performance and easy-to-use precision GNSS solution. The LG69T-AM, together with Point One’s FusionEngine and Polaris, brings a truly game-changing solution to the market.”

“Point One’s full suite of offerings enable precise location for anything in the real world that moves. We’re thrilled to be working with Quectel and leveraging their deep experience in module design, support and integration. This joint offering will enable safer and more effective robotic systems for truly mass-market applications,” said Aaron Nathan, CEO and Co-founder, Point One Navigation.

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42Technology has helped Titan Class – an Australian IoT company – to develop a faster and easier way to roll-out its smart agricultural monitoring systems to some of the most remote farms across the country and without farmers needing to install costly infrastructure, such as gateway antennae.

The new NB-IoT enabled solution uses existing off-the-shelf agricultural sensors, combined with a Rust programming language application on a Nordic Semiconductor nRF9160 SiP device, to transmit small LoRaWAN-style packets of sensor data to the network. As a result, Titan Class has reduced the transmission costs to send real-time data via the cellular network by a factor of 100:1, leading to lower network charges and allowing the system to handle many more sensors than ever before.

The approach has been trialled using soil moisture probes but it can be used for any farm monitoring or actuation task, including monitoring weather, water trough levels, fuel tanks or the status of electric fences.

Although Australia has high NB-IoT network coverage, one of the challenges is that a sensor in a field could be up to 20 km from the nearest base station. As it’s almost impossible to maintain full duplex cellular communications across those distances, NB-IoT can instead be used to ‘fire and forget’. This contrasts markedly with the MQTT over TLS set-up used by most agricultural sensors: where the full-duplex nature means they have to use the LTE-M network, and which results in unnecessarily high network charges because the MQTT protocol has a relatively high overhead, both for connection set-up and for each packet of data sent.

Christopher Hunt, CTO and co-founder of Titan Class, which markets its smart agricultural monitoring systems under the Farmify brand name, said:

“Farmers tell us they’re typically paying around $50 per month in network charges per device, whereas our initial trials suggest we can reduce this to around $0.58 by sending LoRaWAN packets over UDP. Our approach is also more robust and reliable because we’re getting a much higher range and penetration from NB-IoT compared with the LTE-M network.”

42T’s role in the project included improving support for the nRF9160 within the existing Embedded Rust ‘nrf-hal’ project, as well as updating its own Rust-language open-source interface to the Nordic modem to use the latest version of Nordic’s libraries.

“The Rust Programming language set out to offer a more productive way to build high-performance, reliable software. It’s now widely used in back-end systems, with all the major tech companies investing heavily and reporting big successes with their roll-outs,” said Jonathan Pallant, senior embedded systems developer at 42 Technology.

“This support is also starting to be seen in the Embedded Rust space too, where the combination of high-performance code with a focus on security and reliability means it’s ideal for applications such as this NB-IoT based agricultural monitoring system.”

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Deploying KORE IoT connectivity and IoT solutions, BinSentry dramatically increases feed mills’ operational efficiencies by modernizing antiquated processes.

KORE, a global leader in Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and worldwide IoT Connectivity-as-a-Service (IoT CaaS), today announced that BinSentry, an international AgTech company, has selected KORE as its IoT partner-of-choice to modernize time-worn measurement systems and drive operational efficiencies.

The two companies are enabling sectors of the agricultural ecosystem to innovate and leapfrog current methods, resulting in reduced costs, product waste, and time.

For decades, farmers have used a manual process to forecast the amount of feed they order. Still today, farmers bang mallets against the side of huge silos and place orders with feed mills based on the sound made by the strike, causing inaccurate forecasts and resulting in under-filling, over-filling feed transfers and late deliveries to bins. This traditional method tends to be expensive and wasteful because an information deficit exists.

An average feed mill services a range of 500 to 5,000 bins to deposit with feed on a weekly basis at farms around the world. The logistics of delivering feed requires good data so that mills can operate efficient production and supply chain processes.

KORE President and CEO Romil Bahl, said:

“This is the ‘decade of IoT,’ and in many industries, like agriculture, healthcare, and fleet management, it’s an exciting time of exploration and innovation — much like what I imagine the Industrial Revolution was like at the turn of the 20th century.”

“Through our work with BinSentry, we’re providing an IoT one-stop-shop to some of the most recognizable commercial outfits in the farming industry, resulting in data-powered delivery route optimization, accurate feed forecasting and ordering, and increased automation of the inventory tracking and ordering process. With access to a conduit of IoT connectivity, asset monitoring, and APIs, the average feed mill has the potential to save millions of dollars.”

KORE powers the BinSentry automated feed ordering platform with a single-source of reliable IoT connectivity that makes it easy for feed mills to gauge quickly and accurately in-bin feed levels on vast farms located globally. The feed mills then acquire and manipulate critical data streaming off of those bins in real-time via APIs so that they can plan their supply and delivery based on real-time data at the individual silo level.

Bringing efficiencies to on-farm inventory monitoring, ordering, and restocking with IoT technologies and analytics has an important knock-on effect. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, agriculture accounted for an estimated 10.5 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2018 of which feed deliveries are contributors. Farms and feed mills are already struggling with sustainable production on top of handling and organizing massive amounts of resources. With access to mission-critical information and data that is pulled from the IoT enabled monitors, feed mill trucks are able to deliver the right amount of feed at the right time to the right farm and travel between 15 percent to 25 percent fewer miles, significantly reducing the feed mills carbon footprint, reducing their labor needs and saving costs.

“BinSentry was founded four years ago to solve the information deficit that is a significant pain point in the relationship between feed mills and their farmers and growers,” said Randall Swartzentruber, founder and CEO, BinSentry. “Our goal with BinSentry is to close that information gap, and the best way to do that is with IoT connected devices sending accurate and reliable data to a comprehensive feed ordering automation software, enabled by the comprehensive and future-forward wireless networks being provided by KORE. Now, our feed mill customers can look at their dashboards and in real-time see exactly how much product exists in every single feed bin that they service, act proactively to manage demand and then plan accordingly. It takes only 15 minutes to install the IoT-powered sensors to solve a 40-year-old problem.”

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Precision agriculture helps boost a farmer’s bottom line and keeps workers safe, but it could also be a key driver in solving the global food crisis.

Precision agriculture gives farmers the tools, data, and resources they need to make critical decisions about their crops. And even though one of the significant advantages of tech-aided farming is cost savings, there’s much more to it than boosting a farmer’s bottom line.

For example, farmers worldwide are using Precision Ag to address the global hunger crisis. By streamlining farming processes and reducing food waste, precision agriculture will likely become a considerable component of agricultural operations in the future.

Solving global hunger and reducing food waste are two significant areas where precision farming can help.

What Is Precision Agriculture?

Precision agriculture aims to increase crop yields and profits by measuring and analyzing critical data points using the latest and greatest tools and technology. Farmers use helpful devices like drones, in-ground sensors, and even farm robots to revolutionize farming and keep workers safe.

As with many other industries, making data-driven decisions is quickly becoming the norm in planting, monitoring, protecting, and harvesting crops.

What are the types of Precision Agriculture?

Examples of precision agriculture (commonly called precision ag) include:

• Measuring soil levels
• Pest and insect monitoring
• Seed and pesticide distribution
• Hydration monitoring and application
• Predictive seed planting analysis
• Optimum crop harvesting time

What are the benefits of Precision Agriculture?

Precision agriculture aims to increase a farmer’s bottom line and give them access to the best data possible. But the benefits of precision ag go further than that.

Other advantages include:

• Farmers can reduce pesticides by applying them to targeted areas instead of mass-distribution
• Cost savings on fuel and fertilizer
• Safer working conditions for employees
• Less food waste and more efficient crop yields (which could help combat global food insecurity)

How Can Precision Agriculture help with global food insecurity?

Global food insecurity exists even in established countries. Six hundred ninety million people worldwide (according to the United Nations) suffer from hunger and malnourishment. Twenty-two percent of children younger than five are developmentally stunted due to malnourishment and underfeeding (according to Our World In Data).

Yielding more crops faster can put more food in hungry mouths, which only stands to become a more significant issue as time goes on. After all, our world’s global population, currently sitting at around 7.9 billion, could be almost 10 billion by 2050.

With more mouths to feed, the agricultural industry as a whole must look deeply at how farmers can provide enough healthy food for a larger population. This is where specific aspects of precision farming become relevant.

Farm Robots Can Slash Labor Costs

Growing a surplus of healthy food is one thing, but paying for it is another genuine concern for many. The CDC cites cost and lack of accessibility as two primary reasons many Americans eat unhealthy low-nutrient foods.

As it stands, farm-fresh vegetables and fruit often cost more than fast food, which isn’t healthy but is more filling for American families.

Farm robots remove the need for farmers to weed, apply fertilizers, and perform many of the rote tasks a farmhand once did. This lowers operating costs for the farm, which could pass on savings to consumers.

Efficient Farming Increases Yield and Reduces Waste

Sensor-driven precision ag features like tractor guidance and precision steering allow for more accurate processing of crops. This reduces waste and produces more crops, which is a big deal for farmers and consumers alike.

Plant pests alone kill as much as 20 to 40 percent of crop yields globally every year. To quantify that, consider that 240 million bushels of apples are produced in America annually. That could equate to as much as 96 million missing pieces of healthy produce!

Agricultural Sensors and Drones

The FAA hasn’t approved drones for personal farming use yet. However, this could change in the coming years as lawmakers monitor the benefits of precision farming.

One concern about monocropping (a reasonably common practice employed by farmers where the same crops are grown in one area year after year) is that it depletes soil quality, which not only lowers crop yields but reduces nutrients in the final product itself.

Agriculture sensors and drones combat this by monitoring climate change, assessing weather patterns, and measuring soil levels from the air. Interactive maps generated from these devices can help farmers make critical insights about rotating crops, where they’ll plant in future seasons, and which farm areas may need treatment to ensure a quality end-product.

What is the future of Precision Ag and global hunger?

As more data is collected and precision ag becomes more refined, expect precision farming to become highly specific about all aspects of growing and harvesting crops. In addition, the IIoT (industrial internet of things) will also grow substantially, bringing together information from millions of more intelligent devices being used on farms worldwide.

We also expect a push towards more eco-friendly initiatives. Precise data can help bridge the gap between providing healthy food for the world’s population and protecting our earth.

The post Precision Agriculture Is Helping to Solve Global Food Insecurity: Here’s How appeared first on IoT Business News.

LoRaWAN® Monitoring System at Large Solar Facility on Mushroom Farm Brings 30 Percent Reduction in Installation and Operating Costs Compared to Wired System.

Kerlink, a specialist in solutions dedicated to the Internet of Things (IoT), and Cloud Energy, a Vietnamese IoT start-up serving smart verticals, are developing and deploying new solutions to meet demand for IoT services in rural areas around Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).

Expanding on their earlier collaboration on smart-building and energy-management projects in the city of nearly 9 million people, the two companies recently developed and deployed a fully wireless LoRaWAN® network to monitor and manage a 900 kWp solar-power installation on a mushroom farm 80 km from the city. The installation of the wireless solar-power system was chosen by NG Investment Co., Ltd. for its superior advantages: stability of data reading, ability to connect to different inverter brands and the cost savings on investment and maintenance.

The IoT upgrade included Kerlink’s long-range, low-power Wirnet iStation gateways and its Wanesy Management Center to operate and manage the new system, and Cloud Energy’s advanced LoRaWAN-based meter and devices for data management, optimized to meet the rigorous requirements of utility scaling. The system is expected to reduce the owners’ operation and maintenance costs by 30 percent annually compared to the previous system. New installations are expected to shave 30 percent off the cost of a new wired monitoring system.

Wired monitoring systems are expensive to install and challenging and costly to maintain, because employees must be sent to the site for regular inspection and repair throughout the year. A successful deployment of a wireless solar-farm management solution can achieve faster return on investment (ROI) compared to wired solutions using classic data loggers and non-real-time remote access.

“Integrating LoRaWAN® technology and solutions brought by Kerlink was a natural choice, as we previously gained significant expertise working with them in our energy-metering projects in Vietnamese cities,” said Tuan Anh Pham, founder of Cloud Energy. “Expanding our focus to potential IoT applications in remote areas allowed us to take advantage of Kerlink’s Wanesy Management Center platform bundled with its secured LoRa Network Server. That ensures that our client’s system and data are monitored 24/7.”

“Smart farming is one of the Internet of Things’ most important vertical markets in Southeast Asia, but it needs the breakthrough innovations that companies like Cloud Energy bring to new fields to reach its potential,” said Rene Arbefeuille, Kerlink’s vice president for Asia Pacific.

“Cloud Energy’s success in exceeding objectives set by end-users will pave the way for system integrators and financial institutions to invest in the expansion of smart-farming projects using private network infrastructure.”

“Together, Kerlink and Cloud Energy are helping producers maximize specific and tailored farming production yields, demonstrating again how LoRaWAN® IoT networks are enabling new opportunities in the agriculture sector.”

The post Kerlink & Vietnamese Company Cloud Energy Expanding IoT Market with Smart-Farming Initiative appeared first on IoT Business News.

IoT Business News : What IoT solutions has Sigfox created/been part of creating which are already enabling farmers to improve their productivity and optimize their supply chain?

Nicolas Andrieu (Sigfox): At Sigfox, we have long recognized that IoT has great potential to dramatically transform agricultural productivity, leading to greater food security and improved income for farmers.

Our company provides a ultra-low-cost and ultra-low-power 0G network and IoT (Internet of Things) services focused on asset visibility and tracking. Together with our wide ecosystem of partners – who develop, sell and support Sigfox connected devices – we are helping some agricultural companies and farmers accelerate their digital transformation, develop new services and create value.

One example in Kenya is Twiga Food’s Takuwa farm. Twiga Foods has demonstrated the benefits of adopting IoT solutions for precision farming. For example, it has reduced pesticide consumption. The smart weather station Twiga Foods has on its Takuwa farm provides real time data that helps farm managers deploy the most effective farming methods for irrigation and application of pesticides.

After deploying IoT solutions powered by Sigfox’s 0G network, Twiga Foods reported 30% less pesticide consumption.

Sigfox’s 0G network also assists Sencrop to deliver smart, connected agriculture solutions that use lower energy compared to other solutions, so they require less maintenance after in field installation. This allows for both a cost-effective approach in terms of battery life but also enables the final system to be frugal in terms of heat production. To connect Sencrop’s network of more than 12,000 farmers, all using its in-field ag-weather data platform, the company used Sigfox’s 0G network to transition and centralize information from widespread connected objects, to cover a much wider area in terms of connectivity.

Another example in France is Sigfox’s partner Javelot, which is developing probes to monitor temperature and humidity for grain storage silos (this is of tremendous importance to avoid fermentation and infestation).

Another example which we can see globally is the adoption of connected cattle collars to monitor the well-being, location and other vital parameters of the cattle. This is used especially for dairy cows.

IoT Business News : How is IoT revolutionizing the farming profession? Aside from enabling efficiency and productivity while reducing physical effort, what other benefits does IoT bring to the agriculture sector?

Nicolas Andrieu: Agriculture and farming are often seen as old and outdated. However, businesses are approaching our partners and actively looking to take advantage of IoT’s potential to transform everything from productivity, to internal processes and operations.

IoT Business News : How is Sigfox supporting the transformation of the agricultural industry?

Nicolas Andrieu: Sigfox works with an ecosystem of partners, including Weenat, Sencrop, Libelium, Evvos, Adeunis, Isagri to name just a few, to help the agricultural industry accelerate its digital transformation, develop new services and create value.

IoT Business News : How is the Twiga Foods real-life example showcasing how deploying IoT solutions has significantly increased productivity?

Nicolas Andrieu: Twiga Food’s Takuwa farm operates an agricultural IoT system to improve farm productivity. The system includes four different types of agricultural sensors: a comprehensive weather station, soil moisture and temperature probes, borehole water meters, and sensors for measuring irrigation water acidity and salinity.

These sensors provide critical information to the Twiga agronomy team. The smart weather station offers real time data that helps farm managers deploy the most effective farming methods for irrigation and application of pesticides. Furthermore, the water quality sensors deliver specific metrics that help the team to optimize fertilizer application. Additional data gathered and monitored on a real-time basis include temperature, humidity, rainfall, and wind speed.

IoT Business News : Does the Sigfox offering work with or benefit farm machinery and telematics too? If not, why not? Will these become part of the 0G network connectivity in time and when?

Nicolas Andrieu: Sigfox connectivity is available to all use cases and verticals, so any farm machinery or telematics can also benefit from Sigfox connectivity.

IoT Business News : What issues specifically affect farm machinery and telematics when they are out of cellular range, and is there a Sigfox solution that would keep data flowing in those situations?

Nicolas Andrieu: Sigfox’s 0G network coverage is often nationwide. However, if the coverage is insufficient, there are small easy-to-install base stations to ensure full coverage.

IoT Business News : What the sensor technology does at farm level is all pretty standard these days, but what does the Sigfox solution offer that competitors do not?

Nicolas Andrieu: We believe the future for the IoT lies in “mass IoT”, where billions of everyday objects are connected to the Internet. However, there are three key challenges to achieving this – energy consumption, cost and compatibility.

Our low-bandwidth dedicated 0G network, together with our partner ecosystem, solve these three challenges:

1. Lowest-energy consumption – Sigfox enables sensors to function without the need for batteries, which will remove the need for maintenance. Today, multiples sources of energy in the physical world can enable energy-harvesting, including solar, wind and electromagnetic waves. The simplicity of our technology means that we can provide the best possible user experience and lowest maintenance costs, and one day remove the need for replacing or re-charging batteries since the devices will generate energy themselves.

2. Lowest-cost: the cost and complexity of the required silicon to connect objects need to be dramatically reduced. The simplicity in our technology enables this. Today, a SIM card module often costs up to $40, but a module on our network can cost as little as a few dollars – at this cost, you can economically connect virtually anything. Sigfox’s ecosystem recently announced the world’s lowest cost modules starting at just $2. Sigfox also launched a simplified connectivity service that transforms any short range wireless device into a long range IoT device running on a module that costs just $0.20.

3. Complementary technology: Sigfox is compatible with Bluetooth, GPS 2G/3G/4G/5G and Wi-Fi. By combining other connectivity solutions with Sigfox, business cases and user experience can be drastically improved. The benefits of having both Sigfox and cellular based technologies in the same IoT devices offer additional security, reliability (backup and troubleshooting) and anti-jamming.

IoT Business News : How does Sigfox gather the data from farming devices? Is it a global, private Wi-Fi network that reaches areas that cellular networks don’t or is there more to it – and if so what?

Nicolas Andrieu: Our 0G network is used to connect devices that regularly communicate very small messages for agro-environmental data collection and other uses. Devices that transmit small messages are increasingly responsible for most IoT use cases – from tracking shipping containers and monitoring fire hydrants, to securing buildings and helping farmers monitor irrigation levels.

Sigfox’s 0G network covers a larger area with less transponder antennas (25Km range in free space). This is useful for broad coverage in rural areas. Also as we provide a single global network, clients benefit from a single contract with zero roaming costs. Sigfox is now available in 72 countries and regions across the globe.

IoT Business News : What are the costs and practicalities of farmers connecting their sensors to this network for data collection?

Nicolas Andrieu: Our game-changing approach makes it possible to send and receive data without the need for complex connections or SIM cards.

Devices simply listen in and capture specifically formatted radio messages from around the globe, needing something as simple, and as small, as the silicon chip that you find in a remote control.

The costs are made up of devices, the platform and the connectivity subscription. Keeping in mind that our mission at Sigfox is enabling data extraction at an unbeatable cost of production.

IoT Business News : How would aggregation work?

Nicolas Andrieu: The data coming from IoT devices is captured, processed and managed by Sigfox network and cloud, and then sent to the IT platform (owned by the farmers) where data is aggregated, stored locally and displayed on a dashboard providing invaluable analytics.

The post Interview with Nicolas Andrieu, SVP EMEA at Sigfox: How IoT has only just begun to revolutionise agricultural trade appeared first on IoT Business News.

According to a new research report from the IoT analyst firm Berg Insight, the global market for precision agriculture solutions is forecasted to grow from € 2.7 billion in 2020 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8 percent to reach about € 3.7 billion in 2025.

A set of technologies are applied in precision farming practices, which are aimed at managing variations in the field to maximise yield, raise productivity and reduce consumption of agricultural inputs.

While solutions such as auto-guidance and machine monitoring and control via on-board displays today are mainstream technologies in the agricultural industry, telematics and Variable Rate Technology (VRT) are still in the early stages of adoption. Interoperability between solutions remains a challenge, although standardisation initiatives led by organisations such as Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation and AgGateway make progress.

Most major agricultural equipment manufacturers have today initiatives related to precision agriculture although strategies vary markedly. Leading vendors of precision agriculture solutions include the world’s largest manufacturer of agricultural equipment Deere & Company, followed by the precision technology vendors Trimble, Topcon Positioning Systems, Raven Industries and Hexagon.

Major input manufacturers like BASF, Bayer, Corteva Agriscience and Syngenta have entered the space primarily through acquisitions and focus on providing mapping tools and decision support for the purpose of input optimisation and yield maximisation. A group of companies have emerged as leaders on the nascent market for in-field sensor systems. These include Semios, Pessl Instruments with its METOS brand, Davis Instruments and Sencrop.

Dealerships play a crucial role in the agricultural industry as the customer base is dispersed across remote areas.

Fredrik Stalbrand, Senior Analyst, Berg Insight, said:

“The increasingly complex technological environment that farmers operate in demands dealers to offer a greater extent of services to integrate and support the range of solutions that are used in precision farming.”

Investments in dealership training and support enable companies to provide complete offerings including installation and integration with equipment that is used on the farm.
“New entrants are thus challenged not only to offer value for farmers but also dealers. Investments in channel partners will be key to expansion”, concluded Mr. Stalbrand.

The post The precision agriculture market to reach € 3.7 billion worldwide in 2025 appeared first on IoT Business News.

Data-led farming is improving security and preventing losses – with other benefits around safe, sustainable agriculture

In meeting food production demands, farmers face diverse daily challenges to achieve maximised yields and optimised profitability. The often remote locations and high-value assets of farms have long made them vulnerable to criminal activity. However, 2019 saw a 9% rise in rural crime at a cost of £54 million and, since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, authorities have noted an increase in livestock rustling and equipment theft according to the Financial Times. This trend has a severe impact on farmers’ bottom lines, necessitating a change in tack to avoid the costs, downtime and losses.

Securing the Farms of the Future

Precision farming using smart technologies is fast evolving to transform the traditional approach. While this has formed part of farming rhetoric for many years, a recent acceleration in technological advancement has seen smart technologies form the cornerstone of new age agriculture. From maximised yields and data-driven sustainable modifications to advanced security capabilities, farmers are embracing digital transformation for its cost-effectiveness, ease of integration, and wide range of benefits.

The Smart Way to Secure Farm Assets

Traditional farm security measures have failed to keep up with increasingly organised criminal syndicates. Many farms have dispersed assets spanning potentially vast distances, which are usually far from law enforcement. Smart security solutions use data to give farmers a constant, real-time view of their farming operations – information which can be remotely accessed at any time.

Access Control and Individual Asset Monitoring

Some smart technology solutions integrate with existing CCTV and security systems, but many can be tailored to specific concerns, infrastructure, and key assets and personnel for maximum effect. Using motion sensors, pressure pads, and tags, farm perimeters are easily secured and a system of access control is easily created. Individually tagged assets are simply tracked – and this allows farmers to strategically secure high-value or easily targeted assets for peace of mind.

Data-Driven Action. Enhanced Recoverability

Not only do farmers get a comprehensive, dynamic view of their entire farming operation, they also get pre-programmed alerts on an extensive range of metrics including unauthorised footfall, movement of tagged assets, the opening of doors and windows, and electric fence faults and breaches. From large, expensive farm equipment to bags of fertiliser, farmers use their data insights to drive a new and robust farm security system across the entire supply chain. Additionally, having a real-time view of assets means, in the event of theft, the chances of recovery are greatly enhanced (a factor which affects continuity of operations and may have a bearing on insurance costs).

Livestock safety

Livestock to the value of £3 million was stolen as of April 2020. Wearable technologies leave less to chance when it comes to the security and general wellbeing of livestock. GPS cattle collars are advancing, with far extended battery capabilities and visibility for effective herd management. Ingestible temperature monitoring technologies are also revolutionising the approach to disease management and calving, with increased viability of individual animals mitigating losses and increasing outputs and profits.

Food Safety

There is a growing concern amongst so-called ‘prosumers’ around the sustainability and safety of the food they buy. When used across different applications within the farming supply chain, these technologies have additional benefits around evidenced food safety. These data insights – from ground to grocer – provide improved traceability; simplified transport, storage, and packaging; greatly simplified compliance and reporting; and reduced food waste and shrinkage.

A Smarter Take on Sustainability

According to the United Nations, the global population is expected to grow by more than two billion people by 2050 and food production needs to increase by 70% to meet meat production demands. According to National Geographic, the third green revolution is underway and, as science has solved the problem of world hunger in the past, it seems digital solutions are geared to do the same going forward. By collecting and analysing data, farmers are empowered to make precision adjustments to hone irrigation, fertiliser, and pesticide use – and react to changes in growing conditions, the onset of disease, and so on.

The Art of Smart Farming

Digital transformation in farming for security, food safety, and sustainability relies on simplicity. From the hardware used to its zero trust Orion Data Network, one of the leading smart technology innovators, Smarter Technologies, has developed smart solutions which are accessible to farmers. Cost-effective, long-lasting, and fit-for-purpose, Smarter Technologies is helping farmers to collect, analyse, and pivot according to real-time data readings on their farm.

The post Smart Farm Technologies: Shaping Security on Farms appeared first on IoT Business News.

• Vi CSR has deployed Nokia’s Worldwide IoT Network Grid (WING) solution to equip 50,000 farmers in India with precise and practical data to help them achieve better yields

• Deployment of the smart agriculture-as-a-service solution will include soil probes, weather stations, insect traps and crop cameras to help drive productivity of soy and cotton crops

Nokia and Vodafone India Foundation, the CSR arm of Vi, have today announced that they have deployed a Smart Agriculture solution that aims to improve the productivity of farmers in India.

The pilot project is being implemented in 100 locations in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and will benefit over 50,000 farmers in the region by enhancing their productivity and income. The smart agriculture-as-a-service solution, which utilizes Nokia’s Worldwide IoT Network Grid (WING) solution, will ensure that precise and practical data is sent to farmers enabling them to enhance productivity. The unique CSR initiative will be showcased at Vi booth (Hall #3) at India Mobile Congress 2020 from 8-10 December.

Over 400 sensors have been deployed over 100,000 hectares of farmland to collect various data points which are then analysed by a cloud-based and localized Smart Agriculture app. The app provides local language support as well as weather forecast and irrigation management information. The sensors generate insights that helps to improve soy and cotton crop yields. Crop management through WING can include smart irrigation, smart pesticide control, proactive information sharing frameworks on crops and weather, as well as a platform for commodity exchange. The use case can also employ Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) technology or drones instead of traditional sensors for crop management.

Smart Agriculture is a leading use case that India is exploring in the 5G era. The complete end-to-end solution from Nokia WING is supported by deep domain expertise and an agriculture partner eco-system. Combined, it will help Vi CSR improve agricultural practices by introducing IoT-based solutions.

P. Balaji, Chief Regulatory & Corporate Affairs Officer, Vodafone Idea Limited said:

“Vi CSR is committed to leveraging technology strengths to create social impact through sustainable solutions. Smart crop management using Smart IoT and AI based solutions is transforming the prevalent agricultural practices into more ‘intelligent’ ones enabling farmers with smart decision making and helping them improve production and crop quality through better utilization of resources.”

“Our SmartAgri project is unique as it brings an entire ecosystem of stakeholders such as Nokia for its innovative technology, Solidaridad for project management, and also green experts and researchers from University – all under one roof, to positively impact the lives of farmers in India.”

Ankur Bhan, Head of Nokia WING Business at Nokia, said :
“Our mission for WING is to shape the future of agriculture and other industries, to create a smarter and more connected world. Together with the Vodafone Foundation, our managed service offering will help an initial 50,000 farmers and their families, with the aim of rolling out the solution across India.”

Michele Mackenzie, Principal Analyst, IoT and M2M Services at Analysys Mason, said:
“We see a growing demand for new technologies that increase productivity and yields in the agricultural sector, while mitigating the impacts of climate change. Farmers and producers require end to end solutions and seek flexible business models so that they can focus on their core business. The cooperation between Nokia WING and Vodafone Idea is an innovative example for rebalancing the needs of the society and the environment by introducing sustainable farming practices in India.”

Nokia is committed to driving technology innovations that play a key role in achieving a more sustainable planet. Last year, they delivered zero-emission products to over 150 customers worldwide and committed to decreasing emissions from its operations by 41 percent by 2030. Nokia is also helping to Connect the Unconnected*. For example, in Brazil, Nokia is helping to bring connectivity to some of the 93 percent of Brazilian farmers who currently have no access to broadband services on their farms, while in Kenya, Nokia will upgrade the fiber network to provide higher capacity for expanded broadband services in East Africa.

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Mitigates the environmental impact of farming throughout Latin America, while reducing costs and preserving water.

ORBCOMM Inc., a global provider of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, today announced that Ponce, an Argentinian IoT company specializing in agricultural efficiency, is helping farmers throughout Latin America gain substantial cost savings and preserve water through its irrigation solutions that utilize ORBCOMM’s satellite IoT technology.

Ponce’s solution is powered by ORBCOMM’s reliable, global satellite connectivity and connected to an ORBCOMM modem for real-time monitoring and management of irrigation equipment located in remote regions where cellular coverage is unavailable or unreliable. Ponce’s advanced system combines early detection of machine failure with accurate crop irrigation data to help farmers automate manual processes to inspect equipment, detect faulty machinery and conduct maintenance. The device reports machine position, water pressure, abnormalities and other critical parameters such as hours of use, water usage, water flow and rainfall measurement. The information is transmitted via satellite to Ponce’s data cloud, which sends alerts and reports to farmers’ mobile devices in real time, enabling faster, more informed business decisions about optimal irrigation schedules, maintenance activities as well as the movement and position of irrigation equipment.

Ponce works with some of the leading agricultural growers in Latin America, which report that the irrigation solution has helped them address critical challenges to their farming operations. One of Ponce’s customers, La Guía, which has over 2,000 hectares of land supported by 19 irrigation machines, saves an estimated 90 hours of water waste per year, a considerable environmental and cost savings. By implementing Ponce’s solution, La Guía’s team receives notifications of abnormalities that require further inspection immediately on their phone, decreasing field visits, reducing working hours allocated to inspections and minimizing human error in the operation of the equipment, leading to an average of 50% fuel savings and much less vehicle wear and tear and carbon emissions in the environment.

Christian Allred, ORBCOMM’s Executive Vice President and General Manager of Global Sales, said:

“ORBCOMM’s reliable satellite connectivity is critical to the success of Ponce’s sophisticated solution, which has revolutionized irrigation operations for farmers, while helping reduce the environmental impact of farming and preserve water, both of which are integral to our corporate social responsibility mission.”

“We’re pleased to help Ponce enable farmers throughout Latin America achieve substantial savings in production costs, driven by improved equipment uptime, limited crop destruction and lower operational costs.”

“Thanks to Ponce’s solution, we have achieved significant efficiency in water usage and equipment failure responsiveness,” said Francisco Lodos, La Guía’s General Manager. “In the past, when a machine failed, we might not find out for hours, but now, Ponce’s system informs us immediately. Even better, if we don’t respond to the notification right away, we get a phone call to follow up and ensure the failure is resolved quickly, saving us substantial costs and helping protect our most crucial resource, which is water.”

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ICT International’s LoRa-based precision environmental sensors enable smarter crop monitoring with a data-centric approach.

Semtech Corporation announced that ICT International, an Internet of Things (IoT) solution provider for environmental applications, and Definium Technologies (Definium), a developer and manufacturer of IoT gateways and devices, are leveraging an advanced array of products based on Semtech’s LoRa® devices and the LoRaWAN® protocol to improve crop yield in Australian avocado plantations with a data-centric approach to farming.

“Avocado crops are highly susceptible to stress at key times throughout their growing cycle,” said Dr. Peter Cull, Director of ICT International.

“Utilizing plant physiology sensors based on Semtech’s leading and proven LoRa devices enables the simple and accurate monitoring of moisture flow inside the plants, and allows farmers to respond quickly to stressors to improve yield. As a result, farmers maximize profit while reducing expenses related to product waste.”

“As the challenge of extracting high yields from crop farming continues to increase due to changing weather conditions, accurately monitoring environmental crop stress is crucial to ensuring we produce enough food to feed the world,” said Mike Cruse, CEO at Definium Technologies.

“Our collaboration with ICT International and Semtech to deliver precision environmental sensing solutions has broad applicability across the agricultural spectrum. These applications include grazing, row cropping, viticulture, and nut orchards, in addition to smart cities and mining.”

ICT International and Definium deployed a suite of LoRa-enabled sensors throughout a large-scale avocado farm in New South Wales, Australia to identify the ongoing causes of low crop yield. Through the use of soil moisture sensors, sap flow sensors, vapor-pressure deficit sensors, and weather stations, the data accurately identified periods of low soil moisture and high plant water stress, and matched those to excess fruit drop.

Smart agriculture applications are a proven vertical market for LoRa devices, which offer farmers and ranchers several advantages, including up to 30 miles of network coverage from a single LoRaWAN gateway in rural areas. Farmers across Australia are currently in the process of integrating ICT International and Definium’s LoRa-based sensors into their own smart irrigation systems to better address and respond to crop stress and significantly increase yield.

“From measuring environmental conditions influencing crop production to tracking livestock health, smart agriculture applications based on LoRa devices offer a leading flexibility and ease of use for farmers to quickly reduce environmental impact, maximize yield and minimize expenses,” said Marc Pegulu, Vice President of IoT Product Marketing for Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group.

“Commercial and independent farms alike are increasingly turning to LoRaWAN connectivity, leveraging its flexible and proven capabilities to help create smarter and more sustainable operations.”

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“The agricultural sector is an attractive revenue growth opportunity for IoT technology suppliers that can deliver an integrated solution.”

The agricultural sector has been considered to be a strong market for IoT, particularly since the advent of LPWA, but activity has been limited. However, some technology providers are now making progress in this sector, though some barriers, such as a fragmented upstream supply chain to the producers, still remain.

We estimate that the IoT revenue for suppliers in the agricultural sector will exceed USD6 billion by 2028, and that the majority of this revenue (USD5.7 billion) will come from applications and hardware solutions. The agricultural sector is therefore an attractive revenue growth opportunity for technology suppliers provided that they can deliver an integrated solution with hardware, applications and connectivity. Furthermore, investment to develop solutions in the agritech sector is growing. Indeed, agritech start-ups raised USD16.9 billion in 2018 (a 43% increase over 2017) according to the Agfunder Agrifood Tech Investing Report 2018.

Identifying channels to market is complex, and the need for end-to-end solutions deters some providers from addressing the sector

There are multiple challenges in delivering IoT services for the agricultural sector. Farmers require end-to-end solutions and services that are simple to install and operate. Suppliers do not always have the assets and skills to deliver such end-to-end solutions. They can only address this through internal builds, partnerships or acquisitions, all of which require investment and carry significant risk.

The agricultural upstream supply chain to farmers is fragmented, meaning that it is difficult for suppliers to identify channels to market. There are many small companies and only a few large ones (such as John Deere and Monsanto). It is more difficult for technology companies to identify key stakeholders in the agricultural sector than in the automotive or utilities sectors, which are more-concentrated industries.

Opportunities to sell IoT solutions in the agricultural sector may be as important in low- and middle-income countries as in high-income countries because agriculture accounts for a greater share of GDP in the former. However, the opportunity varies by country, and market structure and regulation must be factored into any market entry strategy. For example, governments may have established quota systems or subsidies, which by their nature undermine farmers’ incentives to increase productivity and hence adopt new technologies. The agricultural sector also has a large number of use cases, a fragmented customer base and a supply chain that differs by country, whereas the smart metering use case, for example, is similar in many countries, has a small number of buyers (utilities) and a relatively simple supply chain.

All of these factors make it difficult for technology suppliers to create scalable solutions.

Some companies are developing routes to market and creating innovative solutions

We evaluated the strategies of several technology suppliers that have developed IoT solutions for the agricultural sector in our recent reports, IoT in agriculture: the role of operators and IoT in agriculture: case studies and analysis. An overview of the approaches of these suppliers is shown in Figure 1.

The technology providers listed in Figure 1 are pioneers in providing IoT solutions to the agricultural sector. Some have identified sound routes to market, and others are developing solutions as a direct response to customer needs. Some are also addressing requirements in emerging markets. It is still too early to identify best practice, but the firms included in our research are demonstrating solid early progress.

• Mezzanine’s MYFARMWEB solution is a comprehensive precision farming platform that has been developed with Mezzanine’s partner and specialist agronomy consultancy, Agritechnovation. Mezzanine has understood the supply chain and this understanding has been key to its success.

• Libelium works with systems integrators and application providers to build solutions based on its sensor technologies. It also works with other institutions such as banks and the public sector to take solutions to market.

• Nokia WING has built smart agriculture and livestock solutions with partners and delivers them as SaaS to operators. It has developed interesting business models to lower the cost of adoption and is seeing growing demand in emerging markets.

Dedicating resources to developing IoT solutions in a largely unproven sector, such as agriculture, is high-risk and many technology providers will choose not to target this vertical with their IoT propositions. Those that do target the sector will need to develop solutions, build a solid understanding of the supply chain and channels to market and explore the opportunity in emerging markets.

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Backed by €1.5 Million EC Grant, Saturas Will Package Its Ag-Tech Breakthrough on LoRa® Networks.

Kerlink, a specialist in solutions dedicated to the Internet of Things (IoT), and Saturas Ltd., the developer of a breakthrough stem-water measurement system for highly efficient farming, today announced that Kerlink will provide Saturas with LoRa-based hardware and software as it launches its technology commercially.

Kerlink is a leading global provider of solutions for designing, launching, and operating public and private LoRaWAN® IoT networks. It offers a comprehensive product portfolio of industrial-grade network equipment, best-of-breed network-core, operations, and management software, and value-added applications.

Saturas, an Israeli startup, has raised about $9 million, including a prestigious €1.5 million H2020 grant from the European Commission in 2019, to support its miniature, tree-embedded sensor system that continuously measures stem water potential (SWP) of trees and vines.

SWP is scientifically recognized as the most reliable measurement of water stress and an important practical tool for irrigation management. Saturas is the first company to develop a system for measuring SWP automatically, replacing the cumbersome manual devices that fruit-tree and vineyard growers have used for decades. Using Kerlink stations, the company’s tiny LoRaTM sensors transmit processed data to central, automated irrigation-control systems, tailoring irrigation to crops’ real-time needs.

Kerlink will supply Saturas’s deployments with hardware and software such as its solar-powered Wirnet iStation, Wanesy Management Center, a robust solution for managing private IoT networks, and Wanesy Network-as-a-Service, a turnkey comprehensive offer combining key infrastructure, operations, security, and professional services.

“Precision agriculture, led by precision irrigation, is a vital and rapidly growing global business sector with an estimated annual growth rate of over 20 percent,” said Anat Halgoa Solomon, Saturas co-founder & CEO.

“Saturas is positioned to establish a strong presence in this market, and it is vital that we partner with the leading, most reliable companies in the supply chain. The quality of Kerlink’s hardware and software solutions has been proven many times in diverse, challenging environments around the world, and will be a natural fit for our global commercial rollout.”

“Smart farming, or ag-tech, is one of the Internet of Things’ most important vertical markets but it needs the breakthrough innovations that companies like Saturas are bringing to fields and orchards to deliver on its promise,” said Romain Weryk, Kerlink key account manager. “Kerlink’s equipment and software, with their flexibility for supporting customized private networks, are the backbone of IoT networks across more than 120,000 installations in 69 countries.”

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Collaboration Simplifies Access to Advanced Farming Technology Designed to Improve Growing Processes, Increase Crop Yields, and Reduce Input Costs.

Senet, Inc. today announced a partnership with Zenseio, an IoT System Integrator specializing in embedded technology and durable, ready-to-use sensors and telemetry devices for the agriculture and industrial markets.

Through this technology partnership, Senet has certified the Zenseio LSMP2 – Professional Multi-purpose Telemetry Station, providing the agriculture market with a pre-integrated, network-tested solution designed to modernize how soil conditions, water usage, weather conditions, and other parameters are monitored.

Senet has also added the Zenseio LSMP2 to its LoRaWAN end device Marketplace, a listing of hundreds of devices that are certified or at various stages of being certified to operate on the Senet network. Easy access to these certified devices can help reduce time to market and ensure optimal performance.

Built to withstand years of operation in harsh elements without maintenance, the industrial-grade, battery-operated LSMP2 Telemetry Station allows growers to more precisely monitor and control large-scale agricultural environments at a low capital cost. Certification with the Senet network provides customers with access to the largest public LoRaWAN network in the United States and flexible options to add coverage based on unique geographical and application-specific connectivity requirements.

Roman Staszewski, President of Zenseio, said:

“Today’s IoT sensors must be low cost, easy to install and last for long periods of time in the field. These characteristics allow growers to scale their deployments and benefit from true operational visibility.”

“Senet’s highly scalable LoRaWAN network provides a significant opportunity for growers to deploy low cost, low power sensor technology to understand more about their crops and take action to improve their operations, increase yields, and optimize resource usage.”

Until now, poor wireless coverage in rural areas has impeded the adoption of IoT solutions. Farmland is often isolated from cellular and Wi-Fi technologies and where they do exist, cost and complexity of deployment can be prohibitive. Changing the paradigm for how IoT services are delivered and monetized, Senet and Senet network operator partners provide extensive coverage options in rural areas, allowing for a multitude of agriculture and precision farming applications to be deployed today.

“We are excited to be working with Zenseio to provide secure, low power wide area IoT network connectivity for their Smart Agriculture sensors,” said Bruce Chatterley, CEO at Senet. “Growers have unique challenges in rural areas and the long-range network coverage and extended battery life features of LoRaWAN provide new opportunities for farmers to revolutionize traditional growing processes and produce the highest yields and quality possible.”

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XAG announces that its Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) crop protection services have covered an accumulated farmland of 20 million hectares, amid a large-scale cotton defoliation operation in Xinjiang, China.

Among the first to introduce fully autonomous drones to transform the way crops are grown, XAG has become one of the world’s largest agriculture drone manufacturers and service providers. Its crop spraying drones have operated in 38 countries including South Korea, Japan, Australia, Vietnam, Brazil, Mexico, Zambia, etc.

According to XAG Flight Information System (XFIS), up to September 11, 2019, the company’s total drone service record has exceeded 20 million hectares, which is 400% higher than that of a year ago. Particularly, this August, XAG conducted a record-breaking, single-day operation on as many as 140,000 hectares of farmlands, marking a milestone in the global UAS crop protection industry.

The 20-million-hectare service record indicates XAG’s enriched experience in drone-based crop protection as well as farmers’ strengthened trust on the new technology. The precision spraying solutions have been applied to sustainably safeguard a wide range of crops, including maize, cotton, rice, wheat and fruit trees, from harmful weeds and pest diseases.

Closing Yield Gap for Maize and Cotton

In a series of recent drone attacks on the ‘crop devouring’ fall armyworm, XAG has demonstrated that its aerial spraying solutions are highly effective in controlling the spread of these prolific, fast-spreading pests on maize fields. This April, XAG teamed up with Bayer Crop Science to launch a joint emergency control operation in China’s Guangxi Province, where a swarm of crop spraying drones were deployed to kill the pests with a larval mortality rate of 98%.

Following the defeat over fall armyworm, XAG has initiated a large-scale cotton defoliation operation ‘Take off for Harvest Time’ in China for the third consecutive year. Over 1000 professional crop protection teams with an estimated 3000 sets of P Series Plant Protection UASs have gathered in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to meet the ever-increasing market demands from local cotton growers.

Up to mid-September, XAG’s regional service record in Xinjiang alone has reached approximately 4.8 million hectares. Compared to the same period of last year, 49% more cotton fields have been precisely sprayed and effectively defoliated by XAG’s agriculture drones.

Xinjiang accounts for 80% of the nation’s cotton production, where 2.6 million hectares of cotton have been planted this year. To ensure a high-quality machine harvest, farmers need to spray defoliant to remove all the cotton leaves. Compared with hand sprayers or tractors, XAG’s crop spraying drones precisely apply demanded dosage of defoliant to reduce cotton impurities and improve fiber quality, while minimising the use of chemicals and agricultural water. The UAS precision spraying technology is making cotton production more in line with environmentally sustainable standards.

Solving Local Problem in a Global Scale

Founded in 2007, XAG is a Chinese-based agriculture technology company and one of the world’s largest industrial UAS manufacturers. Through empowering farmers with precision technologies such as drones, artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet-of-Things (IoT), XAG has been committed to improving the productivity, quality and sustainability of agricultural production. Currently, it has established global partnerships with industry leaders and research institutions, such as Bayer, Alibaba, Huawei, Harper Adams University and Sydney University, to promote digital farming and enhance food safety.

Having transformed crop protection approach on 20 million hectares of lands, XAG’s smart agriculture solutions have been introduced into 38 overseas markets and adapted to the local agricultural landscape, such as bee pollination and weed control in Australia, the fall armyworm plague in Zambia and the aging rural population in Japan.

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With an investment of less than 30€ annually per animal, ranchers have experienced return on investment in less than a year.

Semtech Corporation announced that itk, a leading French supplier of Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart agriculture applications, has developed a new cattle health monitoring solution based on Semtech’s LoRa® devices.

The FarmLife® smart agriculture service and its LoRa-enabled sensors detect cattle estrus, drive improved nutrition and predict the onset of disease to help ranchers better monitor their herd.

“Semtech’s LoRa devices provided the ideal platform on which to develop our cattle monitoring solutions,” said Eric Jallas, CEO at itk. “The IoT technology’s proven advantages for smart agriculture, including long range communication and ultra-low power consumption, were key characteristics for itk to develop its cattle monitoring sensors. LoRa devices’ flexibility in deployment makes a key difference for connecting animals and offers the potential for a significant return on investment (ROI). Our unique solution provides ranchers with tangible, actionable data on the health of their herd to remove variables from ranching and create productive, efficient and profitable ranches.”

Offering a flexible solution for the smart agriculture vertical, Semtech’s LoRa devices create applications that help minimize waste, maximize yield, reduce expenses, and offer farms and ranches an opportunity to operate as efficiently as possible.

itk’s LoRa-based sensors deploy simply through a collar equipped to each animal. The collar is non-invasive and immediately begins reporting data on the cow’s health upon deployment. Ranchers monitor their herd from this unique LoRa-based device, which provides the benefits of four value added services: Heat’Live® for heat detection, Feed’Live® for nutrition optimization, Time’Live® for animal welfare, and Vel’Live® for calving detection. These services are available through itk’s FarmLife Cloud platform. In total, deploying itk’s solution costs less than 30€ per animal annually.

In addition to the 300,000 cows already monitored in Europe, approximately 20 ranches have deployed itk’s FarmLife platform in North America, connecting cows to the Cloud through network connectivity from X-TELIA, a leading Canadian network provider. Following this initial deployment, farmers claimed they received an ROI in less than a year through an increase in ranch productivity and efficiency. X-TELIA and itk plan to continue the rollout of this smart agriculture solution in the Canadian market, adding itk’s San’Phone® cattle health monitoring service and its Thermo-bolus sensor to connect up to 2.4 million cows in the coming months.

“From measuring environmental conditions that influence crop production to tracking livestock health indicators, LoRa devices for smart agriculture enable efficiencies that reduce environmental impact, maximize yield and minimize expenses,” said Marc Pegulu, Vice President of IoT for Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group.

“With LoRa, ranchers are empowered knowing that their animals are being monitored more accurately and efficiently than before. itk’s LoRa-based cattle sensor and the Thermo-bolus provide real-time data to enable ranches to operate as healthily and productively as possible.”

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