Agricultural technology abbreviated as Agritech is the utilisation of technology to enhance agricultural activities or processes to improve farm productivity, yield, profitability and efficiency. Agritech can be used in various aspects of agriculture such as the farm fields, documentation, pest or weed control, weather forecasting, farm mapping and many more. The technology can be a product, service, software or application.
By using agritech in your farm, you are not only improving your farm’s productivity but also helping to improve agricultural production in the country and providing more agritech jobs. The world’s population is projected to be over 9 billion by the year 2050 (28 years from now), which means there will be a need to increase agricultural production significantly. To meet this need there will be a need for increased adoption of agricultural technologies.
Here are 5 Ways Agritech Can Improve the Productivity of Your Farm
Accurately Forecast the Weather
Being able to predict the weather can help you prepare your farm for any adverse climate occurrence that may affect your farms such as heavy rainfalls that may lead to flooding, erosion, heat waves and more. By using weather forecasting technology, you can monitor the weather conditions, prevent your farm from flooding, determine the perfect period to start your planting season and so much more. You can learn about how to adapt to climate change effects here.
Get Farming Activities Done Faster and Efficiently
By using existing agritech products such as tractors and other farm machinery on your farm, farming activities which would normally take up most of your time can be done at a much faster pace and efficiently. It could take more than 20 people to clear a new piece of land for farming over a week using hoes, cutlass and axe but with a bulldozer, the same piece of land can be cleared within hours. You can use a tractor to plough, till, harrow and plant on your farm efficiently.
Manage All Your Farming Activities and Documentation
Through farm management software, you can effectively manage limited resources on their farm, monitor farm activities, take inventories, keep records, create budgets, approve expenses, mitigate theft, automate manual processes and accurately record farm yields.
Farm management software can be customised to suit your specific farm needs and that of other farmers. You can check online for a list of free and paid farm management software.
Plan Your Farming with Precision and Predictive Analysis
Advancements in agricultural technology have made it possible for applications and tools that can provide farmers with precise farming data to be developed. These applications ensure that you can provide crops and soil with the right amount of water, crop rotation guidance, timely harvesting, optimum planting, preventing and managing pest attacks, nutrition management, and more.
Soil & Plant Health Monitoring
The health of the soil and crops’ determines the quality and quantity of farm produce at harvest. Monitoring and ensuring plants are growing correctly, pest detection, crop infection, proper fertilisation of crops, and more can be strenuous to do manually, especially if you have a large farm.
However, with a soil and plant health monitoring artificial intelligence-powered solution, it is now easier for farmers to monitor their plants and soil.
At Babban Gona, we use a similar Artificial Intelligence solution built by our developers. It helps our members monitor their crops and soil by scanning them with an android phone. It helps our members identify and detect defective soils and sick plants.
