Agritech Tutorial

Agritech or Agricultural technology refers to use of technology in agriculture, horticulture, and aquaculture to improve the yield quality and quantity with minimal input. It makes use of various technologies like precision farming, smart irrigation systems, drones, satellites, and biotechnology.

Smart Farming of Agritech

Agritech is made up of two words i.e agriculture and technology. Agritech make use of technologies to improve the yield quality and productivity at the same time minimizing input resources. Key technologies used in agritech are:

• Precision farming for efficient use of resources, drones for crop monitoring, and soil conditions.
• IoT for sensing and collecting real time data.
• AI and machine learning for providing solution based on the data from sensors and drones and big data provides insights to farmers.

Why do we need Agritech?

There are many challenges faced by farmers in agriculture which includes: resource shortage like water, labour and soil degradation, insects and pests management, climate change, high input cost of seeds, fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides.

Agritech addresses all the challenges faced by farmers which are mentioned above. Below is a list of agritechs which address the challenges faced:

• Resources Shortage: Agritech make use of smart irrigation systems and soil sensors which optimize water usage and reducing soil degradation. It make use of drones to monitor the field and crops and many more machineries to overcome labor shortage.
• Insect and Pest Management: Precision farming can help in insects and pest management as it access real time data on crops health and targets only the required area than covering whole field.
• High Input Cost: By precision farming, farmers can optimize input cost as it helps to monitor where and when the resources are required.

Evolution of Agritech

The evolution of agritech has been a long journey from using traditional farming methods to using advanced technologies like data analytics, robotics, biotechnology, genetic engineering, and many more. Here is a brief timeline of the evolution of agritech.

• Earlier people used to make use of simple agricultural tools like plough, sickles, and hoes. They also used techniques like crop rotation to maintain soil fertility, animal-drawn plows, and irrigation to maximize crop productivity.
• During the 18th century, the Agricultural Revolution introduced various innovations and techniques such as seed drills, threshing machines, selective breeding, improved transportation, and advanced crop rotation systems which helped the farmer to maximize their yield efficiently.
• The Industrial Revolution helped the agriculture department by providing chemical fertilizers, tractors, and mechanical reapers easing the manual work of farmers and saving their time increasing efficiency and quantity of yield.
• The Green Revolution in the 20th century introduced many new technologies and farming practices which significantly improved the quality and quantity of products resulting in increased global food production and lower food prices.
• Some of the innovations are high-yielding crop varieties, fertilizers and pesticides, multiple-cropping, controlled irrigation, and expansion of mechanization.
• In the late 20th century, there were many discoveries in Biotechnology such as genetically modified crops and plants making them resistant to pests and adaptive to environmental conditions.
• There was also the emergence of Precision agriculture in the late 20th century which used GPS and sensors to monitor crop health and soil health.
• In the 21st century, there was the introduction of various new technologies and innovations. Introduction of Big data, AI, drones for monitoring and getting real-time data on crops and soil health, and water necessities.
• The expansion of machinery by introducing robotic harvesters, and smart irrigation systems has helped farmers deal with the problem of labor shortage and save their money on manual laborers.

FAQs on Agritech

Here are some frequently Asked Questions(FAQs) on Agritech, this section tries to answer them briefly.

What is Agritech?

Agritech refers to use of technology in agriculture, horticulture, and aquaculture to increase production, enhance the efficiency, produce high quality products at lower price and improve soil and water management.

Why is Agritech important?

Agritech is important as it helps farmers and producers to maximize the yields, produce better quality products at lower price. It promotes eco-friendly farming and helps in producing healthier products by reducing use of fertilizers, improve soil and water management and monitoring crop health throughout the process.

What are the main technologies used in Agritech?

Main technologies used in agritech are: drones, AI and machine learning, IoT, Big Data, blockchain and precision farming tools.

What challenges does Agritech help solve?

There are various challenges which agritech solve which are: climatic changes, food and resources shortage, pest and insects control, labor shortage and soil degradation.

What is precision agriculture in Agritech?

Precision farming is the practice of using technologies like GPS, drones, and satellites to get data on the condition of crops, moisture content of soil, and weather prediction. These data help farmers to apply the right amount of chemicals in the right place at the right time resulting in increasing efficiency, and productivity and reducing input costs.

Is Agritech only for large-scale farms?

No, agritech can be adapted for both small and larger scale farms. There are various agritech tools designed specifically for small-scale farms.