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Global population growth places extreme, significant pressure on the agricultural sector to increase crop production and maximize yields. There are two popular potential approaches to solving this pressure: expanding land use and embracing innovative practices for large-scale farming. The modern agricultural landscape is always evolving, with new technologies designed to improve efficiency and maximize harvests.
One of those new technologies is Artificial Intelligence. There are many potential benefits to using AI in agriculture, and there should be a discussion exploring how AI can better benefit farmers.
For most individuals involved in farming, AI and agriculture simply don’t mix. Nevertheless, farmers outside the United States are starting to entertain the idea of revolutionizing their farming practices to decrease the many disadvantages of traditional farming and better maximize all types of crops. Below are a few ways AI can be very helpful to farmers:
Cost savings. Farmers are finding that introducing AI to their farming practice has enabled them to have better soil management practices and to maximize yields while minimizing their spending. AI gives farmers real-time crop insights, helping them to identify which areas need irrigation, fertilization, or pesticide treatment.
Vertical agriculture. This includes aeroponic, hydroponic, and aquaponic techniques for growing plants. Vertical agriculture provides the farmer with the ability to aggregate a high volume of plant data, analyze it, and use it to increase yields. AI so far has been proven to reduce the use of herbicides, increase harvest quality, and provide higher profits while reducing costs. The farmer can then use this money in other areas.
Automation impact. Because agriculture is hard work and there are often labor shortages, AI automation is providing a solution without the need to hire more workers. Automated farm machinery includes driverless tractors and smart irrigation, which includes:
Soil sensors that determine water inefficiencies and water content below the soil.
Weather sensors that use how fast water evaporates from the soil to determine humidity, which can be used to help forecast more accurate weather predictions while highlighting specific areas of crops that are dehydrated.
Plant sensors that alert farmers early to insufficient water content or yield-reducing tendencies in the field that need further irrigation.
AI is also starting to introduce greenhouse robots for harvesting crops in very high heat or high-pressure situations without having to involve any human farmworker. This will allow the farmer to have a successful harvest despite perilous weather conditions.
Traditional farming practices will always be used by farmers who aren’t open to advanced technologies. However, implementing AI models is starting to prove many advantages, such as:
Optimizing automated irrigation systems. AI algorithms based upon the data being collected by the smart sensors provide real-time data back to the farmer to advise areas where water can be conserved while informing smart greenhouses. This allows greenhouse sensors to adjust temperatures automatically, provide humidity relief, and increase or decrease light levels based on real-time data being received. This feedback to the farmer is on an hourly basis.
Detecting leaks or damage to irrigation systems. By analyzing the data from the sensors provided in the fields, the algorithms can be trained to recognize leaks by changes in water flows or pressure. This helps to prevent water waste and potential crop damage.
Detecting disease and pests. AI is starting to introduce measures to scan images of plants and detect abnormalities. This is to find mold or rot and determine which insects are attacking the fields and eating the crops. This is starting to prove an enormous help to farmers, allowing them to act quickly to isolate the crops and prevent the spreading of disease that would eventually ruin the crops.
AI is starting to proactively identify insects like flies, bees, and moths with over 95% accuracy based on the images from data collected by sensors in fields. AI is also being proven beneficial for farmers with smartphones since it can text or email the farmer about potential issues requiring immediate attention. AI is also starting to provide information to the farmers to distinguish employees from unauthorized interlopers trespassing on the field to steal plants and crops.
Traditional farming methods are becoming outdated, and the need for advanced technical solutions is becoming increasingly important. Digital technology is now playing a huge role in transforming agriculture, and the impact of AI in agriculture is becoming increasingly popular.
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