The Internet of Things (IoT) and connected devices have an evident impact on today's world. Today, it is practically everywhere, from homes to the health sector, smart cities, the fitness industry, and the industrial sector. The majority of industries have it, and the world of agriculture is no exception. Actually, the Internet of Things (IoT) and connected gadgets can have a huge impact on farming techniques, allowing farmers to stop using horses and plows. What purpose does it serve to rely on antiquated techniques in an era of autonomous vehicles, augmented reality, and virtual reality? As a result, the idea of the Internet of Things is well-liked in farming and agriculture.

With nearly half of the people employed in agriculture, India is the second-largest producer of agricultural goods worldwide. With the expanding global population, it is more crucial than ever to reform the system for a sector that has such a significant impact on the economy and that relies only on climatic factors and traditional farming methods. Because of this, we think that more widespread usage of Internet of Things sensor systems in agriculture will be possible as the smart agricultural sector develops.

What is 'Smart Farming'?

Many different definitions exist for the modern agriculture sector. For instance, the term 'AgriTech' describes how technology is generally used in agriculture.

Smart agriculture, on the other hand, refers to the application of Internet of Things (IoT) tools in the agricultural sector. What does smart agriculture powered by the IoT involve, then? By employing IoT sensors to collect environmental and machine parameters, farmers may improve almost every aspect of their work, from raising cattle to growing crops.

Smart agriculture sensors, for instance, can be used by farmers to assess the health of their crops and decide precisely how much pesticide and fertilizer they need to apply. Smart farming has the same underlying idea.

IoT is playing a larger and larger role in farming and agriculture

The market is still quite active even if smart agriculture IoT is currently more popular than consumer linked devices. Agriculture is increasingly utilizing IoT technology. For instance, BI Intelligence forecasts that 75 million IoT devices will be installed in agricultural applications by the year 2020, with a 20 percent annual growth rate. Additionally, it is predicted that by 2025, the value of the global smart agricultural market would have tripled, reaching $15.3 billion, compared to little over $5 billion in 2016.

Additionally, by 2050, the population of the planet, which is constantly expanding, will be about 9.6 billion. The agriculture business must therefore embrace IoT if it hopes to feed this enormous population. More food will be needed, so it will be important to overcome obstacles like extreme weather, environmental effects, and rising climate change brought on by intensive farming practices.

Utilizing the Internet of Things in agricultural operations reduces the need for human labor through automation, speeds up machine commands through remote and real-time monitoring, and at the same time enables farmers to use resources much more effectively through preventative maintenance & environmental forecasting.

Application of IoT Technology

It becomes crucial to select the right sensors for the device when developing an IoT solution for farming and agricultural uses. What you want to do with the data you acquire ultimately depends on the type of information you are attempting to gather. For your IoT solution to be successful, make sure the sensors are of excellent quality. After all, the success is dependent on the veracity and quality of the data acquired.

In developing countries like the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the IoT has endless promise. In fact, IDC forecasted in 2018 that IoT spending in Africa and the Middle East will increase by 15% to $7 billion over the next few years.