Precision Farming

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2. Reference and Text Books
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▶ GISApplications inAgriculture, 2007, Francis J. Pierce, David Clay, CRC Press, Boca Raton.
▶ PrecisionFarming, 2008, B.L.Jana,Agrotech PublishingAcademy, New Delhi.
▶ PrecisionAgriculture Basics, 2018,American Society ofAgronomy, Crop Science Society ofAmerica, and Soil
Science Society ofAmerica, Inc.
▶ Precision farming, Premjit Sharma,2007, Gene Tech Books, Delhi.

3. What is Precision Farming?
▶ Precision farming refers to the precise application of agricultural inputs
with respect to soil, weather and crop need in order to improve
productivity, quality, and profitability in agriculture.
▶ It is a modern agriculture practice involving the use of technology in
agriculture like remote sensing, GPS and Geographical Information
System (GIS) for improving productivity and profitability.
▶ It enables farmers to use crop inputs more efficiently including
pesticides, fertilizers, tillage and irrigation water.
▶ More effective utilization of inputs will bring in more crop yield and
quality without polluting the environment and will result in sustainable
agriculture and sustainable development.
▶ Hence precision agriculture is about doing the right thing, in the right
place, in the right way, at the right time.
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4. Why precision farming
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▶ To increase agriculture productivity
▶ Prevents soil degradation
▶ Reduction of chemical application in crop production
▶ Efficient use of water resources
▶ Dissemination of modern farm practices to improve quality, quantity and reduced
cost of production
▶ Precision farming changing the socio-economic status of farmers

5. Technology
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▶ Technologies include a vast array of tools of hardware, software and equipment
 Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers
 Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS)
 Geographic information systems (GIS)
 Remote sensing
 V
ariable RateApplicator
 Combine harvesters with yield monitors

6. What are the advantages of precision farming?
▶ It will enhance agricultural productivity and prevent soil degradation in cultivable land resulting in sustained agricultural
development.
▶ It will reduce excessive chemical usage in crop production.
▶ Water resources will be utilized efficiently under the precision farming.
▶ GPS allows agricultural fields to be surveyed with ease.
▶ Moreover, the yield and soil characteristics can also be mapped.
▶ Dissemination of information about agricultural practices to improve quality, quantity and reduced cost of production in
agricultural crops.
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7. What are the disadvantages of precision farming?
▶ High capital costs may discourage farmers to not adopt this
method of farming.
▶ Precision agriculture techniques are still under development and
requires expert advice before actual implementation.
▶ It may take several years before the actual collection of
sufficient data to fully implement the system.
▶ It is an extremely difficult task particularly the collection and
analysis of data.
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8. How could India benefit from precision farming
▶ Refinement and wider application of precision agriculture
technologies in India can help in reducing production costs,
increasing productivity and better utilization of natural resources.
▶ It has the ability to revolutionalize modern farm management in
India through improvement in profitability, productivity,
sustainability, crop quality, environmental protection, on-farm
quality of life, food safety and rural economic development.
▶ Site-specific application of irrigation in wheat of Punjab and
Haryana, pesticides in cotton and fertilizers applications in oil
palm plantation in South India, and coffee and tea garden of
eastern India can highly reduce production costs and also reduce
environmental loading of chemicals.
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9. ▶ It can increase the efficiency of irrigation efficiency when water resources are low.
▶ Farmers can use forecast and mitigate problems like water stress, nutrient deficiency, and pests/diseases.
▶ It also increases opportunities for skilled employment in the agriculture sector and also provides new tools for
evaluating multifunctional aspects including non-market functions.
▶ It has the essential role in the monitoring of greenhouse conditions in agricultural fields

10. Challenges in adopting precision farming in India
▶ The adoption of precision farming in India is yet in the nascent stage
due to its unique pattern of land holdings, poor infrastructure, lack of
farmers inclination to take the risk, social and economic conditions and
demographic conditions
▶ The small size of landholdings in most of the Indian agriculture limits
economic gains from currently available precision farming technology.
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11. Present Scenario
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• Though PF is very much talked about in developed countries, it is still at a very budding stage in
developing countries, including India. Space Application Center, ISRO, in collaboration with
Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla has initiated a study on exploring the role remote sensing
for PF.
▶ Other Institute in India initiated work on PF are:
– Central Potato Research Station – Jalandhar (Punjab)
▶ Role of remote sensing in mapping the variability w.r.t space & time
– MS Swaminathan Research Foundation – Chennai in collaboration with NABARD has adopted a
village in Dindigul district of Tamilnadu for variable rate inputs application

12. Tata Kisan Sansars
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▶ Precision farming, an innovative project pioneered by the TKSs, is helping small
farmers harness sophisticated modern suchas satellite mappingand geographical
information systems (GIS), to maximize the yield from their land.
▶ GISs are computerized systems that record, store, analyze and produce maps and geographic
products based on information obtained from different sources.
▶ These help farmers adapt quickly to changing conditions. The result: healthier crops, higher
yields and enhanced incomes for farmers. Using GIS to maximize Profit

13. How Extension Scientist help farmers at Tata Kisan
Sansar
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▶ The agronomist at the Sansar uses the analysis of topography, soils, climate,
hydrology, cropping systems and crop suitability to advise farmers on which crops to
grow, how to manage his crops, when to sell what (market trends), and which fertilizer to
use where, etc.
▶ The goal is to maximize the yield from each farmer's landholding by using inputs as
per Site Specific Requirements of the growing Crops.