SMART AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES AND AGRICULTURE 4.0
Advances in sensor technology and Information Technology have led to increases in farming efficiency and agricultural productivity. Precision farming is a more targeted approach to the management of land and crop production and is already a trend in the industry. Rather than considering a field as a whole, it calculates the humidity, temperature, fertilizer and mineral levels, automatic irrigation of the land with IoT technology and ensures the best growth of the planted crops.
In the early 90's GPS was introduced and the fields started to be plowed thanks to GPS mounted on tractors. GPS's began to be used in precision agriculture. This technology was first adopted by John Deere, but it followed a steep learning curve for equipment manufacturers. GPS-assisted steering soon became commonplace, reducing time in the field and saving farming, tillage, planting and fertilizing efforts. Food 4.0 process was entered with GPS technology.
20 years ago, a farmer worked tirelessly in the field all day to complete his daily duties. Driverless tractors today can safely do the job for them with greater precision.
Automatically, the human error aspect of farming has been removed. In fully autonomous tractors, the onboard equipment consists of speed and motion sensors, GPRS, a CAN bus electrical system and lasers. These lasers detect obstacles (even as small as a stone) and the tractor reacts accordingly by stopping or maneuvering around it. The only difference between the fully autonomous and the so-called controlled autonomous tractor is that the latter has vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology.
Another innovation that offers farm operators enormous cost and time saving opportunities is the introduction of drones into the field. Controlled by a pilot and via a wireless link, drones are used to obtain a bird's-eye view of the terrain. This speeds up crop inventories. In addition, with Drones, it has become easier to monitor the pests or diseased products invading the crops in the field, analyze the field and control the irrigation. But the most common use of technology is to speed up the fertilization process. A remote-controlled drone will only apply the optimum amount of fertilizer per the operator's instruction. This not only improves the precision of the application, but also saves costs and is better for the environment. Using image recognition, drones can even be trained to detect weeds.
GROWING TRENDS FOR THE FARM OF THE FUTURE (FARM 4.0)
The ultimate goal of Industry 4.0, like any industrial revolution, is to increase productivity and performance while conserving resources and reducing conventional manufacturing power effort. This is exactly what has been achieved with Industry 4.0 and this is just the beginning.
The Agriculture 4.0 transition depends on a farmer's or food and beverage factory operator's ability to invest in innovation (both willingness to adapt and financially). Another important factor for a real change in farming is the modernization of the communication infrastructure in rural areas, namely the developments in 5G networks. In this way, it will facilitate the transition to Agriculture 4.0.
Remote sensing technologies
Remote sensing technologies used in Agriculture 4.0, together with spatial analysis methods, are becoming sensitive and cost-effective aids in agriculture today. Sensors in carrier systems such as satellites, drones or machines provide digital images that can be used to gain comprehensive information about the terrain and the soil and plants in the area. Are they equally beneficial for farmers, industry, agricultural policy and society, and what are the benefits for these user groups? Ideally, farmers can make more targeted decisions for field management based on sensor data and automate and document processes such as fertilization and crop protection.
PROGRESS IS IN THE MIND, NOT IN CLOUD TECHNOLOGY
Agriculture 4.0 is not about digitizing agriculture at all costs, it's about a mindset change. Agriculture 4.0 Companies should drive progress rather than trying to sell new technologies to farmers as often as possible. Consumers have a rather non-technological image of agriculture, so society/consumers are not very demanding of technology. Therefore, companies must work with their competitors to develop solutions to ultimately save the farmer's time in the office and give him more time in the field. This gives him better security for his business and ultimately more financial resources. This could lead to testing of useful technology and new methods.
NEEDS NEW NETWORKS
From farm to plate, new networks are emerging, distances are shortening, supply chains are becoming flexible and food traceable. The food market of the future is decentralized and operates as a digital network that brings consumers and producers closer together again as the 'point of production' approaches the 'point of consumption'. The newly gained transparency makes it possible to organize value creation more efficiently, prevent food waste, improve livestock and thus prevent adverse climate impacts through better digital accessibility and information use. At the same time, new digital tools allow for modern forms of collaboration. Farmers get together, network with scientists.
SCOPES:
AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY and AGRICULTURE 4.0
AGRICULTURE 4.0
- The role of big data
- IoT sensors in field and on livestock
- New technologies in Agriculture
- Improved precision Agriculture
- Crop Production and Plant Breeding
- Plant Protection and Food Safety
- Soil Management
- Family farming
- Sustainable Rural Economy
- Economics of Agrifood System
- Other topics related to Agrofood System
Engineering 4.0 scopes
- Customer Oriented Engineering,
- Interdisciplinary Engineering,
- Production 4.0,
- Quality 4.0,
- Half Life Cycles,
- Halved product lifecycles,
- Data Access
- Smart Tools
Quality 4.0 :
1. Digital tools applied to quality (AI, ML, Predictive Analytics).
2. Excellence for sustainable performance and effective gains.
3. Centralization of Quality Data and Content,
4. E2E QMS
5. Quality Cost Transparency (COPQ)
5. Estimated Quality
6. Supplier Quality and Product Development
7. Biggest challenges or barriers: Lack of digital skills and capabilities, Lack of clear digital strategy, Lack of Quality Culture, Fragmented and/or outdated infrastructure.
8. Biggest success factors: People with Social Skills i.e. creating analytics and communicating business value, influencing teams and experienced change managers.
SCOPES:
AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY
Food engineering, food safety and food security
Postharvest technology and process engineering
Biosystems engineering
Energy and renewable energy in agriculture
Irrigation and drainage
Sustainable agriculture
Agricultural biotechnology
Agricultural management system
Animal husbandry
Agricultural machinery
Precision farming
1. General Agriculture
General agriculture, agricultural education, biodiversity, plant and animal genetic resources, biotechnology, horticulture, plants, animal production, animal nutrition, rangeland management, crop-livestock farming, soil health, agriculture social economics, integrated pest management, and integrated agriculture management
2. Environmental and Climate Change Related to Agriculture
Environmental Sciences, local ecological knowledge, soil, water, and climate, climate change, structures and environment, ecosystem services and range lands, agroecology, waste management, bio solids, water and wastewater treatment, maintenance and operation, surface and groundwater resources, and hydraulic structure
3. Smart and Precision Farming
Nanotechnology and agriculture, precision farming and variable rate technology, power and machinery in agriculture, GPS and GIS technology, mathematical modeling in agriculture, renewable energy & energy management. All the related issues involving smart farming technology
4. Medicinal and Herb Farming
5. Agriculture, Green Economic, and Related Economic Growth
6. Sustainable Development Goal in Agriculture, Environment, Technologies, and Health
7. Agricultur 4.0 and Engineering 4.0 in Agricultur 4.0