a planten agro (BD) & rapagra bv (NL) partnership
Introduction:
Satellite monitoring of plant health offers a revolutionary approach to precision agriculture, leveraging cutting-edge technology to enhance crop management practices. By integrating satellite-based imagery with advanced data analytics, this solution enables farmers to optimize their farming activities, improve productivity, and mitigate risks associated with weather variability, irrigation inefficiency, fertilizer misapplication, and pest outbreaks. Planten Agro is implementing this state-of-art technology in Bangladesh.
Objectives:
- Provide timely weather forecasts and critical updates to farmers.
- Optimize irrigation practices for efficient water usage and improved crop yields.
- Enhance fertilizer application strategies for optimal nutrient management.
- Monitor and mitigate pest attacks and diseases to protect crop health and maximize yields.
- Facilitate the implementation of satellite-based plant health monitoring through a structured approach involving stakeholders and partners.
1. How the solution helps in Weather forecast?
i) Local Weather Station Connectivity ii) Critical Weather Notifications iii) Personalized Suggestions iv) Notification Channels v) Timely Precautionary Measures
Our solution is able to connect to local weather stations (within 1 km radius when available) and directly send farmers notifications about critical weather updates. We can inform about rainfall/high temperatures/wind change/humidity/hailstorm/
storm or typhoons, etc. as per required. Additionally, we will be able to provide personalized suggestion/farmer on what to do in such cases. The farmer will get notified through either text message/voice message or standard calls. This is a critical service as farmers can take timely precaution to protect their crops.
2. How the solution helps in Irrigation?
i) Soil Moisture Monitoring ii) Graphical Illustration iii) Optimized Water Usage iv) Cost Reduction v) Environmental Sustainability
Our system is effectively monitoring the soil moisture level. It will provide a graphical illustration pixel by pixel to show where the moisture level stands at the field. This shows how the indicated land is irrigated and whether the amount of water that is used, is sufficient more or less than required. This is important since less water used will translate into less vegetative growth and not a good harvest output. Conversely, over-irrigation is also harmful for certain crops; not only excess water usage is a wastage of resources but also contributes in higher costs related to use of more diesel and a constant ground-water level reduction.
3. How the solution helps in Fertilizer application?
i) Vegetative Growth Monitoring ii) Machine Learning Analysis iii) Optimized Fertilizer Application iv) Cost Savings v) Consistent Harvest Quality
Our solution is able to monitor the vegetative growth and bio-mass of the crops. This translates to the growth of the crops according to expectation. Our system can run this through our ML program to cross-check against moisture levels, chlorophyll levels and other soil and weather parameters to provide a report on whether fertilizer is properly added to the land. This will enable farmers to optimize the fertilizer schedule and save costs up to 20% while ensuring a perfect harvest every time.
4. How the solution helps in Pest attack and Disease mitigation?
i) Chlorophyll Level Monitoring ii) Early Warning System iii) Targeted Pest Management iv) Optimized Pesticide Usage v) Cost Reduction and Environmental Sustainability
Our solution is able to monitor the chlorophyll level for crops in the monitored land. This is a basic indicator for plant health and what is invisible to the naked eyes, our system can identify it through the satellite-based imagery. This is particularly important for farmers as early warnings can be sent to farmers to care for particular crops in the field through application of pesticide/medicines. Similarly, over-usage of pesticide can certainly be decreased significantly because the system will advise on effective and required amount to spray. Thus, costs can be decreased up to 30% for pesticide spraying.