This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on July 11 - 17, 2016. 

The Internet of Things (IoT) could be a game changer for agriculture in this country. Supported by cloud computing and 3G, IoT has the potential to improve agricultural ventures, big and small. It is a relatively cheap technology, but it is smart, pervasive and transformative.

In general, it is rare for people to think about the internet in connection with agriculture. But IoT technology allows farmers to connect devices to the internet to improve management and operations to reduce waste, better control pests and disease, efficiently use farm inputs and streamline livestock management, thus, raising productivity.

What is IoT? There is no universally agreed upon definition of IoT. In simple terms, it is a technology that connects any device to the internet. It describes networks of objects or “things” that are not themselves computers but have embedded components that connect to the internet.

“Things” include agricultural equipment, cows or sheep in the field implanted with chips, home appliances and almost anything one can think of, including people. The core of this wave of innovation is data and the interconnectedness of devices and equipment. The IoT is a giant network of connected “things”. These networks allow communications or establish people-to-people, people-to-things and things-to-things relationships.

How does it affect agriculture? IoT is the embedded or attached computer chips that give an object both a unique identifier and internet connectivity. These objects are considered “smart” objects. Internet connectivity allows a smart object to communicate with computers and other smart objects, exchanging data between them. These data can be transformed into information to facilitate decision-making. This unique feature of IoT has much potential for industry, particularly agriculture.

A farm must maximise output per hectare, minimise operating cost and sell produce at the highest possible price. What this entails is effective management of input resources like fertiliser, water and seed quality while minimising the risk of uncertainties due to climate and market changes and shocks as well as pests and disease.

The reality for agriculture in Malaysia is far from optimal. Most farms, particularly the small ones, are still using traditional farming practices due to structural problems. These include small farm size and remote locations with limited access to the latest knowledge and technology, inadequate institutional support and vulnerability to a wide range of uncertainties such as pest attacks and disease, climate change and market swings.

Many farmers have not kept abreast of the latest standards of good practice, in particular, in efficiency and sustainability. They tend to overuse macro-fertilisers and miss the benefits of micro-fertilisers appropriate to their crops and soil.

They lack an understanding of pest life cycles, hence, they are vulnerable to crop failure due to infestations and if the environment of their farm changes. Crop inspections rarely take place and the insights and information obtained are subjective and interpretations vary between individuals. The margin of error is large. In most cases, past trial-and-error results are the basis for an “intelligent” guess. Clearly, one of the missing links for our farms is reliable and timely information.

Farmers face fundamental questions all the time. These include what, when and how to plant a crop, the cost of equipment and labour, the optimum level of input application, how to monitor pests and disease, soil and water quality, how to manage animals on the farm and in the field, when and to whom to sell and so on. The needed input here is again information. And IoT easily fills this gap, providing data and information on demand and 24/7.

IoT relays its data through GPS satellites, drones, sensors embedded in the “things” such as soil, cows, tractors and other farm animals or objects. These data not only give farmers much more information about their crops, but also greater situational awareness of the entire farm enterprise.

The devices transmit real-time data that are stored in cloud-based systems which farmers can easily access in the forms of ready-made visuals such as reports, graphs and pie charts that are useful for decision-making. These analytics allow farmers to precisely manage fertiliser and pesticide applications, manage water and crop rotation and control labour, maintenance and energy costs.

In short,  IoT will change Malaysian agriculture. It is the enabler for precision agriculture that optimises production and efficiency while reducing cost and environmental impacts. Generally, Malaysian agricultural production is far from efficient, as evidenced by low productivity, high post-harvest losses, heavy dependence on fossil-fuel fertiliser and chemical pesticides that damage soil, water and the environment and a high incidence of pest and disease attacks. All these issues require real-time data to help farmers to make decisions. IoT makes this possible.

IoT makes farmers “smarter” in their decision-making. By generating detailed insights, IoT enables farmers to make data-based operational decisions that optimise returns while minimising cost and reducing risk.

IoT is largely facilitated by smart devices. For instance, field sensors enable precise irrigation and fertilisation as they provide data on soil moisture, humidity and chemical balance. Drones and satellites can be used to take detailed images of fields, giving farmers information about crop yield, nutrient deficiencies and weed locations. Field images of crops over time, coupled with predictive weather modelling, provide the basis for simulation models to predict future conditions and help farmers make proactive decisions.

For cattle management, radio frequency chips and electronic indentification readers help monitor movements, feeding patterns and breeding capabilities while maintaining detailed records of individual animals.

Sensors embedded in agricultural equipment transmit real-time data, alerting farmers to any needed maintenance before a breakdown occurs. These are just a few examples of IoT applications. Of course, there are many more to be explored in the local context.

Clearly, IoT has the potential to improve productivity. Its ability to provide precise data on resources on the farm contributes to conservation too. For instance, farming in the face of a water shortage is a challenge. It requires precise real-time information to help minimise waste and prevent over and under-watering while managing water cost. IoT facilitates data to rectify the situation.

What makes IoT invasive are its pervasive computing, massive processing power through cloud-based computing, shareable tools, applications and intelligently linked content and data, mobile devices with multi-sensory inputs and outputs, the ability to collect, analyse and re-use huge, distributed collection of data, interaction of ICT with various disciplines in sciences such as biology, biotechnology and others.

Furthermore, IoT is cheap due to the low cost of connectivity. It is propelled by the falling cost of microprocessors, memory, sensors and other computer hardware that allow manufacturers to embed such devices in their products in order to expand their functionality. Handphones and other devices can easily be used as interfaces to connect to the IoT network.

IoT is an equaliser between big and small farms. Regardless of the size, location and type of enterprise, all farmers have equal access to this technology and can mobilise it to leap forward. With time, the community acquires skills to create and manage information and knowledge.

This democratisation of information will bring farming communities, including the agri-food chain players, into the agricultural research, innovation and developmental process. This could transform the entire structure of agricultural research and innovation systems and may lead to an exponential increase in innovation. In the future, it is anticipated that data will be generated and shared by communities.

Like any other ICT application, IoT does have its issues such as privacy, security, intellectual and property rights, values and ethics and so on. This will need transformation of existing and the development of new institutions at various levels for data and information.

Will IoT in agriculture be realised in Malaysia soon? For sure, IoT technology is not only readily available but it is outpacing agricultural advancement at a rapid rate. However, since the country’s agriculture is lagging in all dimensions and slowly losing its competitiveness, IoT can be the game changer for the sector.

To realise this, there must be further investment in infrastructure such as for data, applications, analytics, hardware, software and connectivity, content, integration of data, information systems and applications and governance. Changing the mindset of the farmers and industry players is the prerequisite of a successful IoT infusion.

At the current speed of ICT advancement, IoT is no longer an option but a necessity for Malaysian agriculture to begin a much-needed transformation after decades of sluggish growth. Doing otherwise would mean an opportunity lost, which grows bigger as ICT advances to a new frontier. By then, it will be too late.

Fatimah Mohamed Arshad is head of the Bioresource and Environmental Policy Laboratory, Institute of Agricultural and Food Policy Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia

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