the way ahead: how drones, sensors and apps are rewriting the rules in agriculture

Team Echo for RGSOC 2016

The Way Ahead: How Drones, Sensors and Apps are rewriting

the rules in Agriculture

By Naggita Keziah and Nanjekye JoannahAfrican Women in technology conference

(East Africa)

Outline

• Introduction• Sensors• Drones• Apps

Who we are• Joannah Nanjekye• Naggita Keziah• Team Echo• What are we working on ?

Sensor Network Applications in Agriculture

“Whoever does not command the means to feed himself can neither feel freedom nor dignity .”

Mohamed Hosni Mubarak

What is a sensor?

A sensor is a device that detects and responds to some type of input from the physical environment.

Figure show a temperature sensor

What is a Sensor Network ?A sensor network is composed of a large number of sensor nodes, which are densely deployed either inside the phenomenon or very close to it.

WSN (Wireless Sensor Network) pass their information to the sink node through a wireless network.

Figure shows WSN example

SHORT RANGE LONG RANGE

Node to Node Multihop

Mostly Single Hop

50-100 meters Distance no limitation

No infrastructure needed to support communication

Communication Infrastructure needed (Mobile phone)

Wireless Communication Range

Wireless Communication Range…

How sensors are used in Agriculture• They are used to determine the following;

– Temperature– Humidity– Soil Moisture– Wind speed, direction– Rain Fall– Sunshine– CO2

– Ph. levels

EXAMPLES OF SENSOR TECHNOLOGIES USED IN AGRICULTURE

Soil sensors A laser sensor The GreenSeeker

High resolution remote sensor.

A wireless sensor network (WSN)

A smart sensor

EXAMPLES OF SENSOR TECHNOLOGIES USED IN AGRICULTURE…

Before use of sensor technology

• Africa has not benefited from the green revolution.

In spite of its vast natural resources, including a huge expanse of arable land, Africa has the highest incidence of undernourishment (estimated at almost one in four persons) worldwide.

With little or no sensor technology

With little or no sensor technology…• Africa imports food staples valued at about US$25 billion

annually, essentially because food production, supply, and consumption systems are not functioning optimally.

• The level of value addition and crop processing of agricultural commodities is low and post-harvest losses in sub-Saharan Africa average 30 percent of total production, meaning that the region loses over US$4 billion each year

Agriculture with little or no sensor technology

Population prediction by 2100.

After employment of ICT

• According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Rwanda’s farmers produced 792,000 tones of grain in 2014—more than three times as much as in 2000.

• Production of maize, a vital crop in east Africa, jumped sevenfold.

After employment of ICT…

• Cereal production tripled in Ethiopia between 2000 and 2014. The value of crops grown in Cameroon, Ghana and Zambia has risen by at least 50% in the past decade.

• Is the size of the farm important?

PHONE SUBSCRIPTIONS IN AFRICA BY 2011

Likely challenges on improving sensor technology penetration in Africa

1. low electrification.Africa’s electrification rate as at 2009 was estimated at 42%, with coverage of 69% and 25% for urban and rural areas, respectively. Available projections for electrification rates indicate a steadily rising trend in the coming three decades to a rate of 51% in 2030.

Likely challenges on improving sensor technology penetration in Africa …

2. High tariffsIn 2013 the UN estimated that African businesses that exported goods to other African countries faced average tariffs of 8.7%, compared with 2.5% for those that exported goods beyond Africa. But the tariffs and barriers are gradually coming down.

3. Expensive Production and deployment of sensors is expensive.4. ExpertiseProduction of these sensor technologies require experts.

What are drones?

Unmanned aircraftscommonly referred to as a UAV

Unmanned because it flies without a person actually sitting in it.

History: Not new whats the fuss? Drones have evolved through three phases:.• Drones as Targets(1910s–1950s).• Drones as Remote sensor platforms (1960s–

1990s).• Drones as Weapons(1990s).

Drones TodayUsed every where;

Precision Agriculture

observing, measuring and responding to inter and intra-field variability in crops.

Drones in Agriculture cont. …Data acquisition(observe)

• Remote sensing• Integration with sensor networks

Monitoring (fires, fields, animals …)(measure)Chemical and biological treatments(respond)

Data acquisition: Remote sensing

What is remote sensing?

Remote sensing: examples• Moisture estimation

Remote sensing: examples• Plant height and growth

Data acquisition: Integration with sensor networks

Sensor networks

The Benefits of Drones in Farming• Optimization of the treatments• Reduction and prevention of waste• Reduction of labor and material costs• Reduction of pollution• Reduction of the risks

The Benefits of Drones in Farming• Increase Yields• Save Time• Return on Investment• Ease of use• Integrated GIS mapping• Crop Health Imaging• Failsafe - The Drone Flies Home

Common Drone uses in precision farming• Mid-Season Crop Health Monitoring (aka Scouting).• Irrigation Equipment Monitoring.• Mid-Field Weed Identification.• Variable-Rate Fertility.• Cattle Herd Monitoring

Use of Precision Agriculture over time

Why do we need precision Farming• Food vs. world population growth.

Limitations of drones• National regulations.• Weather dependent(in particular wind ,rain).• Technology.

Limitations• Expensive• Need for expertise• Resolution• Availability of multi-temporal data

Forecast : The Future• The future of drones in agriculture.

Way forward

• Need to make research and development departments.• The drone of today and the future is our responsibility• Legislators need to be thinking of policies in the future.• Developers need to make this tech more cheap.

What are apps• An app is a piece of software. • can run on any device • Commonly said to mean mobile applications.

What are mobile apps.

A software application developed specifically for use on small, wireless computing devices.

History of mobile applications• Phones were calling and sending texts. • Mobile applications date back to the end of the

twentieth century. • The beginning of the new millennium saw a rapid

market evolution of mobile content and applications.

Mobile apps : Now• Developers are at the forefront of writing mobile

applications.• The Apple App store adds about 20,000 apps every

month! • 87% of app downloaders have used deal-of-the-day

websites like Groupon or Living Social. Nielsen

What Makes Mobile Apps So Popular?

• Most people have smart phones and iPhones today.• There are millions of mobile apps at present. • The Apple App store adds more than 20,000 apps

every month.

As per Flurry Analytics:• Total iPhone app downloads: 30 billion• Total Android app downloads: 15 billion• An average number of apps per smartphone user: 41

What are some of the apps used today?

The Future of mobile apps

The Future

Way forward : crop growth changes are evidence for need of change.

Way forward• Farmers must get information at the right time and

place.• ICT, and in particular mobile technologies should be

considered as a game changer‘ in smallholder agriculture.

“My grandfather used to say that once in your life you need a doctor, a lawyer, policeman and a preacher, but every day three times you need a farmer.”

Brenda Shoepp.

Conclusion

Hack for the farmer

THANK YOU

References• http://www.precisiondrone.com/drones-for-agriculture.html

• http://www.americanbar.org/publications/judges_journal/2014/fall/drones_the_coming_of_age_of_a_notsonew_technology.html

• http://aic.ucdavis.edu/calmed/August%2008,%20final%202d%20Egypt.pdf

• http://cleanleap.com/internet-things-making-smart-farms-africa

• http://www.dw.com/en/agricultural-sensors-improving-crop-farming-to-help-us-feed-the-world/a-17733350

• http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29257401

• http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/sensor

• http://reports.weforum.org/africa-competitiveness-report-2015/chapter-2-1-transforming-africas-agriculture-to-improve-competitiveness/

• https://www.elprocus.com/best-wireless-sensor-networks-projects-ideas/

• http://research.cens.ucla.edu/projects/2005/Terrestrial_Ecology/agriculture_trop_ecosystem/

• https://wle.cgiar.org/thrive/big-questions/does-farm-size-really-matter-africa/african-agriculture-does-farm-size-really

• http://blog.euromonitor.com/2015/03/10-facts-about-sub-saharan-africa.html

• http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Publications/Africa%20in%2050%20Years%20Time.pdf

• http://www.top2best.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/uses-of-drones.jpg

• https://www.microdrones.com/en/applications/growth-markets/microdrones-in-agriculture/

• http://dronelife.com/2014/12/30/5-actual-uses-drones-precision-agriculture-today/

• http://www.precisiondrone.com/drones-for-agriculture.html

• http://www.farms.com/precision-agriculture/crop-scouting/

• http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/note/join/2014/529049/IPOL-AGRI_NT(2014)529049_EN.pdf

• http://www.farmandranchjobs.com/journal/drones-on-the-farm-7-ways-they-are-helping-farmers/

• http://www.uaviation.ca/services/agriculture/

• http://theconversation.com/farmers-of-the-future-will-utilize-drones-robots-and-gps-37739

• http://www.syngentafoundation.org/__temp/Report_on_mAgriculture_abridged_web_version.pdf

• http://cornandsoybeandigest.com/crop-chemicals/5-agriculture-stories-read-may-1-2015#slide-0-field_images-972

• http://www.top2best.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/uses-of-drones.jpg

• https://www.microdrones.com/en/applications/growth-markets/microdrones-in-agriculture/

• http://dronelife.com/2014/12/30/5-actual-uses-drones-precision-agriculture-today/

• http://www.precisiondrone.com/drones-for-agriculture.html

• http://www.farms.com/precision-agriculture/crop-scouting/

• http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/note/join/2014/529049/IPOL-AGRI_NT(2014)529049_EN.pdf

• http://www.farmandranchjobs.com/journal/drones-on-the-farm-7-ways-they-are-helping-farmers/

• http://www.uaviation.ca/services/agriculture/

• http://theconversation.com/farmers-of-the-future-will-utilize-drones-robots-and-gps-37739

• http://www.syngentafoundation.org/__temp/Report_on_mAgriculture_abridged_web_version.pdf

• http://cornandsoybeandigest.com/crop-chemicals/5-agriculture-stories-read-may-1-2015#slide-0-field_images-972

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