IoT Technology Application for Smart Farming

The increasing demand for food is one of the biggest challenges in many countries of world. The agricultural sector is facing many issues regarding extreme weather conditions, climate changes, environmental impact or plagues. Control over these factors can make a difference for farmers and consumers, which can be achieved by developing and using new technologies. Smart farming is a high-tech and capital-intensive system that brings certainty and predictability to the table.

Internet of Things (IoT) allows remote measurement of certain parameters at periodic intervals, stores in the cloud, and can be accessed and monitored via smartphone. Monitoring for various factors has a significant advantage in agriculture, especially in terms of increasing productivity.

Therefore, WAITRO conjoined with SIRIM Berhad (Malaysia) conducted a Capacity Development workshop tailored for scientist and researchers from Asia, Pacific, Middle East, Latina America and Africa regions.  The workshop aimed to create awareness and promote implementation of IoT technology in various field, share experience in IoT technology deployment as well as productivity improvement, and develop understanding in common problems and issues pertaining IoT technology deployment in agriculture. Consequently, it addressed the following topics:

• Introduction to IoT
• IoT development tool hardware and software,
• Data acquisition and monitoring
• Handling actuator request

The one-week program brought together young scientists and researchers from Botswana, Colombia, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Thailand, South Africa and Malaysia, belonging to member’s organizations. Having technical or scientific background in the areas of electronics, information and communication technology or software engineering, the participants were not only able to extend their experience, and knowledge on current development of technology and science, but also to network and collaborate with other scientists working in their respective fields.