The demand of food is growing enormously worldwide. Various technologies are being seek in order to increase the production and productivity such that it would meet the global demand of food. The speculative and traditional method of farming and farm management have been in efficient in modern day agriculture. With the advancement in science and technology, various new technologies are being brought forward in the field of agriculture as well. Similarly, as speculative farm management is seen inefficient in modern days there seem to be a need of data driven farm management which can increase the efficiency of management and ultimately helps in increasing yield. In order to get transformed into data driven farm management Mritika Agro Services is proposing an idea of 4 prong strategy which include the use of satellite, drones, sensors and smartphone spectrometer.
Satellite
Any agricultural field requires regular monitoring in order to achieve yield as per the objectives. Monitoring is tedious and laborious work, if done manually as every corner and every part of field need to be observed and monitored. The advancement in science and technology has leads towards the development of various innovative technologies even in the field of agriculture as well. Due to such modern advancement a new concept data driven field management can be done using a lot of IoTs, which is more efficient and effective than traditional speculative means of crop monitoring. Mritika Agro Services is proposing a concept of satellite-based crop monitoring. With our concept the nutrient status in a particular location of a field, pH of soil, the soil moisture content, disease and pest incidence and likewise other different crops and soil parameters can directly be obtained through satellite.
Satellite data can help farmers determine the ideal time for planting based on factors like soil temperature, moisture levels, and weather forecasts. From the data obtained from satellite, Mritika will help farmers in optimizing planting decisions so that they can enhance crop germination rates and achieve better overall plant health. Our services can provide information on various factors like soil moisture, nutrient levels, and pest pressure using satellite so that farmers can precisely target their irrigation, fertilization, and pest control efforts, reducing wasted resources and increasing overall efficiency.
The images are observed through different satellites like sentinel, landsat, terra and the images are analyzed using particular software in order to find out the actual condition of the field that is the mineral constituents of the soil, soil moisture content, pH of soil. Satellites even helps to provide meteorological data such that interventions can be made in agricultural fields being based on weather patterns of particular time.
Satellite images can be used to monitor crop health over time. This information can help farmers identify potential issues early, such as nutrient deficiencies or crop diseases, and take corrective action. Satellite imagery helps in predicting growth stages as well. This helps in applying water and nutrients during critical period to the crop plant. Spectral analysis of satellite images based on different index helps to identify the lack of moisture, the presence of diseases, and other negative factors affecting the level of greening. The NDVI (Normalized difference vegetative index) is among the very common index that helps in estimating crop health and biomass. Mritika will provide such facilities so that health of plants over large area can be detected at a glance. It will certainly, reduce time, labor and hence increase the efficiency of crop monitoring activities.
Though satellite monitoring system offers a lot of advantages, helps in optimizing yield, controlling disease and pest incidence, scheduling irrigation, fertilization, but the interpretation and analysis of data requires special knowledge and skills, that a common farmer doesn’t have. Similarly, small scale farmers cannot afford the satellite imagery. Similarly, limited internet connection in rural areas have made it difficult in obtaining satellite imagery and analyzing it. Though a lot of challenges exist, there is promising future prospect of satellite technology in precision agriculture. Mritika is thus looking forward to bring foreign technology and software like farm ERP in order to embrace satellite-based monitoring for a thriving, sustainable and organic agriculture journey.
Farm sensors
Farming has been negatively impacted in the recent years due to rapid population growth, climate change, reduced rainfall. But the demand of food is ever increasing such that it requires the change in cultivation techniques. Therefore, to improve yields and collect accurate data, it is crucial to adopt modern and precision agricultural practices. Precision agriculture involves the collection of data and monitoring of the field and crop status based on that using different types of sensors. Mritika Agro services, which has been providing farm consulting services to farmers across the country is bringing the technology to monitor the crops and animals using different kinds of sensors such that a huge area of land can be monitored and necessary interventions can be taken quickly.
A sensor is a gadget that perceives and responds to certain inputs which could be illumination, locomotion, pressure, heat, or moisture, and transforms it into a representation or signals that can be read by humans for further reading and processing. Sensor convert the physical and chemical changes into electrical signals and finally the signals can be interpreted using the devices in which it is connected.
In our service, various types of sensors will be installed in the agricultural fields to obtain required information on crop and field status. Sensors will be installed in robots, drones, satellites or other portable devices in the field. Optical sensors will be used to evaluate soil properties. It determines clay, organic matter, and moisture content of the soil by measuring different frequencies of light. Similarly, we will apply electrochemical sensors to collect, process, and map the chemical data of the soil. It will help in determining pH and nutrients level of soil. It will further help in reclamation of soil as per the need of the crop and also give insight on fertilizer application if nutrient level is low. Similarly, we will also install mechanical sensors in the field and measure soil compression such that intervention can be suggested to farmers like harrowing, ploughing in case it is needed. It will help to increase absorptive capacity of plant roots.
Furthermore, soil moisture content can also be determined using our dielectric soil moisture sensor. Mritika will help comparing it with water requirement of plants and irrigation scheduling is provided to farmers. Similarly, some GPS sensors will also used in agricultural fields in order to find out the accurate position of plants, it will mostly help in case of finding diseased and pest infested plants. Disease identification, pest incidence can also be detected using the sensors installed in the field so that timely management can be made in order to control further damage. Similarly, we will install other different sensors to measure airflow, relative humidity in particular location of the field, temperature, solar radiation, wind, and if abnormalities are seen, appropriate suggestions will be provided.
Sensors, actually sent alerts in digital devices so that necessary interventions can be made, necessary precautions can be taken. Not only in crop fields different types of sensors can be used in animal in order to detect silent heat, disease occurrence which helps to get maximum comparative advantage. Thus, Mritika is prioritizing use of different types of sensors to obtain relevant data from the field which can be used by farmers to make necessary interventions. Though, the installation of sensors seems to be expensive in a short run but the advantages derived from it in a long run makes it much cheaper. These helps to increase the quality and quantity of agricultural products, reduce cost, reduce labor and ultimately increasing the productivity which is a need of modern agriculture.
- Drone
Drones are the advancement in the field of science and technology. Drones are massively used these days in order to capture aerial photographs. Similarly, drones have also been used as one of the means of transport to deliver some emergency products. Drones are operated manually by controlling through certain devices either its own remote or even through smartphones and laptops.
In this modern era, drones are being used in different fields, especially in cinematography, sports and so on. Similarly, there has been a tremendous demand of drones in agricultural sector in developed countries. Though, Nepal is in its developing phase but there is insane demand of foods and food security has been a major challenge for the country. So, in order to achieve more efficiency and effectiveness in agriculture works, Mritika Agro services has proposed an idea of using drones for management of various level of farms in the country.
Crop surveillance is very much important as crops need to be looked after or monitored regularly from the time of sowing to the time of harvesting. Our plan is to use drones for effective crop surveillance by inspecting the field with infrared cameras and based on their real-time information, we will suggest farmers to take active measures for improving pants condition. The use of drones helps in reducing time as well as labor by effective and efficient monitoring of larger areas within a short period of time.
The drones proposed by Mritika will capture high-resolution images and data, and provides detailed view of their crops. Healthy and unhealthy crops can be distinguished using the image obtained from drones. This can help to identify areas that require attention and ensure that interventions are targeted and effective. It can be used to gather data on crop health, and Mritika will help farmers to identify the areas that requires attention. By addressing these issues, farmers can improve their crop yields and increase their profits. Using our services of drones, cost is reduced by identifying areas of the farm that require attention, reducing the need for manual labor and reducing the use of pesticides and other chemicals.
Mritika is consulting different Indian companies to bring multipurpose drones to be used in irrigation, spraying of fertilizer, herbicides, pesticides, sowing. Similarly, this can also be used in livestock monitoring. Sensors connected in the drones, help to identify diseased animals in a herd and such animals can easily be culled in order to get necessary treatments. From the use of drones in agriculture, Mritika Agro Services is trying to transfer the speculative farm management into data driven farm management.
Though, Drones have numerous benefits and can take agriculture to different heights, there are a lot of challenges in accepting drone technology in agricultural field of Nepal. Most farmers are not acquainted with this technology and due to the poor economic condition of farmers, they are not in the position to afford drone. Mritika is trying to help those farmers by providing consulting services using drones by collaborating with other different agencies as well. Our target is not only to uplift the condition of large-scale farmers, it is to improve the condition of medium and small-scale farmers as well and making the use of modern technology accessible to ground root level farmers.
- Mobile spectrometry
A smartphone spectrometer is a device that leverages the capabilities of a smartphone to perform spectroscopy, which is the study of the interaction between matter and electromagnetic radiation. Spectrometers are traditionally large and expensive instruments used in laboratories for analyzing the composition of substances based on the way they interact with light.
The smartphone spectrometer is a portable device that utilizes the smartphone’s camera and computational power to capture and analyze spectral information. Smartphone spectrometers can play a significant role in agriculture farm management by providing farmers with a convenient and portable tool to analyze various aspects of their crops and soil. Since it is portable it can be used conveniently and can be taken to any part of the field for analysis. Smartphone spectrometers can be utilized in agriculture for various purposes.
Monitoring the field and crop conditions in laboratory is very tedious these days. Thus, Mritika Agro Services is bringing forward the use of Smartphone spectrometers in agriculture. It will help to analyze soil samples for determining nutrient levels. From this information it will provide suggestions about fertilization, ensuring optimal crop growth. Spectrometry can also identify soil composition, helping farmers understand factors such as organic matter content and soil texture. This will suggest farmer for adding any vegetative cover, organic mulch or any other organic matter in soil.
These spectrometers can be used to detect signs of diseases or pests in crops by analyzing the spectral signatures of plants. Early detection allows for timely intervention and reduces the risk of crop loss. By analyzing the spectral reflectance of crops, nutrient deficiencies can be identified, enabling targeted and efficient fertilization. Thus, an efficient crop monitoring can be done with the help of this device.
By measuring the spectral reflectance of crops using spectrometer, soil moisture content can be estimated which will help in optimizing irrigation practices. Spectrometers can also analyze water samples for quality parameters. This is particularly useful for assessing irrigation water quality to ensure that it meets the necessary standards for crop health.
Smartphone spectrometers can assist in differentiating between crops and weeds based on their spectral signatures. Various crop has various reflect ant for any type of radiation such that crop diversity can be found using spectrometers. This aids in implementing targeted weed control measures. We also provide the service of monitoring overall health and growth stages of crops, providing insights into the need for specific interventions.
Spectrometer data can be integrated with other farm data, such as weather information and historical yield data, to provide a holistic view of farm conditions. So, Mritika Agro Services is emphasizing its use as this data-driven approach supports informed decision-making. Our service is to integrate the data obtained from this device with farm management software to access and analyze spectrometer data seamlessly, providing actionable insights. Smartphone spectrometers are user-friendly and can empower farmers by providing them with tools for on-the-spot analysis. This can contribute to building knowledge and improving farming practices.
The use of this service from Mritika will optimize resource usage and reduce environmental impact. It will promote sustainable agriculture and also helps to thrive more on precision agriculture. Integration of smartphone spectrometers as provided by Mritika, into agri-farm management practices can enhance efficiency, reduce input costs, and promote sustainable and precision farming techniques. As technology continues to advance, these tools may become increasingly valuable for farmers looking to optimize their operations. We are eager to bring this technology in Nepal at a minimal cost consulting with different software companies abroad. Join us if you are in need of such technology to revolutionize Nepalese agriculture and convert the whole farming practices into scientific farming.