Lakhasly

Precision agriculture (PA) implementation faces challenges like limited bandwidth, cloud service dependence, GPS signal reception issues, and financial constraints. Small-scale farmers, particularly, struggle due to field size and financial limitations.

One solution involves collaboration between large corporations and small farmers, where companies provide financial aid and equipment in exchange for a share of profits. TechMahindra is currently exploring this model.

Government intervention, offering both financial and technical support, is another avenue. Maharashtra's use of drones for crop loss assessment and cloud seeding initiatives in Marathwada demonstrate this approach.

Examples of PA applications are already in practice, such as Plantations International's implementation in Bangalore.

techniques at such locations. Unless the network performances and bandwidth speeds are improved significantly, implementation of precision farming will remain incomplete. Since many agro-sensors/gateways are dependent on cloud services for data transmission/storage, cloud-based computing also needs to become stronger, which also requires strong interconnectivity. In farmlands that have tall, dense trees and/or hilly terrains, reception of GPS signals becomes a big issue.

Lack of Financial resources is one of the major causes for stagnancy in the implementation of PA..Small-scale farmers are restricted by the limited size of their fields and the lack of financial resource to invest in purchase of PA equipments. Due to these reasons they are forced to continue using their traditional techniques for farming. Even with availability of financial aids the size of the field makes PA an impractical choice. [5]

VI. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS AND CURRENT APPLICATIONS

It is impractical for small-scale farmers to participate in the implementation of PA for the reasons stated above. However, there is a possible solution. Large Multinational Corporations can enter into agreement with small-scale farmers to provide financial aids and technical equipments required for conducting PA. In return the farmers can share an agreed upon percentage of their profits. This elevates the burden of the farmers, of being aware of the technical know- how and receiving guidance towards effective implementation. For instance, companies like TechMahindra are conducting WhiteBudget research on the subject. [10]

However, this still may be limited in its reach and not provide to all farmers in need of assistance. On the other hand, the government can provide both financial and non- financial assistance. They can actively participate in providing technical assistance. For instance, there are drones that are flying over the fields in the Marathwada region, assessing crop losses due to deficit rainfall and other weather conditions, as the Maharashtra government turns to technology to ensure timely intervention and compensations for farmers in an area known for farmer suicides. The state has also started cloud seeding on a pilot basis in the Marathwada region to create artificial rains. [11]

Some of the current applications include:

Figure 6: Application of PA by Plantations International in Banglore

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