Agriculture
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Agriculture
Farmers can benefit from precision agriculture
June 24, 2013
Farmers in developing countries could take advantage of the emerging field of precision agriculture without needing the expensive technology usually associated with it: This was stated by Speakers at a conclusion of 2-day International Seminar on "Innovative Technologies, Precision Agriculture, water, Renewable Energy and Bio-system Modelling "Organised by Water Management Research Center University of Agriculture, Faisalabad" on Sunday.
Speakers included UAF Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, Canadian Scientists Dr Qamar-Uz-Zaman, Dr Tri Nguyen Quang, Professor Dr Muhammad Iqbal Dean Faculty of Agri. Engineering & Technology, Director WMRC UAF Professor Dr Allah Bakhsh, Dr Anjum Munir, Dr Syed Hamid Hussain Shah, Dr Abdul Ghafoor, and Dr Jahanzib Masood Cheema. VC UAF urged the scientists to introduce new innovative technological Agronomic packages for small farmers keeping in view to provide solution of their problems. He was of the view that Precision is the only way to reap maximum productivity by utilising minimum resources by ensuring environment friendly measures as well.
Dr Khan said Crop yields could be improved by applying traditional knowledge to mirror precision techniques such as using the satellite Global Positioning System (GPS) to analyse farm land.
Geo-statistical analyses of data from sensors both on land and from satellites are "becoming increasingly standard for all kinds of crop production and will be of crucial importance in the near future as the world faces increasing issues of food security," said by Professor Dr Qamar. He added that such data can be used to build a map of soil biochemistry, which can help farmers improve crop yields and resistance to disease. "The cost of technology, which can also include high-tech farming machinery, has so far kept precision farming methods mostly in developed nations, although emerging economies are taking it up," he maintained.
Dr Allah Bakhsh said small farmers can instead applying their traditional knowledge. "By working on the same area for years, they can map the soil like GPS would do, knowing which corners are more or less productive, which are drier or wet." He added that manure can be separated in the best places, irrigation systems could be designed more targeted and seeds can be planted where the soil is more fertile.
Dr Tri Nguyen Quang said in the developing world, farming is more about knowledge, which is shared within the community, than expensive machinery. According to him a first step towards combining traditional and precision agriculture should be education. He maintained that farmers should be helped to realise how much can be done by simply adjusting some of their usual practices, like watering or spreading manure on fields.
He was of the view that education on precision farming should be part of the aid programmes already in place, and cost would be minimal compared with expensive machinery. He said main potential for the developing world and for emerging economies is large-scale change, which requires investment in technology. Dr M Iqbal thanked the guests and participants.
Source: http://www.brecorder.com Speakers included UAF Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, Canadian Scientists Dr Qamar-Uz-Zaman, Dr Tri Nguyen Quang, Professor Dr Muhammad Iqbal Dean Faculty of Agri. Engineering & Technology, Director WMRC UAF Professor Dr Allah Bakhsh, Dr Anjum Munir, Dr Syed Hamid Hussain Shah, Dr Abdul Ghafoor, and Dr Jahanzib Masood Cheema. VC UAF urged the scientists to introduce new innovative technological Agronomic packages for small farmers keeping in view to provide solution of their problems. He was of the view that Precision is the only way to reap maximum productivity by utilising minimum resources by ensuring environment friendly measures as well.
Dr Khan said Crop yields could be improved by applying traditional knowledge to mirror precision techniques such as using the satellite Global Positioning System (GPS) to analyse farm land.
Geo-statistical analyses of data from sensors both on land and from satellites are "becoming increasingly standard for all kinds of crop production and will be of crucial importance in the near future as the world faces increasing issues of food security," said by Professor Dr Qamar. He added that such data can be used to build a map of soil biochemistry, which can help farmers improve crop yields and resistance to disease. "The cost of technology, which can also include high-tech farming machinery, has so far kept precision farming methods mostly in developed nations, although emerging economies are taking it up," he maintained.
Dr Allah Bakhsh said small farmers can instead applying their traditional knowledge. "By working on the same area for years, they can map the soil like GPS would do, knowing which corners are more or less productive, which are drier or wet." He added that manure can be separated in the best places, irrigation systems could be designed more targeted and seeds can be planted where the soil is more fertile.
Dr Tri Nguyen Quang said in the developing world, farming is more about knowledge, which is shared within the community, than expensive machinery. According to him a first step towards combining traditional and precision agriculture should be education. He maintained that farmers should be helped to realise how much can be done by simply adjusting some of their usual practices, like watering or spreading manure on fields.
He was of the view that education on precision farming should be part of the aid programmes already in place, and cost would be minimal compared with expensive machinery. He said main potential for the developing world and for emerging economies is large-scale change, which requires investment in technology. Dr M Iqbal thanked the guests and participants. - Agricultural Technologies Can Increase Global Crop Yields By 67pc
Pakistan, which has an agrarian economy, is not equipped to adapt to climate change because of its low technological and resource base. It has suffered a loss of billions because of the floods in recent years. A new strategy is required to mitigate and...
- Water, Energy Issues Of Concern For Pakistan
Wednesday, July-10-2013 Food security, water, energy and climate change issues are the main areas of concerns, which need to be addressed with collaborated efforts, said USAID Pakistan Director Jo Lesser. Addressing a meeting of the Centre for Advanced...
- Latest Tech Is The Future Of Agriculture In Pakistan
Sunday, 7 July 2013 Experts at an international seminar on Tuesday called for promotion of environment-friendly agricultural practices like precision cultivation to increase productivity and to reduce the input cost. The seminar titled Technology, Energy...
- Promoting Environmental-friendly Agriculture Practices
July 03, 2013 Speakers at an international seminar called for promoting latest environmental-friendly agriculture practices like Precision Agriculture (PA) to increase agricultural productivity and to reduce the cost of agricultural production in a bid...
- Solar Engery In Agriculture Sector
This energy source is widely distributed and abundantly available in the country. This was stated by speakers at an International Seminar on "Prospects, Development & Utilization of Alternate Energy in Pakistan" organized by Pakistan Society of Agricultural...