The use of technological innovations in the agricultural sector is nothing new. This approach has even got its own name – agritech. And as agricultural demands are constantly growing, so does the agritech sector. One option it offers farmers is the use of satellite technology, making a huge difference to the effectiveness of agricultural practices nowadays. The use of satellites in agriculture allows for both improved efficiency and reduced waste while also ensuring high yields and profits.
Satellites in Agriculture
There are different ways of applying satellites to agriculture. The primary purpose of using them is the crop yield planning and estimation. For instance, when analyzing the effects of intercropping. Satellites provide valuable and accurate data for further analysis, enabling farmers to build a full picture of their fields. That includes information on crop types, their growth stage, and soil and plant health. With this data, farmers leave the risk of crop failure and low yields far behind.
On a larger scale, satellites are the means of precision agriculture practices. Satellite imagery is used for detailed field monitoring, usually in combination with geographical information systems (GIS). It enables higher efficiency of different cultivation practices, providing many opportunities for effective field management. For instance, differentiated water and chemicals application, based on vegetation and soil moisture analysis.
The Ways of Working with Satellite Data
Working with satellite data can go in 3 directions:
1. Mapping
Mapping implies the process of looking for patterns to identify and classify objects. In farming, that would be crops classification, which is of great use for scientists, administrations, and agronomists that have several fields planted with different cultures.
2. Measuring
Measuring implies the use of satellites as measuring devices with the aim to determine the surface properties. The most known and used of those measurements are the vegetation indices. For instance, the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) provides information on green biomass. Analyzing the NDVI values in different crop growing stages, farmers can remotely assess their plants health and make reliable decisions.
3. Monitoring
Monitoring implies mapped values’ systematic evaluation, comparison over a period of time. The goal is to identify any changes and tendencies on the soil surface to act accordingly when needed. In farming, it can be field productivity, climate, and precipitation evaluation.
In the long run, the use of all 3 of these contributes to higher sustainability in agriculture.
Sustainable Agriculture and Satellite Data
Food production places significant pressure on the environment due to the drain on natural resources. Sustainable agriculture is what aims to entail change in this status quo by offering new farming practices. These include Earth’s natural resource base expansion and soil health improvement and maintenance. Ultimately, sustainable agriculture leads to:
- Increased farm profits
- Rational use of resources
- Increased food and fiber production due to increase in yields
But why do we need sustainable agriculture and the benefits it brings? The answer is the constantly growing world population, subsequently, the growing food demand. To meet this demand, crop production would have to be increased by 60–100% by 2050.
The challenge lies in producing higher volumes of nutritious food while not harming the environment. That is why modern farming needs sustainable precision agriculture and environment (SPAE) to ensure that intensive farming practices and climate change will pose a threat to neither food safety nor the environment.
Part of sustainable agriculture are the following crops-growing systems:
- Precision conservation– increasing conservation effectiveness without harming the environment
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- Precision agriculture – cutting production expenses through returns on inputs optimization
- Bio-based technologies – planting cover crops and using plant-beneficial microorganisms for application in seed, soil, and roots
All of these are developed to optimize irrigation, fertilizer, and pesticide application when growing crops while increasing overall farm effectiveness. And to ensure this optimization in practice, satellite data is of great help.
The impact of satellite technology is hard to underestimate. Satellites help farmers to monitor and manage their fields remotely much faster and easier by enabling reliable decision-making. Besides, they can keep track of all activities on all their fields in one place. All thanks to various online tools that leverage satellite data. Ultimately, if every farmer were to use satellite data, it could both revolutionize the food industry and preserve the environment while doing so.
