Precision farming by Dr. Devesh Pandey

1. What is Precision Farming?
Precision Farming (PF), also called Precision Agriculture
(PA) or site specific crop management (SSCM) is an
integrated information and production-based farming
system that is designed to increase long term, site-specific
and whole farm production efficiency, productivity and
profitability while minimizing unintended impacts on wildlife
and the environment” (Earl et al., 1996).
The basic principle of PF is to maximize the efficiency of
inputs as measured by outputs, which is to optimize inputs
according to field variability in order to
maximize yields diminishing production costs and
environmental impacts of agricultural practices, by giving
the right amount of input at the right place and the right
time.

2. In this sense, PF can relate to any agricultural
production system and can be considered as the
application of information technologies, together with
production experience, to:
1. optimize production efficiency
2. optimize quality
3. minimize environmental impact
4. minimize risk

3. These are not particularly new concepts in agriculture.
There are essays on this topic dating from the early 18th
century.
What is new is the scale at which we are able to implement
these aims.
The development and application of PF has its roots on the
spatial and temporal variation normally observed in fields
and yields under the same treatments (seed density,
fertilizer, herbicide, etc.).

4. If spatial or temporal variability does not exist (but mainly
spatial) then PF does not make sense and a uniform
management system is both the cheapest and most effective
management strategy.
Based on these considerations, PF is at present operating on
a zonal rather than a completely site-specific basis.

41. STATUS OF PRECISION FARMING IN INDIA:
The first thing that comes to mind is that, this system is not for
developing countries, especially India, where the farmers are
poor, farming is mostly subsistent and the land holding size is
small.
But, this is far from the truth as this approach has a large
potential for improving the agricultural production in
developing world.
Imagine this situation where a farmer goes to his field with a
GPS (Global Positioning System)-guided tractor. The GPS
senses the exact location of tractor within the field.

42. It sends signals to the computer fixed on to the tractor, which
has a Geographical Information System (GIS), storing the soil
nutrient requirement map in it.
The GIS, in consultation with a Decision Support System
would decide what is the exact requirement of fertilizers for
that location.
It then commands a variable rate fertiliser applicator, which is
again attached with the tractor, to apply the exact dosage at
the precise location of farm.
But, this is what precision farming means to large growers in
the highly developed parts of the globe.
To make it clearer, Precision Farming is the system of
matching of resource application and agronomic practices
with soil attributes and crop requirements since they vary
across a field.