NEWS

Agriculture 4.0., how technology can create new growth

Apr 19, 2021

In recent years, digital transformation has gone from being a reality to being a necessity, and the agri-food sector has not been exempted from it. The agriculture has undergone vast changes in the last decade due to the importance that digitalisation has acquired in all areas of production. Progresses in the machinery have increased the scale, speed and productivity of agricultural equipment, leading to more efficient farming on bigger surfaces. On the other hand, seeds, fertilisers and irrigation have also improved greatly, helping the famers increase performance.

Agriculture is now in the first revolution phase called Agriculture 4.0., being data and connectivity its centre. Artificial intelligence, connected sensors and technologies as ISOBUS could increase performance even more, improve the efficiency of water and other inputs as seeds, fertilisers and plant protection products, as well as provide sustainability and resilience during crop development. In this way, precision agriculture not only gives importance to agronomic and economic efficiency but also considers environmental efficiency to be essential.

Some of the benefits of the use of new technologies in agriculture to be highlighted are:

• Collection of detailed and specific information of each crop, allowing real time data sharing and analysis.
• Automated and specific treatments based on real facts and more and more precise data, even at plant level.
• Resource optimisation and product quality maximisation.
• Efficient decision making to determine the optimal harvesting time.
• Safety increase on the field and (not only) when using machines.

One of the key tools that includes the best of each of these disruptive technologies is the ISOBUS communication protocol. In the past, when the electronic controls of implements were first introduced, each manufacturer used to develop their own patented solutions, which required a specific adaptation in order for the tractor to be connected to the different implements. ISOBUS goal is to standardise the communication between tractors and implements, regardless of the manufacturer, in one single plug and play solution to enable complete compatibility among tractor and implement.

The application of ISOBUS standardisation to new agricultural machinery not only allows tractor and implement control to be unified from one single screen in the cab, but also provides a vast amount of information about the tractor and implement tasks, thanks to the digitalisation of all agricultural processes in one single system.

Therefore, Cojali in its aim to continue providing cutting-edge technology in the sector, has developed Jaltest ISOBUS CONTROL. A set of solutions based on ISOBUS technology (ISO 11783) that introduces the digitalisation of agricultural production processes, compatible with any type of implement or tractor, to make precision agriculture more accessible and easier to use, and to successfully and conveniently manage a productive and efficient business adapted to new technologies.

Ultimately, despite the enormous challenges the sector faces, precision agriculture is here to stay, to facilitate farm management by establishing as its main purpose the balance between agronomic responsibility and social, environmental and economic sustainability of global agriculture.