TM One Smart Agriculture offers a diverse set of solutions to help farmers adapt to technological advancement. One of the features is a centralised monitoring dashboard that is integrated into the IoT-powered machines, which enables farmers a holistic view of their entire machinery performances and crop conditions.

Watch this video and know more about how TM One Smart Agriculture solutions can provide more efficient and sustainable farming practices.

To learn more about TM One Smart Agriculture, Contact us here.

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With the help of robots, drones, remote sensors, and computer imaging combined with continuously progressing machine learning and analytical tools, farmers are monitoring crops, surveying and mapping the fields and using data-driven insights to enjoy higher productivity, saving time, and optimising resources and efforts.

One of the systems that is increasing in popularity and creating smarter agriculture is the Smart Farming system. Smart Farming makes extensive use of sensors (light, humidity, temperature, soil moisture, crop health, etc.) to monitor farm and crop conditions, and automating the irrigation and/or fertigation system.  IoT enables devices embedded with sensors to connect and interact via the internet. These devices can be anything from pumps and tractors to weather stations and computers. Smart Farming allows farmers to monitor the field conditions from anywhere, at any time, in real time. Using the combined power of IoT with Big Data and Cloud, a successful communication, connection and transference of data between devices, are done most effectively and efficiently. Digital Connectivity and Cloud Computing are the essential enabler for Smart Farming. Digital connectivity is the foundation without which none of the Smart Agriculture solutions can take place. It is the necessary pre-condition that allows communication between devices and access by stakeholders. Meanwhile, cloud computing enables the hosting platform for IoT and Big Data as well as powers up the data analytics and visualisation.

Solving common agriculture challenges

The value of smart agriculture solutions lies in its promising ability to address some of the longstanding industry challenges – both at the macro and micro level:

• Food security – With increased prosperity, population growth, and urbanisation, comes food security issues. These call for sustainable agricultural practices that can produce more with less resources.
• Climate change – Climate change disrupts agriculture in a massive way, where natural catastrophes and unstable weather conditions are posing challenges to farmers globally.
• Low agriculture productivity and yield – With greater urbanisation, reduction in arable land and the use of traditional methods of farming are leading to reduced yield, high wastage and sub-optimal productivity.
• High operating cost – With labour shortage especially in agriculture where manual labour is seen as difficult and energy-consuming, farmers are facing high manpower cost. Meanwhile the cost of fertilisers is also increasing globally, leading to the increased need to ensure its efficient use.
• Health hazards to farmers – the traditional way of fertilising crops, for example through manual spraying, is posing health hazards to farmers due to exposures to agricultural chemicals

The benefits of IoT in agriculture

With the use of IoT in agriculture, farmers are reaping the benefits from increased agility and data-driven farming. Thanks to real-time monitoring and prediction systems, farmers can quickly respond to any significant changes in weather, humidity, air quality as well as the health of each crop or soil in the field.

• Integrated and technology-driven solutions to improve success rate
• Increase domestic production and reduce agriculture imports
• Improve farmers earnings and provide income sustainability
• Catalyst of change for other agricultural innovation

TM One – The Right Partner for Your Next Agriculture Future

With TM One’s comprehensive and fit-for-purpose digital solutions, from connectivity right down to the digital and smart systems and applications, combined with the technical experts who are ready to guide our customers throughout their digitalisation journey, players in the agriculture sector can be assured of a smooth and seamless path to the Next Future of Agriculture.

To know more about TM One’s smart agriculture solution, visit https://www.tmone.com.my/solutions/smart-services/smart-agriculture/

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Despite the productivity gains made in recent years, farming in Indonesia is still a tough line of business to be in. The sector is reportedly booming under Widodo’s leadership, with an increase in the production of staple crops such as rice and soy, and record numbers of employment (roughly a third of the population), but the Indonesian Farmers Association reports significant welfare challenges, including lack of access to working capital, high quality seeds, fertilizers, agricultural technology, and efficient distribution.

A new fintech start-up plans to turn things around, and is attracting investors. Tani Group raised $10m in a Series A funding round, just a year after winning the support of several angel investors. Its aim is to build a better supply chain for farmers by connecting small and medium-sized agriculture enterprises directly with buyers. Already, it has linked over 400 of these SMEs to markets, including Indonesia’s largest supermarket chains Lottemart, Giant, and HERO.

Not only does the group facilitate direct sales, but it also connects farmers directly with lenders through a crowd-financing platform, TaniFund, enabling food producers (including farms and fisheries) to invest in their businesses, becoming more responsive to market trends. The platform offers investors an annual return of up to 24% through a fair profit-sharing scheme, supported by experienced investment managers who select the best farms to ensure high yields. It won first prize in the 2017 national competition Finspire, powered by a Mandiri bank subsidiary to seek out the best opportunities in fintech.

Funders can choose to invest in particular crop harvests which are advertised with tenures stretching from one month to over two years, and detailed notes on the prospects and risks. For instance, you can now invest in Berastagi carrots, famous in North Sumatra and sought-after for vitamin A and antioxidants used in facial masks and other cosmetics, giving them broad market appeal and potential. The cultivators are Radhea Putra Farmer Group in Margamukti Village, Bandung, who have been selected by TaniFund for their good track record in carrots, and also potatoes and tomatoes.

While most of the Group’s focus is on the wholesale supply chain, it has also launched TaniHu—a farm-to-table app that allows consumers to source fresh produce directly, bypassing the country’s outdated, wasteful, and complex distribution systems. Early user reviews are encouraging. Dhiya Sholiha writes: “Tanihub gives me a chance to buy things from local farmers … In some markets, it gives more varieties than shopping in local markets. The vegetables are fresh and take only a few hours to deliver.” However, she adds, it’s slow to load. Other reviewers also praise the product quality, competitive pricing, and delivery times. One asks if they have plans to expand in Pakistan.

Is this the future of agricultural investment?

This article was originally published on MIT Insights

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While MIMOS, Malaysia’s national applied R&D Centre, is building and sustaining the country’s technology industry with the aim of becoming a key player in the emerging global Internet of Things (IoT) economy. “We are in effect a cost centre for Malaysia’s innovation economy,” says Thillai Raj T. Ramananthan, chief technology officer of MIMOS, who is “tasked with creating, developing and commercialising intellectual property.”

Currently, Raj and his 800 colleagues (including some 600 scientists, engineers, and other technical personnel) are focusing on an industry segment that is at a unique cross-section of Malaysia’s economic assets: deploying Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled analytics to develop efficiency and productivity in the country’s agricultural economy.

MIMOS was established in 1985 and currently carries out its remit through two applied research laboratories, one focused on advanced electrical and electronics hardware development, the other on communication technologies. The latter concentrates on areas such as artificial intelligence, software engineering and data analytics. More than 500 intellectual property, which was developed by MIMOS has been commercialised by Malaysian technology companies.

MIMOS supports initiatives across an entire spectrum of technology areas from augmented reality to blockchain, and has had extensive consultations with industry leaders.

One of the national facilities housed within MIMOS is the Big Data Internet of Things (IoT) Technology Accelerator (BITX) Lab. The BITX Lab is an open innovation laboratory that provides end-to-end services and necessary technologies for the development of innovative Internet of Things (IoT) applications. The lab assists technopreneurs in accelerating market entry and maximising business performance through organised programmes in product upscaling, quality enhancement and branding. It offers an open but safe and controlled sandbox environment where innovation and experimentation on cutting-edge Big Data and Internet of Things (IoT)-related technologies can take place without the need for a big investment.

Internet of Things (IoT) is an area where Malaysia has “great ‘leapfrogging’ opportunities,” notes Raj, pointing to the national infrastructure and sectoral expertise that provides a platform for innovation. “We are building an entire ecosystem upon our platform,” he says, “promoting open source development framework, and working with the country’s regulator to allocate wireless spectrum.”

MIMOS is assisting the Malaysian government in implementing a National Internet of Things (IoT) Strategic Roadmap, which seeks to industrialise applications across several vertical industries including manufacturing and healthcare. Some initiatives are linked to sustainability: for example, an Internet of Things (IoT) sensor network developed in collaboration with the National University of Malaysia (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) that monitors acidity levels in the waters in Tasik Chini, a UNESCO-designated biosphere site located in the state of Pahang, which is endangered by nearby mining activities. But it is in agriculture where Raj sees particularly fertile ground for growth.

The strategy for agribusiness-centric Internet of Things (IoT) has a number of drivers. Firstly, farming and aquaculture are well-developed sectors, with the palm oil industry being a particular asset. Malaysia produces more than a third of the world’s palm oil and MIMOS is working with the industry players to use the Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled analytics for sustainable planting. Secondly, there are strong export-oriented adjacent industries such as electronics, manufacturing and logistics that can also be leveraged in the agribusiness value chain. And last but not least are Malaysia’s efforts to maintain food security and boost rural economic activity, where Raj notes that MIMOS is helping small-scale farmers to keep production costs low while increasing yields.

MIMOS is supporting eight or nine Internet of Things (IoT) agribusiness trials around the country. These include Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to monitor temperature, humidity and other growing conditions for Shitake mushroom farmers, and an Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled aquaculture management system to optimise fish farming outputs. MIMOS is now expanding these trials into a more holistic digital e-commerce value chain: over 80,000 farmers in Malaysia and across Southeast Asia currently sell their produce through a MIMOS-supported online ‘Agro-Bazaar.’ Raj considers the regional reach to be a cornerstone of success: “we need an Internet of Things (IoT) industry with scale—an ASEAN-wide opportunity is critical for the next phase of Malaysia’s Internet of Things (IoT) industry aspirations.”

Insightful reads brought to you in partnership with MIT Technology Review Insights.

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