Internet of Things ushers precision farming

Who says agriculture is a low-tech enterprise?

Not conglomerate Calata Corp., which has partnered with Austrian firm Pessl Instruments GmbH to sow the seed of the cutting-edge Internet of Things (IoT) in Philippine farming.

The partners will invest in an instrument that provides very localized weather forecasting, the iMetos weather station. This means precision forecasting, unlike the weather information provided by news reports.

The project aims to provide Filipino farmers intelligence-based farming to improve decision-making across the entire supply chain by providing real-time field data. The partners call this “agricultural IoT.”

IoT is an ecosystem where common objects are connected, communicating with users and one another by exchanging data. The objects may be wristbands or watches, smartphones, home appliances, cars and even heavy equipment.

IoT applications are now making headway in the maritime industry (vessels connected to land bases), mining (remote equipment telling the home office when they need maintenance) and healthcare (remote monitoring of a patient).

“The Filipino farmer is still farming the old-fashioned way,” says Joseph Calata, president of Calata Corp. “We take it as a responsibility to modernize the face of Filipino farming.”

The iMetos weather station monitors soil components, irrigation systems, plant variations and the atmosphere. Measured data are stored and are available in real time. They will be sent to farmers by SMS or text messages through an hourly, seven-day weather forecasting service.

To ensure that local farmers can access the service, Calata is discussing with one of the country’s two telecommunications giant a possible  iMetos partnership.

With accurate forecasting, farmers can expect to save on costs as they can spray pesticides and apply fertilizer more accurately, minimizing water runoff when it rains.

“We have to make sure that they (farmers) will understand by localizing information,” explains Vishnu Nair, regional sales director for Asia Pacific at Pessl. “We will translate this into the language that farmers understand.”

The instrument will be installed in close proximity to Calata’s own agricultural retail outlets where farmers can register for the service.

For the pilot testing, four to five units of iMetos worth 2,500 to 3,000 Euros (about P130,000 to P155,000) each will be installed in San Miguel, Bulacan.

If the pilot test is successful, the partners intend to have the iMetos installed “in the entire country” to enable Calata’s farmer-partners to afford the service at about P500 per year.

“We want to target the whole country by installing about 5,000 units of iMetos,” Calata says. “We want every farmer to have access to detailed and accurate data.”

Gottfried Pessl, president of the device manufacturing company, says the iMetos is a proven technology with 10,000 systems installed worldwide.

Pessl says the iMetos is already in use in banana farms in Davao but not yet to the extent Calata wants.

“I’m glad to see the Philippines leading the way in Southeast Asia by adopting technology that makes a real difference to the bottom line of farmers,” Pessl says.