Agri-Electronics: A GREEN REVOLUTION for Nepal

Nepal needs no introduction. It’s the country of Mt. Everest along with a lot of other several natural gifts. So let me introduce Nepal naturally in brief once again. Nepal is a country which has a variety of natural resources in a large amount. Mountains, rivers, forests, animals, birds are gift of nature to Nepal. Since it is land with very rich natural resources, most of the population here (about 78% according to the mid yearly census report of 2063 B.S.) is involved in agriculture. So it is clear that most of the food (grains, vegetables, dairy products etc) consumed throughout the country is harvested in Nepal itself. But still the food is not enough for whole population. Why??

Now the point is why did I choose this topic then? Honestly, I’m fascinated about implementing engineering in Agriculture since my very childhood. And nowadays I saw many electronics engineering students doing their projects on agriculture related issues. Students are doing projects on artificial greenhouse automation, irrigation system, advanced poultry farm, automated farming etc. So I thought, if we commercially use these projects and implement it, I think our country will take a great leap in the path of success. I’m not writing this blog regarding my knowledge only. I’ve read several reports, articles and also I’ve interviewed many people to prepare this blog.

Farmers toil hard in the field to feed the world, but due to several consequences they are unable to yield the result they wanted. So in order to achieve that result, science and nature must unite. Agriculture engineers are there to design and develop equipments for agriculture. Then what is agri-electronics?

Why is it necessary?

Agri-electronics is an emerging and multi-disciplinary frontier of advanced research that takes convergent and holistic look at all the related areas in agricultural sector. It ensures optimal induction of IT and electronics for improvement in agriculture. [1]   This can create a sort of green revolution for the improvement of traditional agriculture system. In a country like Nepal , where more than 75% people are involved in agriculture, agri-electronics can be the turning point for agricultural development. The latest practice adopted worldwide is precision agriculture. It implies knowledge-based agriculture employing latest techniques of science and technology bringing both together diverse fields – agronomy, plant science, soil science, entomology, metrology, weed science, plant pathology, ecology, water technology, environment and economics- to deal with complex issues of production, distribution pricing and marketing.[1]

What can we do then?

We as an electronics engineers can develop efficient and economical systems for implementation in agricultural sector. To deal with all above tasks and complexities we can use software, embedded systems, sensors etc. Presently Nepal is lacking ICT experts for agriculture technology. So you can be the one. Various solutions can be developed in context of Nepal. Some of them are listed below.

·     Wireless plantation control system so that plantation can be done in extreme weather.

·     Database and proper online market for farmers.

·     Intelligent irrigation system for proper irrigation.

·     Artificial greenhouse control for various off-season vegetables and crops.

·     Quality sensor for soil. i.e. sensor that keeps eye on the quality (pH and other chemical factors).

·     Production control system to determine the accurate time of crop harvest.

·     ePest surveillance system

·     wireless sensor network for agricultural management

·     pest and fertilizer control system

·     Production surveillance system to keep eye on plant and their production from time to time.

These were some probable systems and solutions that can be done in case of Nepal. The world has marched much ahead than our imagination. Even our neighboring nation India too has marched ahead in the field of agri-electronics. They have used agri-electronics for almost every kind of agricultural tasks.

Some of the devices and systems they have developed are:

 (Note: all of these Indian systems are derived from EFY. 2011 ):

1.   Electronic nose for aroma characterization of tea:

It uses array of sensors to recognize a definite pattern of aroma. This is used in Tea industries for quality assurance of final product.

2.   Electronic Vision for tea:

It uses digital image processing to determine the color of fermented tea leaves during tea fermentation.

3.   Electronic tongue for Tea:

It compares the taste of tea for quality assurance.

4.   GSM based remote operation of agricultural equipment:

It uses GSM based cell phone to control various agricultural equipments like water pump, plant trimmer etc. It has interactive voice response system (IVRS) so that the farmer will get no problem using it.

5.   ePest surveillance system:

It collects data and plant samples from the farm in order to determine about the health of the crops.

6.   Plantation management using wireless sensor network:

This collects data about soil properties, agronomic data, physiochemical properties and searches similar property in internet or database and compares it with the most suitable farming in that sector. This can increase crop yielding.

WSN (wireless sensor network) can be used in irrigation control, fertilizer management and pest management.

If the world can march so fast in the field of agri-electronics, then why can’t we do it although we are in agricultural country? Can’t we use our skills and knowledge to improve Nepalese farming and farmer’s lifestyle? Time has come to think friends.. Let’s hope this GREEN REVOLUTION will soon start in Nepal and bring a new trend in Nepalese traditional agriculture system. I am ready to give my full effort for this green revolution. Are you ready???  This was all I could say.. Again please comment whatever you think about this blog. Thanks for reading. If    you like the blog pleae share it. for continuous update, please follow this blog. JAI NEPAL !!!!!!!! 

Reference:

1.   Dr. N. Bhattacharya. “AGRI-ELECTRONICS- The emerging Frontier of Advanced Research”. EFY. 2011

2.   Mid census report 2063, Nepal Statistics Bureau

3.   Ministry of Agriculture, Nepal

©Bishal Bhandari