Important agritech tools

IMPORTANT AGRITECH TOOLS
Agritech tools are not hoe and cutlass, they do not shovel and rake, and they are not neem leaves and organic extract. Agricultural technology is the new wave of development we all have to embrace for the right development, Agricultural technology is the combination of food production (Farming) with the use of machines, AI (Technology). We can also say agricultural technology is the use of technology in agriculture, horticulture, and aquaculture to improve yield, efficiency, and profitability. Agricultural technology can be products, services, or applications derived from agriculture that improve various input/output processes. One of the most important sectors for economic advancement is the agricultural sector, if the agricultural sector can embrace the right tools, technology development will be inevitable for all the involved stakeholders in the sector.
Tools are specific equipment that is used for different functions. Agricultural technology tools are the equipment used for different functions to achieve a particular goal. Over the years agricultural technology tools have increased for different reasons and because the needs of the world kept increasing over time. Problems exist especially for local farmers here in Africa so solutions should keep evolving with time. Agritech startup kept on increasing proffering different solutions to different problems available in Nigeria. Nigerian farmers till now still can’t forecast weather, they still can’t find the right solution to irrigation facilities issues and many other tending problems.
For the elite agriculturist to provide an enabling environment for the local farmers a lot of solutions have been proffered and we will be looking at that now. Let’s go!!

Agricultural drones
One of the recent agricultural technology tools in vogue now is the drone. The way drones take farm picture and capture some of the issues plant face is simply is amazing. Drones are used in agriculture to reduce the time and costs associated with crop surveying, field mapping, and aerial photography. One of the usefulness of drone is the smart part of farming it gives, it makes data collection easy and fast, easily track crops over time for research or production, Capture precise data that drives decisions and actions, and Irrigation monitoring and planning.
Mobile Application
Different mobiles now have the capacity to have applications that create a solution to different problem, for example I have a mobile application on my phone that help capture different plant and identify the name of the plant and possibly inform the owner about the characteristics of the plant, it medicinal application and other uses. Apps for agriculture are a valuable support to manage activities in the field, but not only for this purpose. Some agricultural mobile apps consult data: field map with crop details, weather forecast, crop operations and surveys carried out. Some collect data directly in the field with photos and notes: crop operations, damage, pests, diseases, traps. Some share data with farms to which consultancy is offered. Some plan and manage the activities of the collaborators communicating them the operations to be carried out.
Forecast Models
Forecast models in agriculture cover all possible positive aspects involving the crop: from growth to the estimation of production yields, from new spread to the risk of insect and disease attack, from the estimation of needs to the distribution of inputs (water, fertilizers, plant protection products). These are the trendy tools available for farmers in the sector and the most used is the mobile application in which majority of local farmers does not have access to at the moment.
Modern Farm Equipment and Tools
Going down the history, animals were the main source of energy and transportation in farming. Later, steam power gained importance. After the World War I gas powered tractors became common, followed by diesel engines later. In the developed countries, it resulted to lower number of farm workers, while farm production continued to increase due to the use of machinery.
Technology has transformed agriculture to increase output and quality of yields. In this generation, farmers who are breaking their backs by using traditional agriculture tools are wasting their good health and time. Tractor that was once the talk of town as a technological genius in the field of agriculture sector is now old news. The strength of modern farm machinery has transformed the agricultural industry for the good. The following are the latest tools which are available to farmers and their uses.
The Tractor: The tractor is one of the most important and modernized machinery on the farm. This is one of the most common farming equipment in the world. Its power, capability and size allow it to work in a rough territory, dragging or towing agricultural implements. It is the most used and versatile machine in agriculture. While some mount a harrower on it some mount a ridging tool and many more.
Automatic InRow Weeder: raining can be a curse in disguise when it comes to weed management, especially for farmers that can’t possess this equipment. This is designed to effectively and quickly tear up weeds without worrying about hurting the original planted crops.
Protected Agriculture
Soilless Farming: this could be hydroponics, vermiponics or aeroponiss, all the mentioned are soilless medium and soilless kind of farming. This just simply means panting with no soil. Soil contain some micro and macro nutrient needed for plant to grow, instead of the soil, the nutrient are passed to the root of the plant for adequate growth. This modernize agricultural technology innovation gives plant faster growth and enjoyed them to grow in a suitable environment.
Green-house Technology: This are the housing medium of the plant, it controls the climate condition and give the best growing medium to the plant. Controlling the climate allows you to grow any crop, any time of the year, whilst maintaining consistency and quality, which will in turn will lead to higher yields and the best possible return on your investment.  Climate-controlled greenhouse projects are enabling crops to grow faster, more efficiently, more sustainably and in almost every external condition.
Modern irrigation technology
Irrigation means the watering of land to make it ready for agriculture. It is the process of application of water to crops through artificial channels to grow them. Water is vital for the growth of plants. And, there can be no plants or crops if they do not have access to water in some form. It is, thus, crucial to supply water to crops and plants in time as per their need. The supply of water to plants comes from various water resources. For example: wells, ponds, lakes, canals, dams and reservoirs.
Some of the importance of irrigation include its ability to provide the moisture that is crucial during the germination phase of the plant’s life cycle, it helps increase soil fertility by adding moisture to it. It also makes the land easier to plough, it increases the yield from the farm. Recently the world has moved from traditional method of irrigation to the modernized methods. Let us take a quick look at that;
Drip Irrigation System: Drip irrigation is the most used irrigation system these days. In the drip irrigation, we lay plastic pipes in rows near the crops or plants. These pipes have holes in them. The water seeps from these holes drop by drop, hence the name drip irrigation. Drip irrigation is one of the most efficient irrigation methods as it reduces water wastage in agriculture. This seems expensive to a lot of local farmers so I suggest the local method of drip irrigation where you gather punctured water bottles with a connected pipe to the bottles from the dam or the farm source of water.
Sprinkler irrigation system: This is less costly. Sprinkler systems copy the phenomenon of rain. In sprinkler systems, the pipes carry water to central locations on the farm. The sprinklers placed there, distribute the water across the fields. The sprinkler method is one of the most efficient irrigation methods to irrigate the uneven land for agriculture. In addition, sprinkler systems provide the best coverage regardless of the size of the farm.

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