Signal 4: Big Data in Agriculture
Agriculture contributes tremendously to the economy of any country. A big challenge facing the agriculture sector is its reliance on irrigation and soil conditions and vulnerability to events like floods and droughts. Can data science be used to help farmers reduce their risk and increase profits?
SatSure is a company that has aims to improve agriculture using technology like data analytics and IoT. They provide farmers with important information regarding soil health and crop growth which allows them to take better decisions keeping the best scientific practices in mind. SatSure uses satellite and weather data to monitor farms total output and performance. They provide this vital information to banks and insurance companies like a credit score report for better risk assessment.
Big data can help solve some of the biggest challenges in agriculture like weather uncertainty and increasing farmer debt. Earlier farmers weren’t adequately compensated for harvest losses caused by severe weather conditions due to lack of information. Now providing insurance companies with harvest, soil fertility, and irrigation information can ensure a fair compensation for farmers which reduces financial distress. Next steps can include the use of soil, weather and crop characteristics to identify crop risk due to infectious diseases that lead to crop loss.
