For higher yield, sustainability: Agri experts for adopting precision agriculture, AI technologies

ISLAMABAD: Agriculture experts have stressed the need for adopting precision agriculture and Artificial Intelligence technologies which promise wide prospects for higher yield as well as ensure sustainability and food securities.

A special seminar on “Precision Agriculture and Artificial Technologies in Pakistan: Prospects and Opportunities” was organized here in Islamabad. Addressing at the seminar Khan Faraz, an agriculture expert said that Pakistan is an agricultural country.

Agriculture is the backbone the country’s economy. Agriculture remains the second largest economic sector in the country, contributing approximately 25 percent to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and absorbing roughly 42 percent of the labour force, he added.

The experts stressed the need for adopting precision agriculture and artificial intelligence technologies which promise wide prospects for higher yield as well as ensure sustainability and food securities.

Faraz said that the world is now heading towards the use of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, the use of big data, and smart machines for agriculture, and this is called precision agriculture. There’s a lot of potential for precision in the country in normal circumstances and even more during disasters.

Also, it is time to embark upon the fourth agricultural revolution based on the use of big data, smart machines enabled by the internet, and its various software and applications. The precision agriculture has its own pros and cons, but the benefits of the green revolution are now saturated.

“In view of these situations, it is now the need for technology based smart agriculture to enhance productivity in the backdrop of climate change, food security, other variability, and external influences. The use of artificial intelligence like Soil and Water Assessment Tools (SWAT) and drone imagery enables resource consumption in a smart and sustainable manner.

The various farming methods irrigation model and smart use of fertilizers, should be estimated through AI which ensures use higher productivity despite changes in weather patterns, especially in the context of climate change,” he added.

Faraz also stressed that there is a need for providing modern technology to small farmers through certified vendors and service providers at the tehsils and union council levels besides imparting training to students to assist small farmers in the uptake of these technologies. Also, there is a need for crop rotation regulations so as to ensure that Pakistan agricultural lands are not exhausted.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022