Balancing real-time data needs in rural farming. Can you overcome limited connectivity challenges?

For sure, limited connectivity in rural farming is a challenge, but it doesn’t have to hold us back. By progressively managing data, we can keep our farms efficient and productive. I would start with the essentials... Prioritizing weather updates for real-time insights to plan irrigation, protect crops, and optimize harvests. Next, I would integrate soil moisture sensors for precise irrigation, reducing water waste. Finally, I advance to crop health monitoring, detecting issues early and boosting yields. Depending on where you are and what crops you’re working with, consider seeking help from early-stage startups or non-profits focused on Ag Data. They can facilitate decisions over different technologies and offer valuable support.

In remote areas data connectivity is the biggest problem there are many solutions to it but identifying the farmers and the clients need you to prioritize what basic parameters are necessary for working in those remote areas. Secondly you can seek help from your company developer to build up some offline packages for you in remote areas where connectivity is the issue which once updated when you get in touch with the internet and works offline so you can make a wise decision for your farmers. Thirdly you can use satellite reports coming from your office data to make a just decision of the farming system.

High-tech tools can be very connectivity dependent, so using low-tech tools as part of your data plan can might be a better option. Paper records, whiteboards, or community bulletin boards are all easy ways to keep everyone up to date on daily events and notes without getting restrictions from low connections. Even though these ways may seem old-fashioned, they are good backups that can be turned into digital files later. They make it easier for farm workers to talk to each other and keep important data safe, even when digital tools aren't available.

Real-time data using IoT on farms typically relies on connectivity to function, but it can operate where connectivity is patchy: 1. Local connectivity: devices can work on local networks using protocols like Bluetooth or Zigbee, enabling tasks without internet access 2. Intermittent connectivity: devices can collect and store data locally, uploading it when connection is available This is useful in remote monitoring or mobile applications 3. Edge computing: processing data locally on edge devices reduces the need for constant connectivity 4. Standalone operation: some IoT devices can function autonomously with onboard sensors and pre-programmed instructions, useful in with unreliable connectivity. Check out Google Scholar for more details.

in my experience, real time data is not a must for day to day operations in a farm, as long as the climate and crop status are normal. Collecting data offline and uploading when connectivity is available is fine. Therefore any application must have the facility for the same. Real time data is critical only when there is an ubnormal change in weather.

Nowadays, the internet connection is a big challenge in rural area. I agree that satellite serives can be a groundbreaking solution for digitalization in agriculture, but i think that it's a huge investment. We have to invest on fields related to this technologies, that can help us to overcome the global challenges we're facing today and in the future (drought, climate change, pollution, unemployment, social issues, ...).