Agricultural communities in the country region of Victoria, Australia will be able to better manage their crops with the new digital network being administered as part of the State Government’s Internet of Things (IoT) trial.
According to a recent press release, Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes announced that NNNCo will work with Agriculture Victoria to provide network connectivity to trial sites in the Maffra, Tatura, Serpentine and Birchip regions.
The Minister added that Internet of Things trial has the potential to revolutionise farm businesses, putting Victorian farmers at the forefront of agricultural innovation.
Benefits
Moreover, the exciting technology will keep the farmers connected and help them work smarter – not harder.
The new long-range network (LoRaWAN) will allow for thousands of sensors to be securely connected to the internet.
This will provide the farmers with real-time data to improve their on-farm productivity, efficiency and sustainability.
The delivery of network connectivity is an important part of the Government’s ongoing On-farm IoT trial.
It will address key barriers that farmers have identified to investing in technology, such as a lack of access to reliable network coverage.
The network also has the potential to support the wider community, providing improved connectivity so everyone in the trial regions can benefit from Victoria’s growing digital economy.
About the On-Farm Internet of Things Trial
Victoria’s On-Farm Internet of Things trial is part of the State Government’s Commitment in improving rural and regional mobile coverage, coverage on train lines, mobile blackspots and public Wi-Fi.
The trial is part of the Victorian Government’s AU$ 45 million Connecting Victoria initiative to improve digital technology and infrastructure across regional Victoria.
Through the On-Farm IoT Trial, Agriculture Victoria will partner with up to 600 farms to trial on-farm IoT technology and evaluate the impact these technologies can have on-farm performance.
The On-Farm IoT Trial will support on-farm adoption of the IoT by addressing barriers to uptake, including:
- Lack of Connectivity
- Digital Literacy
- Capital to invest in on-farm IoT technologies
The impact of IoT on-farm performance will be assessed with the aim to provide the agriculture sector with a clear rationale for investment in IoT.
The company’s CEO Mr Rob Zagarella explained that the network and data platform roll-out is a commitment to every farmer in these regions to provide the coverage they need to better manage and run their operations.
Farmers now have a broad choice of devices and applications from the growing global IoT ecosystem.
This includes irrigation management and control, and real-time monitoring of soil health, rainfall, cattle movement, farm assets, worker safety, and water tank levels so that they can proactively respond to the needs of the farm.
Smart Farming Across the Globe
Countries across the globe have recognised the benefits of implementing ICT to improve their agriculture industry. OpenGov Asia had previously reported on such initiatives.
For instance, the adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to grow considerably in Malaysia as it embarks on various 5G use cases around the country.
The smart agriculture use case features an AI-driven automation platform, which allows predictive growth modelling. Remote global monitoring and control, thus, making farming possible anywhere.
5G will enable the country to produce and manufacture more high-quality goods and services while further benefiting the people with better products and services.
Meanwhile, Thailand is pushing for smart agriculture.
The Thai government will be applying Hokkaido’s development of technology for the farm and tourism sectors to upgrade Thailand’s community-based tourism and tackle poverty among farmers.
Thailand should learn to use more advanced technology in the agriculture sector because the country has become an ageing society and is facing a shortage of young workers in the sector.
