Agricultural productivity, sustainable careers, and environmental
conservation are global issues in agriculture. Colombia is no
exception, and a project to provide solutions to such issues using
the internet of things (IoT) has started in cooperation with the
governments of Colombia and Japan in January 2018(1).
The joint project is conducting small-scale experimental research
that aims to develop a knowledge platform that increases rice
production and conserves the environment by reducing methane
emission and nitrification in farming through better input management
(irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer). The project’s partners include, from
Japan, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC),
which is also funding the project, and from Colombia, the Ministry of
Information Technology and Communication (MINTIC) , the Ministry
of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) and the National
Rice Growers Association (FEDEARROZ) in close collaboration with
the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).
e-kakashi, a knowledge platform for agriculture
PS Solutions is providing such a platform withe-kakashi.e-kakashi
consists of three units: a gateway unit that functions as an interface
between the other two units, a sensor node unit that obtains
measurements from each sensor, and a cloud system unit that
includes AI capability and receives all the collected data. AI trained
with plant science and agricultural know-how integrates the acquired
data and visualizes them as graphs, enabling users to easily analyze
the data in the context of good farming practices and plant science.
In the current project, collected data include rice plant conditions (or
growth), environment factors, and collective farming experiences. At
the test fields of CIAT and FEDEARROZ, environmental data are
collected by sensors(2)integrated to thee-kakashicloud system
unit. By giving scientific feedback from FEDEARROZ and CIAT
about farming techniques and know-how,e-kakashi’sAI will
compare and integrate the field data to provide farmers with
cultivation recipes (orek-recipes) including actions for better crop
management.e-kakashiwill benefit Colombian agricultural
practices as well as the environment by enabling the practical
exchange of farming techniques to optimize farming processes and
improve product quality and quantity.
FEDEARROZ’s Technical Manager, Myriam Patricia Guzman,
comments, “e-kakashiwith real-time information analysis will
provide farmers with tools to make optimal crop management
decisions. The ICT (information and communication technology)
utilized in this project will be integrated as part of the monitoring
platform for crop conditions to improve crop management. The rice
farming methods tested and practiced in the project will be
disseminated through the FEDEARROZ AMTEC program (Massive
Adaptation Technology Extension Program), which integrates
climate services, site-specific agriculture and precision agriculture
for the benefit of farmers.”
Educating the next generation of farmers
In addition to providing solutions to agricultural productivity and
environmental issues, the project deals with issues of employment
in Colombia through IoT and agricultural education. To maximize
e-kakashifor farming, training will be done through lectures,
practical field training and workshops for participants from
FEDEARROZ including member farmers and other stakeholders in
rice production. During the training, farmers and technicians will
familiarize themselves with IoT and science-based agriculture. This
education is particularly useful to FEDEARROZ farmers who seek
sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agricultural practice will bring
stable employment to generations of farmers.
Scientific research and smart agriculture made easy
with e-kakashi
The current project is a test case for howe-kakashican contribute
to improving agricultural practices in general. Its small-scale will
show how common agricultural problems can be solved by
measuring key environmental parameters. Ultimately, by using
e-kakashi, scientific hypotheses can be tested for plant growth in
any field anywhere in the world.
Dr. Takashi Togami, the developer ofe-kakashi, imagines
e-kakashiand itsek-recipessolving food sustainability and stable
employment around the world. “Environmentally sound sustainable
agriculture is needed to save our planet and ourselves,” he says.
Note 1. The names and logos of "e-kakashi" are registered
trademarks or trademarks of PS Solutions Corp. in Japan.
Note 2. Names of any other product, company or organization are
registered trademarks or trademarks of the relevant company.Sustainable agriculture
supported by IoT
Researchers in an experimental field, Saldaña, Colombia Aerial photo of rice fields, Ibagué, Colombia
(1) http://www.soumu.go.jp/main_sosiki/joho_tsusin/eng/Releases/-
Telecommunications/2018_01_12_02.html
In January 2018, the Colombian government and the Japanese government agreed to
cooperate in the area of agricultural IoT to resolve the challenges Colombia is facing in
agriculture, such as sustainable farming and food production.
(2) One of the sensors used to measure water depth is provided by Tokyo Electron Device
Limited. With a built-in mobile unit, it communicates directly to the cloud system.
PS Solutions foresees that all sensors will come with this communication capability in
the near future, which would eliminate the gateway and sensor nodes units, allowing for
easier and more economic data collection at more collection points in the fields.