Emerging agribusiness technologies

In the same proportion as it creates opportunities, technology generates new challenges and demands. Agribusiness is one of the most technologically advanced sectors of the Brazilian economy. Proof of this was its pioneering in the adoption of autonomous machinery. Vehicles such as tractors, harvesters, grinders, among others, travel through the countryside without drivers, along routes traced to the millimeter by computers, thus enabling the practice of so-called precision agriculture.

If, on the one hand, this automation provides a significant gain in productivity and a reduction in expenses necessary for the sector, the absence of people in this type of operation means that an unmapped tree or a stray or invasive animal become factors that can result in accidents and compromising an asset of high value. The absence of employees also means that invaders go unnoticed, particularly on large areas of land.

Familiar with new technologies, agribusiness ended up resorting to solutions used by other segments. One of them is the fleet monitoring system. The solutions offered by the segment today go far beyond identifying the location where the vehicle is located. There are systems available in the country that, in addition to transmitting in real time in a single 360° image everything that happens around the machinery, are capable of identifying risk factors and alerting managers.

Solutions previously used only by industry are also gaining ground in Brazilian agribusiness. The Internet of Things (IoT) and embedded technology have been part of everyday agriculture for some time, whether for production control and checking the conditions of machinery, or for monitoring functionalities or even the availability of fuel in tractors or harvesters – which is even more necessary when using autonomous machinery. Due to the extreme possibility of customizing these technologies, livestock farming is increasingly turning to these solutions.

Embedded technology allows managers to individually monitor each animal in their herds. With the installation of sensors, the administrator can know the location of each of his oxen and, more than that, their weight. To this end, a scale is connected to a gateway at a mandatory crossing point. This way, the manager receives, on his cell phone and in real time, the identification and weighing data of each animal. It is also possible to know how long each person spends feeding with the keeper and, when necessary, intensify the fattening process of certain animals.

Automation has arrived in the field. The Brazilian economy always has agribusiness as its main exponent. More than the country's vast expanses of land, the adoption of technology is what will guarantee the sector's importance, both in the national GDP and as a global food supplier.