Smartening up Albanian agriculture with IoT

Farmers in Albania, as elsewhere, face significant challenges when it comes to improving crop yields and reducing costs while complying with environmental and food safety standards.

Lack of information about current and forecasted weather conditions can result in lower yields, product loss and an inability to plan fieldwork. Inadequate plant monitoring can lead to crop damage or the overuse of pesticides and fertilizers, while uncertainty about the conditions that cause plant diseases reduce the effectiveness of crop interventions.

A smart solution to uncertainty

To meet these challenges, Vodafone Albania has developed a Smart Agro solution based on Internet of Things (IoT) technology, advanced data connectivity. The solution uses a network of localised weather stations and soil sensors to provide farmers with granular real-time data and insights so they can optimize their operations.

Reliable remote 360⁰ visibility

The weather stations collect a variety of data every hour, including air temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, rainfall, solar radiation, and plant transpiration. Meanwhile, sensors placed underground measure soil temperature, moisture, and salinity.

This information is sent for analysis via Vodafone’s low power, deep-penetrating Narrowband IoT network, which allows the devices to run on solar power and batteries, making it perfect for remote locations.

The analysis results are delivered via Vodafone Albania’s solutions platform and are presented to customers through easy-to-understand notifications, reports, and maps accessible on laptops, tablets, or smartphones. With a predictive accuracy of 92%, Vodafone’s Smart Agro solution provides farmers with a comprehensive view of plant nutrition, soil moisture, disease risk, and localized weather forecasts up to 14 days in advance.

Precision planning for sustainable productivity

Armed with these insights, farmers can make more informed decisions about ploughing, sowing, planting, irrigation, spraying and harvesting to boost production and conserve resources.

By improving the quality and quantity of yields – while optimising field work and reducing labour costs – farmers can achieve efficiency improvements of up to 15%. By rationalising pesticide and fertilizer applications they can also reduce the use of chemicals by up to 30%.