The Impact of Data Analytics on the Agriculture Sector
There is no denying that data analytics has played an important role in improving business operations, irrespective of industries. Agriculture, however, hasn’t always been an industry to frequently utilise big data analytics, thankfully, that’s changing now.
Farmers today are quick to adopt new technologies that allow them to improve their crop yield and work more efficiently.
As big data and analytics solutions are made increasingly available across industries, agribusinesses and farmers are not shying away from using smart tools, internet of things (IoT) and cloud computing in an effort to improve their yields. Besides, with the use of wireless sensors, farmers can gather and analyse data to discover patterns that will help make more informed decisions and increase the output.
Listed below are some more detailed benefits of data analytics in agriculture:
Increases innovation and productivity
In order to improve crop production and profits, agribusinesses and farmers must leverage data that allows them to be more productive. With the availability of technologies like soil sensors, GPS-equipped tractors and weather tracking tools, farmers have better visibility into farm operations and increased opportunities to maximise resources.
Offers better understanding of environmental changes
Unpredictable weather conditions like drought, storms, pest infestations and change in insect behaviours due to extreme weather are the factors that negatively impact the agribusiness supply chain.
With the help of the data, however, farmers can navigate changes in environmental conditions and prepare themselves for the upcoming challenges. Using data analytics, farmers can monitor crop health in real-time, create predictive analytics related to future production and use the available resources wisely for increased sustainability.
Improves supply chain management
The current agribusiness chain is in urgent need of improvement to remain profitable and that produce outcomes that benefit the farm. The impact of precision agriculture technologies, like data analytics, make product tracing through the supply chain easier for farmers. As a result, farmers are able to communicate valuable information related to product offering and services, to retailers, distributors and other key stakeholders.
STEPS TO GETTING STARTED
With the right balance of information, smart technology and innovation, the agribusiness industry will continue to achieve amazing results. To use data analytics to its full potential, it is important to consider the strategy and long-term goals of your business. Besides, an agribusiness must have the right tools in place before putting a data analytics strategy into operation.
Collect data
First off, collect the right data from trusted and selected sources. Store that data in a single, safe location to simplify operations.
Standardise data
With multiple data sets in hand, agribusinesses have the chance to run comparisons, track trends in real-time and discover patterns in the data to help identify upcoming risks and opportunities.
Clean data
To be able to make sound and informed decisions, be sure to keep your collected data to be accurate and organised.
Enrich data
Having access to external information like weather forecasting, soil analytics, insect tracking data, will allow you to identify potential risks and threats, to proactively plan for your future operations.
Analyse data
To ultimately benefit from the collected information, you need to be able to efficiently analyse data. Discover powerful tools available for establishing analytics and make sure to use them in a way that supports the goals you want to meet.
Final Word
Data analytics in the agriculture sector will continue to open up new insights and steadily transform the industry for the better. Besides, farmers are more empowered with the right data as it helps them predict market conditions, maximise return on investment and mitigate risks.
