Global tech giant Huawei is on a mission to demonstrate how the convergence of technologies including drones, 5G and the internet of things (IoT), can contribute to a more sustainable future for the agricultural sector.
Agriculture remains critical to the South African economy, having achieved a growth rate of 8.3% in 2021, second only to mining.
Technology helps farmers detect small insects, monitor crop status, and predict harvests, allowing them to optimise the use of water, chemicals, and pesticides precisely, and with minimum waste, explains Huawei South Africa deputy CEO, Kian Chen.
“A more efficient and sustainable agricultural sector would not only benefit the South African economy, but also aid in job creation.”
Agritech in its full glory
Chen adds that Mzansi is one of the most food secure countries on the continent, but with global agricultural supply being highly sensitive to shocks brought about by climate change, technology has an important role to play in ensuring the country’s food security.
At present, the sector is responsible for between 19 and 29% of greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, a growing global population and changing dietary demands are driving up demands for food. Agriculture must remain as sustainable as possible.
A glimpse into the future
At the Nussböckgut vineyard, a centuries-old estate in Upper Austria, Huawei and Dronetech demonstrated what this future might look like.
The two companies provided an update this month on a pioneering project that’s been running since last year and introduced how their 5G and IoT technologies can advance sustainability in agriculture.
In the latest phase of the project, Huawei will provide cloud computing services on top of 5G, which will serve as the foundation for real-time artificial intelligence (AI) analysis.
Dronetech’s drones, were equipped with high-resolution cameras and sensors, will meanwhile survey the land and objects to capture images and data that will be processed by AI, and provide actionable findings to the users instantly.
Addressing the challenges
The two companies are also looking at a shared-use approach for the technologies.
Such an approach could be particularly helpful for a country like South Africa, where the farmers who could most benefit from such revolutionary technologies, often can’t afford to adopt them, says Chen.
“We remain committed to ensuring that technology creates more sustainable practices, while improving lives and livelihoods. Projects such as the one undertaken by our Austrian colleagues and Dronetech, not only show that this is possible, but that it could be done anywhere around the world, including in South Africa.”
The model could also easily be applied to different sectors. In addition to farmers, municipalities, and corporates, individuals could rent out drones and their AI solutions for a wide range of applications such as the inspection of solar panels, traffic management, or the detection of worn-out power lines.
The biggest challenge for introducing 5G-enabled drones to agriculture is network coverage. Currently, 5G networks are primarily designed for end-users who are mostly at ground level or indoors. High-quality coverage for drones, which routinely fly at heights of up to 50 metres above the ground, still needs to be established.
5G was developed for three key application areas: high bandwidth, low latency and connecting millions of devices. Using drones in combination with AI and 5G can address several resource-intensive operations such as maintenance or area monitoring.
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