Unlike many other agro drones that can work on flat and level areas, EAVision drones use combined artificial intelligence-based computer vision and sensor systems to be able to work on hilly and mountainous areas, as well as cascade-type farms. Drones are well oriented and keep their balance while moving among plants with a complex type of vegetation.

They are equipped with a special spraying system that allows treating plants only about a meter away from their tops.

According to the results of tests carried out on a citrus farm in Guangxi province, the drones showed a 90% better spider mite treatment result than traditional operations

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The process of cultivation of living organisms in the last half century has undergone significant changes under the influence of scientific progress, as the food security of mankind has attracted scientific forces to solve the problem of hunger and guarantee safe existence in the future. Agriculture has become one of the most science-intensive industries, and the problems of genetics, breeding, technical and chemical means of raising animals and plants for food have been solved in a historically short time. In the last decade, digitalization has contributed to the efficiency of agriculture and continues to do so.

Both the farmer and the holding company must manage their land, stock the necessary inputs for the production cycle, perform agro-technology operations, and carry out product sales. Agroholdings add the function of human resources and communication between territorial units and headquarters. Both the farmer and the holding company need planning, operations control and strategy.

Digitalization made it possible to accumulate Big Data and work with data, obtaining optimal solutions for further operations. Climate’s (Monsanto) small multifunctional Field View sensor collects data on soil, weeds, pests, crop yields and concentrates them in arrays, combines with drone data and satellite maps, then the system analyzes data and transforms it into technological maps of further activities. Thus, the efficiency of crop production increases fundamentally, as fertilizer application and agrochemical treatments become as accurate as possible, and the seed is used accurately. However, other important issues of the farmer’s activities remain outside the system: the purchase of seed, fertilizers and agrochemicals, fuel and accounting, sales of grown products.

If the systems for monitoring and analyzing agricultural operations contribute to the efficiency of farm production, the comprehensive Farm Management System is designed to relieve the farmer from his office work and equip him with ready-made solutions for running his business.

Full-cycle systems are developed either by large agricultural companies or research institutes, but IT companies are also experimenting in this area.

In the modern sense, Farm Management System is a system that allows to manage the production process from idea to execution control based on the farm database and external monitoring sources with integration of financial management tools.

In the face of climate change and market volatility the farmer must focus on growing processes and respond immediately to significant changes in conditions by leaving accounting, control, purchasing and reporting issues to automation.

The Farm Management System market is now approaching $1.5 billion worldwide and is growing exponentially. There are recognized market leaders. Livestock producers widely use Farm Management System Navfarm, Universal Farm Management software for poultry farm owners, fish farm owners, livestock farm owners, hog farms, dairy distribution companies and other agricultural businesses. ERPNext is an open-source Web application that helps small, medium and corporate businesses manage their accounting, inventory, sales, purchases, production, projects, customer support and Web site. Agsquared helps farmers gather valuable information about their farm operations to help build a complete picture of farm productivity, profitability and sustainability. Farmlogs, Farmlogic, AGRIVI, EasyFarm, Farmbrite, and Croptracker AgroSense are popular. Agworld, for example, is the world’s first collaborative farming solution that allows farmers, crop consultants, farm staff, Precision Farming specialists and operations managers to work as one. ExactFarming is an agricultural decision support system that uses data from field sensors, satellite imagery and equipment to make farmers’ lives easier and their businesses more profitable.

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Efficiency also plays an important role in modern farming. For example, the Danish Pig City farm uses pig waste as a complete internal energy source for growing tomatoes. Urban Organics’ aquaponics systems allow them to grow fish and vegetables using only 2% of the water used in conventional farming. The production cycle consists of two main parts: an aquaponics farm whose water and waste are used as instant fertilizer for a vegetable plantation under artificial light. The Carrot City Agrocultural Research Project explores the impact of design on agriculture by assembling a database of solutions, prototypes, and unrealized ideas that improve production with non-obvious solutions.

However, neither computer technology nor design savvy can support the necessary future growth of agriculture without the help of genetics. The term GMO, demonized by the mass media around the world, did not appear today. The transfer of genes from one plant to another has been practiced by man since the earliest days of agriculture, when breeding began. Direct penetration into the structure of the genome occurred in the early 1970s. The first genetically modified organism was a bacterium that received an antibiotic resistance gene from another strain. Commercial GMO products began to appear in the 1990s. One of the first was the shelf-life tomato, in which the genes responsible for rapid rotting were removed from the tomato DNA.

By the turn of the century, tomatoes were joined by corn, soybeans, rape, potatoes, cotton, rice, beets, and others. The superpowers of GMO foods today are astounding in their breadth: they are resistant to adverse environmental conditions, resist pests, grow faster, and have a more pronounced taste and nutritional value. In the last few years, animal products have been added to plant-based products: cows and goats, whose milk is now healthier and can even cure blood diseases, salmon, which is able to grow for a lifetime. Meanwhile, the GMO industry is only at the very beginning of its journey, promising even more fantastic achievements in the next decade.

GMO plants are growing in 30 countries and occupy about 25% of all agricultural land. It is the fastest growing tool of farming in the world. In the U.S., about 95% of farmers growing corn, soybeans, cotton and sugar beets use biotechnology because it helps them produce a better product and reduce the effort involved. GMO developments have been sold for more than 20 years, and in that time there has not been a single case involving consumer health and safety. New genetic modification tools are increasingly editing the DNA to create new and more interesting combinations of traits. Biology is the main key to solving the problems of increased food demand that lie ahead.

We are also seeing explosive development of tools related to data collection. Orbiting satellites allow us to observe fields on a daily basis, giving farmers previously unavailable valuable information. We can take a teaspoon of dirt, extract DNA from it to truly assess soil health and the types of microorganisms living in it. We have sensors built into farm machinery that can localize every plant in a field and build a meter-by-meter map of the fields. All these tools help farmers optimize their farms like never before.

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