Introduction

Each and every nation has strong pillars or sectors which make up their economy. The sectors may include pharmaceutical, textile, tech, sports goods, agricultural etc. But it relies on a specific sector heavily to grow and prosper in order to become powerful, and that sector is the foundation of that country. 

Newly born country Pakistan faced many challenges especially for food. Pakistan at its initial stage had strong roots in agriculture and soon it began to be called an agricultural country, making the agricultural sector the backbone of Pakistan’s economy. Since that time, the traditional methods of farming and agriculture have been adopted till date. With the passage of time and technological advancement, the need for improvement in this sector has also been noted. 

The challenges faced by the agricultural sector include unpredictability of climate change, resource scarcity, and population growth. As necessity is the mother of invention, these challenges have driven innovation in the agricultural sector, resulting in game-changing and powerful advancements such as smart farming and precision agriculture. This has transformed the traditional farming methods into modernized smart techniques. Emphasized previously, we are going to discuss “smart agriculture” and what impacts it has been causing over Pakistan.  

Smart Agriculture: A Paradigm Shift

Understanding Smart Agriculture:

Smart agriculture influences high yield in crops, reduces waste, and enables resource management. Agriculture in Pakistan rolls the GDP oil wheels as well as provides a major portion to the country’s employees. The smallholder farmer intensifies smart farming technologies for getting sustainability in growth and ensuring food security as they are the backbone of agriculture in Pakistan.

The other hand, smart agriculture is one of the leading initiatives toward agriculture engaging data-driven solutions, automation, and connectivity. Precision irrigation systems make it possible for even most farmers, given a scarce water resource such as in Pakistan, to deliver the water directly at the roots, thereby reducing wastage and encouraging efficiency.

Key Components of Smart Agriculture in Pakistan:

1. Precision Farming:

It is a modern agricultural management strategy that involves observing, measuring, and responding to variations in soil, climate, and crop conditions across a field. The goal is to optimize crop production, reduce costs, and minimize environmental impact by applying resources like water, fertilizers, and pesticides precisely where and when they are needed. Some of the technologies are discussed below.

• GPS-Guided Equipment:

  This requires GPS-guided equipments for plowing, cultivating, or harvesting. This facilitates an unprecedented scale of precision on the part of the farmer during planting, fertilization, and harvesting. In the case of planting, GPS-controlled equipment will ensure that the seeds are dropped at optimal locations with consistent spacing and depth but still manage full coverage. Such precision will reduce wastage of seeds and afford uniform germination, which in turn accrues to high crop yield. GPS technology can be harnessed for accurate fertilization too, along with application of other inputs, so that excesses can be avoided to reduce environmental burdens.             

• Sensor Probes: Guardians of Soil Health:                          

             Sensor probes are revolutionizing agriculture by providing real-time insights into soil health. These devices are embedded in the                       soil and measure various parameters crucial for optimal crop growth, as discussed below: 

1.  Soil Moisture: Monitors water content to optimize irrigation, preventing overwatering or drought stress.  
2. Temperature: Tracks soil temperature to understand microbial activity, root growth, and fertilizer effectiveness.
3. pH Level: Measures soil acidity or alkalinity, influencing nutrient availability and plant growth.
4. Nutrient Levels: Detects concentrations of essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.  
5. Salinity: Monitors salt content, which can affect plant growth and yield.
6. Electrical Conductivity (EC): Indicates soil composition and nutrient balance.

• Crop Monitoring with Drones:

  With the origination of drones, it has become easier to facilitate the farmers by keeping a close eye on agricultural fields. Drones, when equipped with cameras and multispectral sensors fly over fields, capturing high-resolution  images. This technology allows:

1. Early Pest Detection: Drones identify pest-infested areas at an early stage. And guides the farmer regarding the targeted treatment before the problem spreads all over the field.
2. Crop Health Assessment: It also helps in identifying stressed or diseased plants at an early stage which prevents yield losses.

2. Climate-Smart Practices:

Climate change still remains amongst the highest risks to agriculture all over the world and Pakistan is no exception. It imposes unstable weather patterns, erratic rains, and higher temperatures which can lead to great losses in terms of crops and livelihoods. In this regard, the term climate-smart agriculture (CSA) has emerged as a holistic approach that tends to look for food security and grounds worries related to climate change.

CSA is part of practices that aim for the enhancement of systems’ resilience, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and adaptation to all the changing climatic conditions. Policies in Pakistan encouraging crop diversification, conservation agriculture, and climate-resilient varieties are fueling efforts toward sustainable climate-smart farming systems. Renewable energy sources, such as solar-powered irrigation pumps, help not only in reducing carbon emissions but also reduce the operating costs for a farmer.

3. Digital Connectivity:

The access to information, as it is said today, is access to power. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can arguably be taken as the prime mover for bringing knowledge and resources closer to the farmers to enable them to make superior decisions. For Pakistani farmers, mobile applications, agricultural websites, and online markets are the buzzing conduits they may resort to in their daily searches of weather forecasts, updates on market prices, best practices in agriculture, farm credit facilities, and so on.

It fosters further linkages among farmers, researchers, policymakers, and extension workers, increasing the likelihood for any kind of interaction so that information can be shared and knowledge collaborated upon. For example, farmer platforms such as e-Kisaan and AgriMart are enabling direct access of farmers to buyers—hence, getting rid of the middlemen and ensuring farmers get better prices

The Impact of Smart Agriculture in Pakistan

Enhanced Productivity and Income

• Crop Monitoring: Real-time information is collected from sensors and drones in relation to the crop’s health, on which timely interventions can be made.
• Precision Irrigation: Thanks to smart water management, irrigation management is undertaken accurately to save and optimally use the resource of water.
• Market Access: With digitalization in place, it mitigates the problem of having unnecessary layers of intermediaries in the market and, therefore, bringing better realization prices and fair value. 

Climate Resilience

• Drought Resistance: Only climate-smart varieties can stand against drought, an important aspect for arid areas of Pakistan.
• Flood Preparedness: It helps to take improved warning actions in reducing the risk from monsoon flooding damage.
• Healthy Soil: Nutrient application is optimized, leading to an increase in soil health and resilience.

Lower Environmental Footprint

• Reduction in Emission: Smartly devised practices have surely reduced emissions of greenhouse gases to a considerable percentage.
• Pesticides Optimized: It is monitored and, hence, it is observed at its optimum level.
• Biodiversity Preservation: Climate-smart practices protect ecosystems.

Challenges and the Way Forward

There are the following challenges to the way forward for increased smallholder productivity: 

• Awareness: many smallholders are not conversant with smart agriculture practices. The investment is that which technology adoption requires, where it becomes quite challenging for a resource-poor farmer. 
• Infrastructure: digital solutions call for the best internet connectivity and power use. The way forward 
• Capacity Development: farmers can be taught how to be smart through training programs, seminars, or workshops. 
• Research and Innovation: Actively investigating climate-resilient crops and developing sustainable agricultural practices.

4. Economic development in agricultural practices:

Adoption of technology in agriculture has raised productivity and resilience, which otherwise ignites economic growth within the rural areas. Technology links the farmers with markets, credit facilities, and access to information. In order to enable them to get themselves free from the shackles of poverty. It also strengthens the role played by agri-tech start-ups and incubation centers in promoting entrepreneurship and innovation.

Such programs under the domain of Pakistan aim to benefit the farmers under government-funded projects, such as those under the umbrella of the Prime Minister’s Agriculture Emergency Program and those under the Kissan Card project. Government policies abet this through direct or indirect support of input subsidies, farm machinery subsidies, and insurance coverages. These programmes under the head of Pakistan target the reformation of the sector with technologies and innovations for the betterment of livelihoods for millions of smallholder farmers in the country. 

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the importance of technology regarding agriculture in any particular country, especially one like Pakistan where agriculture is the mainstay occupation, cannot be overemphasized.

Technology is among new factors that are quickly changing agriculture in Pakistan for better productivity. Welcome smart agriculture to feed excessive population and to resolve amidst climate change. It will secure food, boost agricultural productivity, and uplift rural communities. The prevailing ambience of Pakistan’s agricultural sector will be more durable and prosperity-focused transformation. Because its progress lies in the place that is hybrid between tradition and innovation, where the plow meets the pixel and the farmer becomes a steward of land and data together

Let us cultivate not just crops, but a sustainable legacy for generations to come.

Written by: Zubda Aamir