ICT Boosts Aussie Agriculture Industry

By Greg McNevin

August 15, 2007: According to the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), technology is transforming Australia’s agricultural landscape with RFID tags and global positioning systems bringing new levels of precision to farming, solving traditional agricultural challenges in new and improved ways and just generally making the industry more efficient.

AIIA CEO Sheryle Moon has tipped her hat to the latest ICT innovations in the industry and singled out the CSIRO’s 'smart farm' project and its Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) research as one of the more exciting developments due to its potential to transform the agriculture industry.

“WSNs are a rapidly growing area of research and provide access to environmental information in greater detail than ever before possible,” said Moon.

In agriculture, WSN nodes measure factors such as soil moisture. These wirelessly interact with their neighbours and pass information to a central database, giving farmers an instant and accurate picture of soil moisture levels more effectively control irrigation.

“With water and labour resources in short supply, the sustainability of our agricultural industry is dependent on timely, accurate information that can revolutionise how daily management decisions are made. And technology is at the forefront of providing that information,” said Moon.

“National ICT Australia (NICTA) is leading the Water Information Networks project, for example, which is developing advanced wireless sensor network technology to improve water efficiency in the Australian dairy, horticulture and viticulture industries.”

The association also highlights another joint venture where technology meets farming, where wireless technology is being used to monitor and understand the behaviour of cattle. Here RFID tags are implanted under the skin of cattle to classify and model herd behaviour.

“Radio-frequency identification technology has been used for some time in the agricultural industry. RFID tags […] aid automatic identification and monitoring. WSN technology is the next evolution,” said Moon.

“And of course, farmers’ ability to connect with the wider world has never been better, through advanced mobile phone technology, and access to the Information Superhighway. The ICT industry is committed to helping Australia’s industries – and particularly the agriculture sector - to gain that extra edge over the global competition.”

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