Opinion | Agri Robotics : A Paradigm Shift towards Modern Agriculture.

INTRODUCTION

With around 8 billion mouths to feed an increasing rate of depletion of agricultural land followed by migration of rural masses towards the urban areas has resulted in transforming the natural ecosystem into the concrete jungle is no more a grandma’s tale. Agriculture played an important role during the times of Pandemic when the Indian economy was at a halt by pushing the GDP towards progress. The contribution to the national economy from 2020 to 2021 was 20.2%.

Everyone in this world needs food. Despite the food crises, Agriculture is a primary sector which needs the attention of the government to become a sustainably developed and self-independent nation by 2030.

Technology: A boon.

Traditional agriculture required castles with no concept of tractors to till the field. With the
advent of technology, almost every field has transformed for the betterment of the nation. In the modern era medical robots such as TheCyberKnife, The TUG etc are assisting in surgeries. Robots in research, space technology, and manufacturing are dominating every nook and corner of industries.

Technology has stepped into the agricultural domain as well. From the times of inspecting the field to spotting disease-affected plants to artificial intelligence where on the screen of your computer you can monitor your field. Precision farming wherein required amounts of nutrients, and water are given to plants without any loss whatsoever. Also, soil monitoring, livestock health monitoring, Aerial survey and imagining are some of the applications of artificial intelligence.

Agri Robotics
To isolate the cotton seed from the cotton fibre, Eli Whitney 1974 developed the first machine which was used in Agriculture which was the beginning of the journey of stepping conventional farming into modern and advanced agriculture. Robots are used in agriculture for various purposes like harvesting, weed control, picking, pruning, thinning, and. These functions serve
the purpose of simplifying the tasks of farmers. On the one hand, a farmer consumes his time in picking and thinning which is labour-intensive but on the other, robots do the same job in the blink of a human eye. Agri Robotics use IoT-based technologies and sensors to monitor the processes related to crops such as growth and soil health. Tools of machine learning and Artificial intelligence are used as an alarm system to configure the disease and pest infestation in the crop field. They are also used to grow seeds on optimal dates and times. Examples of Robots used in Agriculture include Green Seeker which checks the requirements of a crop and
then accordingly applies herbicides and fertilizers. Automatic milking systems (AMS) used for milking cattle without human intervention like Han top Rechargeable Milking Machine for Goat, Happybuy Electric Milking Machine for Cows, and Milking machine pulsators are some examples which are used in AMS.

CONSTRAINTS:
As India is a home of marginal farmers whose monthly income hardly fulfils the minimal
necessities of life, it’s nearly impossible for such a farmer to use high-tech equipment in his field. One of the reasons is a dependency on other countries for technology needs such as semiconductors which are the main constituent in constructing a robot. As per Volza’s India, “Import data semiconductors import shipments in India stood at 80.8 thousand, imported by 1687 India Importers from 20511 suppliers.”Another constraint to the usage of Agri Robotics in India is a lack of expertise in technical skills. Due to this, there is a dearth of awareness among the local masses, moreover among those who are developing their interest in robotics in
agriculture. Additionally, there is a notion among the farmers that they are frightened to let go of their conventional methods of farming and practice modern agriculture.

Way Forwarded

Every problem comes with a solution. To broaden the domain of agricultural research and development we need funds from the government so that efficient research must be done extensively. This is the initial step for inculcating robotics in the field of agriculture as more and more research will be done which will foster budding agriculturists. The major drawback is the lack of awareness about the existing agri robots that are used. Extension agents have to plug the gaps of unawareness related to the same so that those farmers who can afford can avail of the technology. Also, adding “Machine Learning and AI” as a course in high schools and colleges so that students can have gazillion doors of opportunities to knock at.
Agri Robotics is an emerging field which will widen its wings in the coming times. Being an
agrarian country, India has to develop indigenous technology so that a marginal farmer can take benefit from it.