1. IoT applications in Rural
and Agriculture
Igor Jurčić

2. Introduction
 Lekture: Igor Jurčić, M.Sc.EE
 Work experience: 27 years; 24 years in telecom operator
 Appx. 16 years in management postions
 Appx. 17 years in marketing and sales
 Appx. 26 scientific and professional articles
 PhD Study: FESB, Split
 E-mail address: ijurcic77@gmail.com
 Mobile: + 387 63 363 353

3. Content
 Base for Internet of Things (IoT)
 The main definitions and facts of IoT
 IOT Systems
 IoT Architecture
 IoT in Agriculture – the main facts
 IoT Applications and Solutions in Agriculture
 Value chain in smart agriculture
 Before conclusion… some inputs.
 Conclusion

4. Base for Internet of Things (IoT)
Standardization and commercialization of 5G
mobile networks will be the first important item
as a base for Vision 2020.
Also, there is a new term: „smartphone society”
which is introduced by consulting firm
RolandBerger.
In essence we all have to do "a shift in mindset"
(Ericsson)

5. Base for Internet of Things (IoT)
With the introduction of 5G mobile networks with
all assumed characteristics leads to the fact that
the user will buy the speed of Internet access
and use different applications.
Customers will buy and use access to a variety
of sensors and devices ... buying minutes, SMSs,
data traffic becomes past - this is an important
item in the "a shift in mindset”.

6. Base for Internet of Things (IoT)
Fifth generation (5G) of mobile networks and
associated technologies will have to meet many
different requirements :
Peak transmission rate greater than 10 Gb / s
Up to 100 times more connected devices on the
network than in the present systems
Mass production and availability (especially for the
price issue) sensors and different devices
Longer service life of batteries in devices

7. Base for Internet of Things (IoT)
Continuation of the previous slide:
Speed access for customers up to 100 Mbps wherever
it is needed
Transferring more than 10,000 times of data traffic
than in today's systems
The delay of less than 1 ms
High (ultra) the reliability of the system
(Almost) 100% signal coverage of the population and
territory

8. Base for Internet of Things (IoT)
*From Nokia Building 5G (webinar 09/2015)

9. Base for Internet of Things (IoT) - a simplified
comparison with a railway composition
Railway embankment = fiber optic
infrastructure
Rails = SDN / NFV technologies
Locomotive = 5G mobile network
Wagons = IoTs, OTT services, Cloud
services, ...
Driver = Artificial Intelligence

10. Base for Internet of Things (IoT)
*From: „5G beyond the hype”, Ericsson Business Review, Issue 2, 2014

11. The main definitions and facts of IoT

12. The main definitions and facts of IoT

13. The main definitions and facts of IoT
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is a
network of physical objects, systems, platforms
and applications that contain embedded
technology to communicate and share
intelligence with each other, the external
environment and with people.

14. The main definitions and facts of IoT
*From http://www.slideshare.net/CiscoIBSG/internet-of-everything

15. The main definitions and facts of IoT

16. The main definitions and facts of IoT
There are three key constituent
components in IoT:
Computer infrastructure
Communication infrastructure
Devices / things

17. The main definitions and facts of IoT
*Ahmed Banafa: „What is next for IoT and IIoT”, Enterprise Mobility Summit, Australia 2015

18. The main definitions and facts of IoT
Market of IoT will be huge and will have a large
increase in 2020 and thereafter
IPv6 is one of the preconditions for the expansion of
IoE.
Every device on the Internet needs to have its own
IP address – it is required urgent implementation of
IPv6 in Internet network
It is necessary to urgently work on the
implementation of IPv6 addressing at all levels in the
network

19. The main definitions and facts of IoT
Through IPv6 addressing it is possible
to have a total of 3,4·1038 different
addresses
IPv4 addressing provides
approximately 4,3·109 or 4.3 billion
addresses.

20. The main definitions and facts of IoT
*Ahmed Banafa: „What is next for IoT and IIoT”, Enterprise Mobility Summit, Australia 2015

21. The main definitions and facts of IoT
 More than ever before, it is needed to be creative and
that creativity expressed through the creation of new
products/services.
 Offers of products and services must not be based on
the customer's needs but mobile telecom operators and
their partners must say to customers "what they need”
 There are many areas of the economy in which we can
make progress (figure in the previous slide) but it is
needed to be imaginative and creative and to design
new products/services and applications

22. The main definitions and facts of IoT

23. IOT systems
There are four key challenges to be
addressed before mass deployment and
introduction of IoT approach:
Platform for IoT
Conecting of devices
Business model
Applications those will lead to massive use of IoE
approach ("killer applications")

24. IOT systems
 Other challenges can be summarized under the following
categories:
 Different IoT devices using different protocols and technologies
(complex configuration of the entire system)
 Lack of maturity in IoT technologies and processes – the
transition towards the IoE approach is complex
 Physical security devices
 There is still a limited way and access management and control
of IoT devices
 Limited knowledge (still) software experts – that is vital need to
develop and design applications for IoTs - to become a system
in the true sense of the word - IoE

25. IOT systems
 The main problem in the implementation of IoT / IoT / IoE
is the safety and protection of access by unwanted
people
 According to many survey from 2015 to 2020, over 60%
of respondents cited this as a major obstacle to the
mass introduction of IoT / IIoT / IoE
 In second place (as a major obstacle to the introduction
of IoT / IIoT / IeE) is the integration of the device into the
system and the third is investment in network
infrastructure

26. IOT systems
 There are five factors involved in the chain of defining
and ensuring the security of access devices connected
to the Internet or the data that they exchange among
themselves and sent to the people:
 Providers of IoT platform services
 Manufacturers of IoT devices (IoT device vendor)
 Network (mobile telecoms) operators
 Companies or individuals responsible for the development of IoT
applications (IoT application developers)
 IoT service providers

27. IOT systems

28. IOT architecture
 The IoT system architecture consists of:
Devices or things (sensors, cameras,…),
Restricted communication systems, ie portable
systems ZigBee, NFC, Bluetooth, Li-Fi, various wi-fi
protocols,…
Wide range transmission systems (WiMax, 4G / 5G,… ),
Main transmission systems (backbone systems),
Midlware platform,
Applications for various applications in everyday life.

29. IOT architecture
There are three main layers in this
architecture:
Physical layer
Transport layer
Application layer

30. IOT architecture

31. IIOT architecture
 The application in industry is ambiguous and depends on the type
of industry in which IIoT is implemented.
 Implementation in areas:
 Cloud business,
 Big data,
 Asset management,
 Monitoring and management of devices,
 Safety of economic facilities and equipment,
 Remote access to production control and management,
 And many others.

32. IIOT architecture

33. IIOT architecture
There are four main layers in this IIoT
architecture:
Physical layer: the "things" layer,
Transport layer: "data transfer" layer,
Midlware layer,
Application layer.

34. IIOT architecture

35. The main areas for implementation of
IoT systems and devices
 The application of Internet devices (things) will be significant and
widespread.
 Applications are possible in:
 City management (smart cities)
 Automation of family households / homes (smart homes)
 Industry (IIoT)
 Health /smart medicine)
 Agriculture (smart agriculture)
 Logistics
 Retail
 Energy sector
 Traffic (traffic automation)
 and many others.....

36. IoT in agriculture
The total addressable market for smart
agriculture is expected to grow from USD
13.7 billion in 2015 to 26.8 billion by 2020
growing at a CAGR of 14.3% (according
to „The Connected Farm” by Huawei)

37. IoT in Agriculture
The main drivers:
Climate changes
Need for water conservation
Emphasis on enhancing efficiency

38. IoT in Agruculture
Climate changes: it will be needed to stimulate
the deployment of IoT-based solutions in
agriculture to increase yield and improve
efficiency.
Climate change will significantly impact
agricultural production… the best examples are
Mato Grosso in Brasil, Midwester U.S. and Eastern
Australia (due to extreme heat).

39. IoT in Agriculture
Need for water conservation - Agriculture
consumes nearly 70% of fresh water.
Applications such as smart irrigation
systems will help to save water in
agricultural applications.
Leveraging IoT for water conservation will
be a major trend in the future of
agriculture.

40. IoT in Agriculture
 Emphasis on Enhancing Efficiency
 Smart agriculture enables farmers:
to minimize costs and the efforts
associated with agricultural activities.
to optimize various agricultural resources such as
seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides along with human
labor.
to reduce energy consumption and fuel usage.
to enhance productivity by guiding farmers to
expertly invest both time and resources in the
appropriate combination to achieve the perfect
balance for optimized production.

41. IoT in Agriculture
The main restrictions:
Fragmented agricultural market
Lack of Connecting Services for the
Agricultural Market
High Capital Investment Requirement
Data Management for Agricultural
Decision Making

42. IoT in Agriculture
 Fragmented agricultural market
The agricultural market consists of many small markets
and segments.
Problem is how to minimize costs because all markets
have their special features and properties
Fragmented agricultural markets also make a
problem for maximizing return on investment (ROI) in
this business segment

43. IoT in Agriculture
 Lack of Connecting Services for the Agricultural Market:
Connecting services in agriculture have not yet reached
the technical maturity level such as (for example) in smart
city aor smart home environments
Telecom providers (but not only them) are on a constant
pursuit to expand services for the agricultural sector by
partnering with other players.
It is expected to be new partnerships in the future which
will help to smart agriculture development.

44. IoT in Agriculture
 High Capital Investment Requirement:
It is needed a significant initial investment to establish
and revolutionize the existing field infrastructure if
farmers want to set-up and to deploy a capable and
sustainable IoT ecosystem.
The high cost of adopting such smart solutions is a
serious challenge for farmers in developing countries.

45. IoT in Agriculture
 Data Management for Agricultural Decision Making:
One considerable barrier in the efficient use of data is
the lack of industrial standards for data management
applications in smart agriculture-based solutions.
The difficulty is rooted in the requirement to standardize
the data management system throughout the agricultural
industry to ensure the widespread uniformity of operations.

46. IoT in Agriculture
Opportunities:
Expansion of Smartphones and Internet
Penetration
Increasing Public-Private Partnerships
Increasing Adoption of Technologies

47. IoT in Agriculture
Expansion of Smartphones and Internet
Penetration is importan for:
Mobile telecom operators
Other service providers
Application developers
Solution providers and developers
Device manufacturers,
…

48. IoT in Agriculture
Increasing Public-Private Partnerships is huge
chance for:
countries/states/counties
Different insvestors
Different financial institutions
Agriculture development authorities
Food and beverages manufacturers
…

49. IoT in Agriculture
Increasing Adoption of Technologies is
important for:
Telecom operators
Service providers
Devices manufacturers
International applications developers
Local software companies
….

50. IoT in Agriculture – the value chain
Device /
Equipment
Manufacturer
s
Connectivity
providers:
LPWA, ZigBee,
Wi.Fi,…
Mobile
network
operators
Connectivity
platforms
Application
providers
Data
Analytics
System
integrators (
outsourcing
providers
End Users

51. IoT in Agriculture – the value chain
 Which companies will be able to find their interests in value chain:
 Device manufacturers such as Huawei, Xaomi and many other
 Telecom (mobile) oeprators
 Service providers (for example different local ISPs)
 Connectivity (local) providers for LPWA, Wi-Fi, ZigBee,…
 System integrators such as IBM, Logica, Accenture,…
 Different IoT service providers
 Applications developers (local and international software app
developers)
 Owners of Farms,
 Coutries/states, counties, municipalities, communities,…
 And many others….

52. IoT in Agriculture – a chance for
telecoms
 Telecom's perspective: providing mainly connectivity
 In the future, mobile operators can provide three
categories of services for increasing of market share:
 Full connectivity
 Vertical integration („end to end solutions”)
 Parterships with equipmen/device manufacturersr, IoT solution
providers, non-cellular service providesr eg. ISPs) etc…
 Telecom operators can support IoT deployment at
multiple levels: provisioning, authentication, security, billing, device
management, location-based services, application
enablement, and analytic services.

53. IoT Applications and Solutions in
Agriculture
Block diagram for IoT in Agriculture
According to: Annish Paul Anthony at all „A Review of Practice and Implementation of the
Internet of Things (IoT) for Smallholder Agriculture”, MDPI, Published: 6 May 2020

54. IoT Applications and Solutions in
Agriculture
Measurement categories and related measureble parameters
According to: Annish Paul Anthony at all „A Review of Practice and Implementation of the
Internet of Things (IoT) for Smallholder Agriculture”, MDPI, Published: 6 May 2020

55. IoT Applications and Solutions in
Agriculture
The Agriculture 4.0 Industry
According to: EU Commision: „Industry 4.0 in Agriculture – Focus on IoT aspects”, 2017

56. IoT Applications and Solutions in Agriculture
Centrality of data insight in future farming solutions
According to: EU Commision: „Industry 4.0 in Agriculture – Focus on IoT aspects”, 2017

57. IoT Applications and Solutions in
Agriculture
Farming product offering toward integrated systems of systems solution
According to: EU Commision: „Industry 4.0 in Agriculture – Focus on IoT aspects”, 2017

58. IoT Applications and Solutions in Agriculture
Applications in the various pilot domains
Christopher Brewster, Ioanna Roussaki, Nikos Kalatzis, Kevin Doolin, and Keith Ellis : „IoT in Agriculture:
Designing a Europe-Wide Large-Scale Pilot

59. Before conslusion… some inputs
 Precision Farming: Precision farming is an approach to
farm management that uses IoT and information and
communication (ICT) technologies to optimize returns
and ensure the preservation of resources.
 Precise farming entails the obtaining of real-time data
on the conditions of crops, soil, and air. This approach
aims at ensuring profitability and sustainability while
protecting the environment

60. Before conslusion… some inputs
Variable Rate Technology (VRT): VRT refers to
any technology which enables producers to
vary the rate of crop inputs.
It combines a variable-rate (VR) control system
with application equipment to apply inputs at a
precise time or location to achieve site-specific
application rates of inputs.

61. Before conslusion… some inputs
 Smart Irrigation: The need to enhance the efficiency
of irrigation processes and minimize water losses is
on the rise.
 There is an increasing awareness on the conservation of
existing water resources by employing sustainable and
efficient irrigation systems. IoT-based smart irrigation
measures various parameters such as humidity, soil
moisture, temperature, and light intensity to calculate
the precise requirements for water.
 It has been proved that such mechanism can contribute
to higher irrigation efficiency

62. Before conslusion… some inputs
 Agriculture Drones: Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)
can be used in multiple agricultural applications such
as monitoring of crop health, agriculture photography
for site specific development, variable rate applications,
and livestock management.
 Drones can scan a vast area at low cost, and work with
different sensors to gather a wide range of information
at ease.

63. Before conslusion… some inputs
 Smart Greenhouse: The smart greenhouse allows
farmers to cultivate crops with minimal human
intervention.
 Climatic conditions such as temperature, humidity,
luminosity, and soil moisture are continuously monitored
inside a greenhouse.
 Variations in these conditions will trigger automated
actions. These actions will then evaluate the changes
and implement corrective actions to maintain optimal
conditions for plant growth.

64. Before conslusion… some inputs
 Yield Monitoring: Yield monitoring is the mechanism to
monitor various aspects corresponding to agricultural
yield such as grain mass flow, moisture content, and
total quantity of harvested grain.
 Yield monitoring offers real-time information to farmers to
facilitate decision making.
 Yield monitoring helps to reduce operational
costs and enhance productivity

65. Before conslusion… some inputs
 Farm Management Systems (FMSs): FMSs assist farmers
and other takeholders with information collection and
management by leveraging diverse sensors and
tracking devices.
 The retrieved information is then stored and analyzed for
conducting complex decision-making tasks.
 FMSs also enable the identification of best agricultural
data analysis practices and software delivery models.
 Other benefits of FMSs include reliable financial data
and production data management and improvement in
risk mitigation capabilities regarding weather and
unforeseen events

66. Before conslusion… some inputs
 Soil Monitoring Systems: Such systems can assist
farmers in tracking and improving the quality of soil to
avoid degradation.
 They allow for the monitoring of a number of physical,
chemical, and biological properties such as texture,
water-holding capacity and the absorption rate.
 Soil monitoring can help minimize erosion, densification,
salinization, acidification, and pollution by toxic
elements that can degrade soil quality.

67. Before conslusion… some ideas
Precision Livestock Farming: Precision livestock
farming supports real-time monitoring of
productions, health, and welfare of livestock to
ensuring optimal yield.
Advanced technologies allow for continuous
monitoring and can facilitate farmers with
decision making to ensure improved health of
animals

68. Conclusion
 Smart farms is a future of agriculture business segment.
 IoT and all relevant technolgies will be crucial part of such
farms
 Smart agriculture is one of the TOP 5 business segments for IoT
applications (together with Smart Cities, Smart Homes, IIoT
and smart Healthcare.
 Mobile operators, System integrators, Applications
developers, … and many other companies from different
business segments have great opportunities to grow their
businesses in Indistry 4.0 era,
 Creativity from all these companies and parterships with farms
and countries will enable creating new revenue and business
opportunities.
 The goal is to achieve a win-win-win situation.

69. And finally… That’s all folks