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Design and Implementation of Internet of Things (IoT) Platform Targeted for Smallholder Farmers: From Nepal Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Ritu Raj Lamsal

    (Telecommunication Engineering School, University of Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain)

  • P. Karthikeyan

    (School of Computer Science and Engineering, RV University, Bengaluru 560059, India)

  • Pablo Otero

    (Telecommunication Engineering School, University of Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain
    Institute of Oceanic Engineering Research, University of Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain)

  • Alfonso Ariza

    (Telecommunication Engineering School, University of Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain
    Institute of Oceanic Engineering Research, University of Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain)

Abstract

Nepal, a lower-middle-income country in South Asia, predominantly features smallholder farming communities operating on modest land holdings. These smallholders often adhere to traditional farming methods, relying on familial labor, which has become increasingly inefficient in contemporary agricultural landscapes. To enhance their productivity and efficiency, smallholder farmers require affordable and accessible Internet of Things (IoT)-based systems. However, the prevailing IoT solutions in the market primarily cater to large-scale commercial enterprises, rendering them unsuitable for the specific needs and constraints faced by smallholder farmers. In response to this gap, we have introduced a cost-effective, customizable, scalable, and dependable IoT platform tailored expressly for smallholder farmers. This platform empowers them to visualize, monitor, and control real-time data pertaining to their crops, livestock, and other agricultural assets. To ascertain the efficacy and suitability of our proposed platform, we conducted a comparative analysis with existing counterparts such as Blynk IoT and ThingSpeak IoT, evaluating their respective features and application services against standard requirements. Additionally, we subjected our platform to rigorous server load testing, assessing crucial performance parameters including throughput, response time, user capacity, and data sampling rates. Over an observation period spanning an average of 339 days, our platform successfully processed and stored a substantial volume of data, encompassing 817,633 sensor messages, averaging 2412 messages per day, with a cumulative storage size of 14,238.28 KB. Extrapolating from these results, it is noteworthy that an A0 instance with 20 GB of cloud space can adequately accommodate 200 users at a rate of 100 MB per user, which is adequate for the smallholder needs. Furthermore, the purposed platform was deployed inside a polyhouse to perform off-season grafting of citrus plants. The achieved success rate of 84% closely approached the success rate of 90–95% observed during on-season grafting. These empirical findings, coupled with the extensive data gathered during our research, underscore the reliability and performance of our proposed IoT platform for smallholder farmers.

Suggested Citation

  • Ritu Raj Lamsal & P. Karthikeyan & Pablo Otero & Alfonso Ariza, 2023. "Design and Implementation of Internet of Things (IoT) Platform Targeted for Smallholder Farmers: From Nepal Perspective," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-21, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:10:p:1900-:d:1249493
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ganesh Thapa & Anjani Kumar & P.K. Joshi (ed.), 2019. "Agricultural Transformation in Nepal," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-981-32-9648-0, December.
    2. Anish Paul Antony & Kendra Leith & Craig Jolley & Jennifer Lu & Daniel J. Sweeney, 2020. "A Review of Practice and Implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT) for Smallholder Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-19, May.
    3. Raj K. GC & Ralph P. Hall, 2020. "The Commercialization of Smallholder Farming—A Case Study from the Rural Western Middle Hills of Nepal," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-16, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Leokadia N. P. Ndjuluwa & John A. Adebisi & Moammar Dayoub, 2023. "Internet of Things for Crop Farming: A Review of Technologies and Applications," Commodities, MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-15, October.

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