Smart farming means the right energy, at the right place and the right time, with the right quantity. That means good farming practices that contribute to saving available natural resources and optimizing agricultural inputs.
Until recently, there was no such practice regarding cotton farming in Greece, as opposed to America, Australia and Brazil, where they believe this is the only way to be competitive.
Compared to these countries, in Greece the problem is small plot size. Even the big cotton farmers have their land separated in many small plots, away from one another. This hinders the investments needed (weather stations, sensors, etc) as these cannot be purchased for each and every plot they own.
Thrakika Ekkokkistiria S.A. has decided to play the role of intermediary and in 2017/18 began smart farming in Rodopi with the implementation of the Gaiasense system by Neuropublic company, as facilitators of the program over a larger area.
Initially, samples are taken from plots and sent for soil analysis (click here to see the results of a soil analysis and fertilizer advice). Every 5 days photographs are collected from the EU’s Sentinel satellites. These give impressive information. Furthermore, weather stations, moisture sensors and insect traps are placed in the wider area.
The data gathered as well as the logs recorded by the company's agronomists about the practices of the farmers participating in the program allow advice to be given to each farmer separately about when to irrigate, in what quantity, as well as regarding proper fertilization and treatment of diseases.
The farmers pay a small annual fee. For each crop year every farmer receives a report about his plots with all the crop data (click here to see an example of such a report).
The participating farmers have a very positive experience and every year there is an increase in acres included in the smart farming program.