Sustainable Development in Agriculture and Information & Communication Technology Sensor Networks

This study answered the question of how to use ICT sensor networks to increase crop yields, while reducing agricultural inputs and the associated negative ecological impacts. According to the model built for simulating a farm, if the average farm uses ICT sensor networks to simultaneously monitor and control the amount of irrigation water, fertilizer and pesticides, the farm's crop yield can increase by 16% and consumption of agricultural inputs can be reduced by 20%, 14% and 25%, respectively. The results of this study have important implications for improving the yield and productivity of farming, and for the sustainable development of agriculture. The effects of the climatic zones in which the farms are located on performance of ICT sensor networks proved to be statistically insignificant.