Designing an IoT Framework for High Valued Crops Farming

Domingo Junior P. Ngipol

, Thelma D. Palaoag

Ifugao State University-Aguinaldo Campus, Aguinaldo, Ifugao, Philippines

University of the Cordilleras, Baguio City, Philippines

Keywords:

Internet of Things, Sustainable Agriculture, IoT Framework, High Valued Crops.

Abstract:

Agriculture plays a vital role in providing employment, revenue and domestic product of farmers. In the

Philippines, agriculture has a large share of employment and likewise with the population who depends on

it. The increase of agricultural product and income is necessary for the growth of the country’s economic

condition. Unfortunately, the insufﬁciency of technology and the use of traditional methods of farming along

with the issues and challenges associated to crops farming greatly affects farmers which results to low yielding

of crops. The integration of smart agriculture using the Internet of Things (IoT) is an absolute solution in

modernizing the traditional methods of agriculture. This simpliﬁes farming techniques and improves time

efﬁciency, water and fertilizer management, crop monitoring, soil and security management. This paper

proposes an IoT framework that address the current issues and challenges associated to high valued crops

farming in Alfonso Lista, Ifugao. It integrates two main functions including environment data sensing by

a wide variety of sensors and environment factors control with some mechanics driven by smart actuators.

This sensors and actuators are used for real-time monitoring, analysis and collection of information about the

farm conditions like weather, moisture, temperature, humidity, fertility of soil and level of water. Essential

data were gather by means of observation and in-depth interview with Ifugao farmers and employees of Yao

Jia Xi Corporation – Alfonso Lista, Ifugao. The developed framework provides holistic foundation in the

development of IoT-driven system for high valued crops farming with low cost and easy implementation.

1 INTRODUCTION

The economic development of a country mostly

depend on agricultural products as it is the main

source of food and other raw materials. It provides

employment opportunities, income and domestic

product to the people. Of the 42.78 million persons

in the Philippine labor force in 2017, the agriculture

sector absorbed 10.26 million persons, representing

25.44 percent of the national employment (PSA,

2018). However, the use of traditional methods of

farming greatly affects farmers which results in low

yielding of crops. It is evident that the automation

of manual processes of farming and the use of

automatic machineries improved the yielding of

crops (Gondchawar and Kawitkar, 2016). Improving

farm productivity is essential in order to increase

farm proﬁtability and to provide the rapidly growing

demand of food caused by rapid population growth

all over the world. According to the United Nations’

Food and Agriculture Organization, food production

must increase by 50% to be able to feed the rapidly

growing population that is expected to reach 10

billion by 2050. The urgent need in increasing the

crop productivity is vital as it is the foundation of

any solution for food shortage and farm proﬁtability

problems (FAO., 2019). The sustainability in

agriculture plays an important role in addressing this

challenges since it offers technological advancement

that increase productivity and proﬁtability while

conserving resources, minimizing waste and

enviromental impact, and promoting agroecosystem

resilience (Velten et al., 2015). Hence there is a need

to integrate smart farming and precision agriculture

using Internet of Things (IoT) technology in order

to achieve sustainable agriculture with increase

production efﬁciency, proﬁtability and the quality of

agricultural products (Malavade and Akulwar, ).

High value crops refer to new and expensive food

crops such as vegetables, fruits, ﬂowers, houseplants

and foliage, condiments and spices. Most high value

crops have higher production efﬁciency and income

compared to usual cereal grains and export food

crops. It is not usually a common food for local

304

Ngipol, D. and Palaoag, T.

Designing an IoT Framework for High Valued Crops Farming.

DOI: 10.5220/0009364503040310

In Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Science, Engineering and Technology (ICoSET 2019), pages 304-310

ISBN: 978-989-758-463-3

people and are mainly grown for higher income in

domestic and even abroad.

Over the past few years, IoT technology have

been introduced in almost every area of the modern

society. Among this areas are Smart Cities, Smart

Health Care, Smart Industry, Autonomous Vehicle,

Smart Agriculture, Precision Agriculture and others

(Shang et al., 2015). IoT is signiﬁcantly considered in

the area of technology which gains appreciation and

attention from known and reputable industries like

Google, Apple, Samsung and Cisco (Vermesan and

Friess, 2014). The IoT is referred to as the Internet

of Objects that integrates several technologies such

as computers, smart phones, internet, sensors,

wireless communication technology and embedded

systems to complete a system that is capable

of data transmission without human intervention

(Mohammed and Ahmed, 2017).

As an emerging paradigm, the IoT has great

potential that can have a signiﬁcant inﬂuence on

the future of the world (Stoces et al., 2016).

The application of the latest IoT technologies

in agriculture practice allows traditional ways of

farming to be changed fundamentally on every

aspect, paving way to a new agriculture pattern of

precision agriculture (Zhang et al., ). Iot devices

such as wireless sensor, connected weather stations,

cameras, and smart phones are capable of gathering

huge amount of environmental and crop performance

data which ranges from time series data from

sensors, to four-dimensional data from cameras and

to human interventions and observations. This data

are analyzed to ﬁlter out invalid data and compute

personalized crop recommendations for any speciﬁc

farm (Veena et al., 2018).

IoT technologies such as IoT devices provides

a better way of collecting, gathering, exchanging,

and transmitting data which absolutely delivers an

innovative way in data processing and intelligent

decision-making (Sreekantha and Kavya, 2017). The

Internet of Things provides the fundamental network

infrastructure to the physical and the digital worlds

through which smart objects, ranging from micro

sensors to heavy agricultural vehicles communicate

to each other (Bhuvaneswari and Porkodi, 2014). It is

capable of transforming the agricultural domain into

more efﬁcient and productive farming and improves

the quality of life of farm workers by reducing

heavy labor and tedious tasks (Elkhodr et al., 2016).

At present, the internet protocol is mainly used in

communicating and interconnecting numerous smart

objects and various kinds of embedded devices and

technologies. The increase in the application and

distribution of smart objects and internet of things

signiﬁcantly impact the human life in the future

generations (Rghioui, 2017).

Smart farming involves the use of the Internet of

Things (IoT) to provide solutions via the electronic

monitoring of crops, as well as related farm

conditions (Mohanraj et al., 2016). Understanding

and forecasting crop condition and performance

under extensive diversity of environmental, irrigation,

soil and fertilization is important to improve farm

production efﬁciency (Jayaraman et al., 2016).

Moreover, Iot-based smart farming allows farmers to

have better control over the process of growing crops

and making it more predictable and easy to manage

(Prathibha et al., 2017).

Consequently, the absolute integration of IoT

technologies into smart farming advanced the

agriculture to a new level by which the whole

agriculture industry is modernized with increased

productivity and proﬁt. In a broader perspective, the

scope of smart agriculture which covers IoT improves

or solves critical issues such as drought response, crop

yield optimization, land and water management, and

pest control (Rajakumar et al., 2018). In connection

to this, the study aims to discuss the current issues and

challenges associated to high valued crops farming in

Alfonso Lista, Ifugao. It also covers the framework

that shall be design to address the current issues and

challenges associated to high valued crops farming in

Alfonso Lista, Ifugao.

2 METHODOLOGY

This study was qualitative in nature which aimed to

explore the current issues and challenges associated

to high valued crops farming in Alfonso Lista,

Ifugao and develop a framework that address each

of the issues and challenges. The primary method

of data collection was possibly made through

in-depth interviews with the Ifugao farmers, the

farm manager and farm workers of the Yao Jia

Xi Corporation – Alfonso Lista with their various

relevant functions which covers the scope of the

study. The researcher used unstructured and informal

interviews which positively allows a more ﬂexible

and responsive discussion for both the researcher

and the respondents. Moreover, related articles were

also reviewed to allow a wide-ranging knowledge

on internet of things practices and applications.

A framework development process was used as a

guide during the development of the framework

which involves the four main phases: design

phase, implementation phase, instantiation phase and

maintenance phase.

Designing an IoT Framework for High Valued Crops Farming

305

Figure 1: Framework Development Process.

Design phase: The framework structure in this

phase is deﬁned by the framework designer, which

utilizes the information generated in the domain

knowledge analysis and requirements phase. This

requires an imaginative task and organized method to

create the framework design from requirements level.

Implementation phase: In this phase, the

framework builder generates the actual framework

along with the framework documentation.

Instantiation phase: During this phase,

applications are being generated by the application

developer basing from the framework which utilizes

the artifacts created in the implementation phase.

Maintenance phase: Lastly, the maintenance

phase allows a harmonious communication between

the framework design and especially to the whole

framework which also supports the transformation of

the design and implementation level.

3 FINDINGS

Alfonso Lista is a third class municipality of Ifugao

with a vast land for agriculture. It has a progressing

topography with an agricultural land area of 15,546

hectares, a pastureland of 17,808 hectares, a forest

area of 7,305 hectares and a residential area of 394

hectares with a total land area of 41,051 hectares.

It is politically subdivided into 20 barangays with

a total of population of 32, 119 according to the

2015 census. A large percentage of its population

depends on farming with corn, banana, cassava,

legumes, tobacco, peanuts, gabi, and other high value

vegetables as their main produce. Marketing of

agricultural products in Alfonso Lista, Ifugao is quite

easy because of the presence of traders within the

municipality and even from neighboring provinces

and cities. Figure 2 shows the satellite view of

Alfonso Lista, Ifugao which obviously shows a large

portion for agriculture.

Figure 2: Satellite View of the Municipality of Alfonso

Lista.

However, the insufﬁciency of technology and

the use of traditional methods of farming along

with the issues and challenges associated to crops

farming greatly affects the productivity of the Ifugao

farmers. Below are the current issues and challenges

associated to high valued crops farming that were

identiﬁed during the actual visit in the farm and were

strongly signiﬁed by the majority of the respondent

during the in-depth interview.

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306

3.1 Current Issues and Challenges

Associated to High Valued Crops

Farming in Alfonso Lista Ifugao

Water demand and shortages: The Philippine Food

and agriculture are the largest consumers of water

which requires more than the use for personal needs.

Figure 3 shows the total water withdrawal in 2009 that

reached up 81, 555 million cubic meter, of which 82

percent was for irrigation and livestock that includes

754 million cubic meter for aquaculture, 10 percent

for industry purposes and 8 percent for municipalities

(FAO., 2019).

Figure 3: Philippines Water Withdrawal by Sector

On the other hand, agriculture production in the

province of Ifugao especially in the municipality

of Alfonso Lista is highly dependent on water and

increasingly subject to water risks due to rapid

population growth, changing climate, increasing

demand for food and other individual needs. As

a result, water scarcity is being encountered which

adversely affect the yield of farmers since rainwater

is not enough as the source for irrigation of their

agricultural crops.

Fertilizer mismanagement: Fertilizer is one of

the fundamental substance containing the chemical

elements to improve growth and productiveness of

agricultural crops. Therefore it is important to select

the right source, the right place, the right timing,

and the right rate of application for the greatest

fertilizer nutrient use efﬁciency. Figure 4 shows the

4R principles of Nutrient Stewardship (Johnston and

Bruulsema, 2014).

However, all farmers in the province of Ifugao are

still using the traditional method of applying fertilizer

which is subjected to fertilizer misuse. Ifugao farmers

common assumption regarding fertilizer application

is “the more, the merrier” which adversely affects

the agricultural crop, soil and the environment due

to salinity build up or to the toxicity of the chemical

Figure 4: 4R principles of Nutrient Stewardship

elements. Moreover, application of fertilizer with the

correct rates is not a guarantee of a bountiful harvest

but it’s the application at the right rates at the right

time since the nutrients uptake of crops is at different

rates and ratios at the different phonological growth

stages.

Unawareness on soil testing: Agricultural

productivity mainly depend on soil which serves as

a medium for plant growth and a sink for heat, water

and chemicals. To achieve the soil full potential, soil

testing must be done to determine the plant nutrient

needs and for environmental assessments. However,

almost all farmers in Ifugao are not aware on soil

testing which results to misuse of fertilizers and other

chemical elements which in turn causes soil quality

degradation.

Lack of farm security: Safeguarding farm assets

from burglars and destructive animals is very

important to avoid unexpected loses. However,

farmers usually overlooked which allows burglars and

destructive animals robbed and destroy any valuable

and available resources in the farm.

3.2 The Proposed IoT Framework for

High Valued Crops Farming

Figure 5 shows the IoT framework for high valued

crops farming which aims to address the identiﬁed

issues and challenges associated to crop farming in

Alfonso Lista, Ifugao. The IoT framework is a control

model for irrigation, application and distribution of

fertilizer. It is also a control model for farm security,

real-time monitoring and collection of information

about the farm conditions like weather, moisture,

temperature, fertility of soil and level of water.

The framework is composed of the Embedded IoT

Platform and the three layers: the application layer,

network layer and the perception layer.

Perception Layer: This layer composes the

Designing an IoT Framework for High Valued Crops Farming

307

Table 1: Hardware requirements part 1

Category Item Name Spesiﬁcation Function

Power Source

Solar Panel

The solar panel minimum

dimension is 38 x 22

centimeter with 12 volts

working power.

Its main purpose is to recharge

the battery for continuous operation.

Rechargeable

Battery

The most recommended battery is

a sealed lead acid battery with 12

volts power and 5 amp hour.

The battery serves as the main

source of power.

IoT

Sensing Devices

Soil Sensor

The soil sensor working voltage is

ranging from 3.3 to 5 volts with an

operating temperature of -40

degrees to +60 degrees.

It is mainly used to quantity the water

content, salinity and nutrients of soil in

the farm.

Temperature

Sensor

The temperature sensor measuring

range is from 0 degrees to 50

degrees with a measurement error

of +- 2 degrees. The operating

voltage is from 3.3 to 5 volts.

It is used to collect data about temperature

from the farm.

Water Level

Sensor

The water sensor operating voltage

is ranging from 5 to 24 volts with a

response time of 500 milliseconds

and an operating temperature

ranging from 0 degrees to 105

degrees.

It is used to detect the water level of the

water tank.

Water Flow Rate

Sensor.

The water ﬂow sensor working

voltage is ranging from 5 to 18

volts with a maximum water

pressure of 2 Mega Pascal.

The water ﬂow sensor is used to quantity

the volume of water passing through the

water tank pipe and the amount of

fertilizer for the crop needs.

Real Time Clock

The real time clock operating

voltage is ranging from 2.3 to 5.5

volts with a battery backup.

It is solely built for keeping time that

basically counts hours, minute, seconds,

months days and years. It is used to

identify the schedule on when to apply

fertilizer.

PIR Motion

Sensor

The working voltage of the PIR

motion sensor is ranging from 5 to

20 volts with a delay time of .3

seconds to 18 seconds.

The primary purpose is to sense motion

around the farm.

Microcontroller

ATMega2560

microcontroller

The microcontroller operating

voltage is 5 volts with a

recommended input voltage

ranging from 7 to 12 volts.

It is used to process data and control every

task for the whole system.

sensors and actuators which primarily aims to acquire

and collect data from the physical world which is

processed and serves as a basis for the actuators

to operate. The process of perception is based on

the IoT sensing devices such as the soil moisture

/ salinity sensor, temperature sensor, water level

sensor, water ﬂow sensor and the PIR motion sensor.

Moreover, this layer is responsible in converting

information to digital signals to allow convenient

network transmission.

Network Layer: The network layer serves as

gateway and provides data routing and addressing

paths for network communication. It allows data

transfer in the form of packets through logical

network paths in an ordered format. The network

layer processes the received data from the Perception

Layer and transfer it to the Application Layer

using various network technologies like wireless

networks which includes WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G

network. This layer is basically used as a mode of

communication between the application layer and the

perception layer.

Application Layer: This layer composes the

Mobile Application and the Monitor. It constitute

the front end of the whole IoT framework which

provides personalized based services according to

user relevant needs. It allows the user to receive

text messages or notiﬁcations from the system and

provide real time data monitoring through graphical

representations regarding the farm condition which

the user can understand. Real time data from the

monitor serves as a basis for user decision making or

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308

Table 2: Hardware requirements part 2

Actuators

Liquid Crystal

Display (LCD).

The LCD uses Liquid Crystal

Monitor (LCM) that operates with

5 volts Direct Current with 80mm

x 36mm x 12mm dimension.

The LCD serves as a monitor for all

environment data that is provided by the

IoT sensing devices.

Relay Switch

Module

The relay switch operates with 5

volts with output maximum contact

of AC110V, AC250V 10A and

DC30V 10A.

It is responsible in controlling the

solenoid valve which is switch on or off

whenever the soil moisture reached the

threshold value.

Solenoid Valve

The solenoid valve operating

voltage is 12 volts direct current

with recommended water pressure

of .02 to .08Mpa.

It operates with an electromagnetic

solenoid coil which change the state of the

water valve from closed to open whenever

the relay switch is turned on, or vice-

versa.

Water Pump

The water pump operating voltage

is 12 volts that is powered by 2

pieces of 100 watts solar panel.

It is used to reﬁll the water tank whenever

the water level sensor reached the

threshold value.

GSM Shield

The GSM shield module operating

voltage is ranging from 5 to 26

volts that allows communication

using the GSM cell phone network

which includes SMS, MMS, GPRS

and audio.

The GSM shield module sends text

messages to users whenever the water tank

is running out of water and also whenever

there are intruders or animals around the

farm.

Buzzer

It operates with 5 volts with

controllable sound frequencies and

has 16 ohm resistance.

The buzzer is triggered whenever there are

intruders or animals around the farm.

Communication

Network

It is the third generation of wireless

technology for mobile phones.

It is used as mode of communication

between the system and the users.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth allows to transmit data

wirelessly over a short distance

using short-range wireless

technology devices such as smart

phones and computers.

It is used as mode of communication

between the system and the mobile phone.

WiFi

The minimum WiFi speciﬁcation

is the 802.11 WLAN which offers

higher speed transmission and

longer transmission range.

It is used to provide wireless high-

speed Internet and network connections.

User Interface

Mobile phone

Smart phone is the most

recommended mobile device for

the application since the system

provides graphical data and text

messages.

The mobile phone allows the users to

receive text messages from the system. It

is also used to monitor the farm condition

and can perform system override.

Display Monitor

The display monitor can be LCD

screen with a minimum size of

98mm x 60mm x 20mm or tablet

that supports wireless

communication such as Bluetooth

and WiFi.

The display monitor allows the user to

view data in visual form.

further actions.

Embedded IoT Platform: The embedded IoT

platform composes the microcontroller and the power

source. Its primary function is to process and interpret

data from all the layers and control every task for the

whole operation of the system. The microcontroller

is powered by rechargeable battery which is being

recharge through solar panel.

3.3 Technology Required

The technology required in this research is listed in

Table 1 and Table 2.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The developed IoT framework for high valued

crops farming in Alfonso Lista, Ifugao is a

Designing an IoT Framework for High Valued Crops Farming

309

Figure 5: IoT Framework for High Valued Crops Farming

holistic solution for the identiﬁed current issues

and challenges associated to high valued crops

farming. It is a control model of irrigation,

fertilizer, soil monitoring and security management

which is composed of several sensors to provide

environmental data and microcontroller to manage

operations on how and when the actuators should

perform basing from environment data. The actual

implementation promotes sustainable agriculture and

improves agricultural production with affordable and

easy implementation for small scale farmers.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study was supported by the Research

Development and Extension Training Service

Unit and funded under the Research Development

and Special Trust Fund of the Ifugao State University.

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