ingenieur Vol.84 Oct-Dec 2020 Vol 84 2020 | Page 11

the machines are fully utilised rather than used for a specific time during the planting cycle .
While the benefits of agricultural mechanisation have been recognised , the required level of operational safety has not yet been achieved . This is evidenced in Asia , although China and India have become large agricultural machinery manufacturers , common safety codes have not been established . There is a need for a dedicated Government-controlled test and certification centre to ensure safe operation .
CONCLUSION
The prime objective of agricultural mechanisation and automation is to liberate agriculture from its high dependency on manual labour , and at the same time significantly increase productivity . In precision agriculture for the open farm system , sensors and instrumentation are incorporated into the machines where many parameters can be measured including soil fertility , monitoring plant health , and weather forecasting . Hence , only the right amount of input would be applied . As the machines become more sophisticated the role of farmers may change significantly . Farmers may no longer do all the tasks , but instead professional machine operators may provide services for different operations . This in fact would lead to the creation of jobs with newer skill sets .
In the closed environment system , a higher degree of autonomous machinery can be applied . Dangerous but high value and beneficial plants such as marijuana can be planted where access to the facility can be restricted and controlled to prevent misuse . In addition , Government will need to provide test and certification centres to ensure safe operations , and also prevent machinery induced diseases in crops .
REFERENCE
Abd-Kharim , M . N ., Wayayok , A ., Shariff , A . R . M ., Abdullah , A . F ., Husin , E . M . ( 2019 ) Droplet deposition density of organic liquid fertilizer at low altitude UAV aerial spraying in rice cultivation . Computers and Electronics in Agriculture , 167 . Pp . 105045 .
Aimrun , W ., Amin , M . S . M ., Ahmad , D ., Hanafi , M . M ., and Chan , C . S . ( 2007 ). Spatial variability of bulk soil electrical conductivity in a Malaysian paddy field : key to soil management . Paddy and Water Environment 5 . Pp 113-121 .
Bashiri , B and Mann , D . D . ( 2014 ). Automation and the situation awareness of drivers in agricultural semi-autonomous vehicles . Biosystems Engineering 124 . Pp 8-15 .
Billingsley , J and Schoenfisch , M . ( 1997 ). The successful development of a vision guidance system for agriculture . Computers and Electronics in Agriculture , 16 ( 2 ). Pp 147-163 .
Blackmore , S , Stout , B , Wang , M , Runov , B . ( 2005 ). Robotic Agriculture – The future of Agricultural Mechanization . 5 th European Conference on Precision Agriculture . Ed . J . Stafford , V . The Netherlands , Wageningen Academic Publisher . Pp . 621-628 .
De Clercq , M ., Vats , A . and Biel , A . ( 2018 ). Agriculture 4.0 : The future of farming technology . World Government Summit .
Ismail , W . I . W ., Hudzairi , R . M ., Saufi , M . K . M ., and Fung , L . T . ( 2012 ). Computer controlled system for autonomous tractor in agricultural application . J . Food Agri . Environ , 10 . Pp 350-356 .
Lu , Fu-Ming . ( 2009 ). The role of agricultural mechanization in the modernization of Asian Agriculture : Taiwan ’ s Experience . Engineering in Agriculture , Environment and Food 2 ( 4 ). Pp 124- 131 .
McNulty , P . B . and Grace , P . M . ( 2009 ). Agricultural mechanization and automation . Vol . I . Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems ( EOLSS ).
Shamshiri , R . R ., Mahadi , M . R ., Thorp , K . R , Wan- Ismail , W . I ., Ahmad , D . and Che-Man , H . ( 2017 ). Adaptive management framework for evaluating and adjusting microclimate parameters in tropical greenhouse crop production systems . Plant Engineering . InTechopen .
Shamsi , S . M ., Mahadi , M . R ., Wayayok , A ., and Abdullah , A . F . ( 2018 ). Field testing of an automatic control system for SMART sprayer . Advanced Science Letters , 24 ( 6 ). Pp 4384-4386 .
9