1 Automation in Indian Agriculture Reliance Life Sciences J. V. Narasimham ; 17 th Dec. 2004

2 Why Automation ? Reliance Life Sciences Increase in Precision Reduction in Manpower costs Fool-proofing of redundant operations Safety, Reliability & repeatability Humanly Impossible tasks

3 Where is automation needed ? Reliance Life Sciences Greenhouses Poultry & Animal farms Irrigation controls Temperature / RH / Light intensity control. Fertigation / Nutrition Grain Drying Phytomonitoring Devices. CO2 monitoring

4 What can be Automated? Reliance Life Sciences Qty & Quality ( EC / pH ) of water & timing & cycling Qty of nutrients & absorption indirectly by DW mntrng Maintenance of systems like flushing / draining Climate linked parameters – with weather station Roofs / curtains / thermal screens etc Cooling, Heating, Fogging, FAV, CO2 levels etc. PP sprays, Sulphur emitters, Ethylene emitters etc. Alarms to switch to Manual modes & intervention

5 Special areas of usage Reliance Life Sciences Floriculture crop controls like Photoperiod & Light Intensity. R & D Trials Transgenic Trials Pollination controls in insect free Green Houses

6 Prerequisites for Automation. Reliance Life Sciences Minimum amount of farm mechanization needed for Automation. Automation is a product of precision farming needs Cost of Manpower Availability of Manpower Availability of Infrastructure Critical Frequent & Repetitive operations

7 Feasibility of Automation Reliance Life Sciences Remoteness of location Availability of skilled manpower Availability of reliable hardware Durability of hardware Cost – effectiveness of the Technology

8 World Scenario Reliance Life Sciences Mainly concentrated in the countries of Isreal, Netherlands, USA & Australia. Floriculture & non-seasonal vegetable production are the major users. Transgenic trials & other R&D trials. Precesion farming under green house & open conditions Special uses like Biomes in Eden etc.

9 Renowned Manufacturers Reliance Life Sciences Rovero - Green House related Eldar Shanny – Irrigation & Fertigation Gal electronics – Nutrient monitoring Valco – All including poultry & Animal houses & Phytomonitors Ludvig Svensson - Insulation Bermad – Solenoids & other control valves Seimens – FAV & animal care

10 Indian Scenario Reliance Life Sciences Mainly confined to Green Houses in Floriculture Fertigation is the major application EC & pH control of irrigation water Timer based controls for Fogging & Misting Sensor based controls for Temperature and Humidity Recent mushrooming of Trans-Genic & other trials of seed production & Bio-tech companies Fan & Pad systems controlled by sensors

11 What’s needed to improve Reliance Life Sciences Cost effectiveness and reliability of equipment Local design of structures Local manufacture of support hardware Local R & D in machinery, Electronics & Software – tropicalization and the like Innovations to bring in appropriate technology - Top sprinklers to cool films - Top roof thermal screens - Evaporation trays for humidity enhancement - Additives in films - Chilled water circulation for foggers

12 Prospects of growth : Reliance Life Sciences Intntnl. Floriculture market growing at 10% - USD 50 b Indian market growing at % for the past decade The domestic transgenic & Biotech Green Houses growing at 30% CAGR for 5 yrs International firms from Israel, US, Netherlands, Spain etc are setting shop in India

13 Challenges : Reliance Life Sciences Area under drips in India about 60,000 Ha. Area of EOU Polyhouses in India – 200 Ha., Kenya – 2000 Ha. World – 50,000 Ha. Bulk of commercial floriculture done by individual progressive farmers Poultry & Animal farms operate on wafer thin margins – Investment in hi-tech ? Quality – price sensitivity in the domestic market – Agricultural produce.