A pilot project for online monitoring of agrometeorological conditions has been launched in the Altai Territory, reports "Russian newspaper".
36 farms have digital weather stations that measure air temperature, count the amount of precipitation, assess the condition of the soil and plants, and identify pests.
The project is being implemented by scientists from the Altai Agricultural University together with ER-Telecom Holding. Ten million rubles were allocated from the regional budget to reimburse part of the costs for the purchase of stations. “The farms participating in the project fully pay for the installation of a weather station, which costs 250 rubles, and then we will compensate them for 80 percent of these costs,” the Altai Territory Ministry of Agriculture explained.
Scientists estimate that thanks to the operation of weather stations, which allow making quick and accurate decisions on crop conservation, farms can receive up to 15 percent increase in profits. Farmers have not yet calculated the economic effect, but they have already felt the benefits. After all, they can now monitor the state of crops in real time. All data from the stations are sent to the Repack digital platform, and a special application analyzes them. According to Ivan Mozhar, a representative of the ER-Telecom holding in the Altai Territory, using temperature, soil and air humidity, and wind speed, the digital service can also calculate the forecast of the possible occurrence of plant diseases, suggest when it is better to apply fertilizers and treat pests. “The agronomist cannot always go around all the fields. Now you don’t even have to go – all notifications with weather data and recommendations come to your phone,” said Ivan Mozhar.
Regional authorities have high hopes for the project. Nikolai Khalin, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Altai Territory, is convinced that in the future, with the help of such digital services, it will be possible not only to predict, but also to program the harvest both on an individual farm and at the regional level. If the digital service proves its effectiveness, the region plans to extend the project to all areas under crops. According to preliminary estimates of specialists from the Altai Agrarian University, taking into account the range of meteorological stations of 20 kilometers, up to 2,5 thousand of them may be needed. Agrarians of Omsk and Irkutsk regions became interested in the neighbors' experience.