Industrial development is the united development of the entire industrial space leaving no sector untouched. Agriculture is one of the biggest industries, not only in India but also across the globe. No matter how traditional the Agri sector is, it is heavily influenced by technology. 

People usually relate fleet management software and GPS Tracking solutions to logistics and supply chains, but agriculture is one of the most imperative consumers of telematics. With growing demands, the pressure on the farmers is also increasing. While smart/precise farming has enhanced the yields and produce, telematics has improved the equipment/vehicle management aspect of the business. 

Let’s discuss Fleet Management for Agriculture in detail.

 

What Common Problems does a Fleet Management System Solve for the Agriculture Sector?

 

Problems are nothing but a few questions that we need to seek answers for. In the agriculture industry too, farmers need data to improve their productivity, keep complications at bay and enhance their bottom line. Telematics software for agriculture does all that with one tool. Let’s get into the problems first.  

 

1. Supervising multiple farms at the same time

  • Farmers usually have their farms spread across acres of land. Also, not all farms are in the same vicinity. It becomes hard for the farm manager or the landowners to supervise the acres of land at one time. 

 

2. Prevent fuel pilferage or fuel wastage 

  • Fuel wastage and mismanagement are one of the biggest problems at farms. When the work is happening on the fields – harvesting, ploughing, tilling, etc.- multiple pieces of equipment are in use, it becomes tough to check on fuel usage. 

 

3. Restrict vehicles from entering forbidden lands

  • When the labours are working on the field, driving tractors, ploughers and harvesters, they do not really know which area is accessible or forbidden. They may enter the field where cattle graze, or the field that does not belong to you, or an already prepared field. 

 

4. Ensure optimum usage of farm equipment

  • Most farmers, be they small or big, rent out vehicles and equipment during the season. The rent is paid on a day/hour basis or on usage. In both cases, it is essential to ensure optimum use of the equipment and avoid engine idling or vehicle idling. 

 

5. How to manage performance & wages of farmworkers

  • Hundreds of labours work in fields for landlords and big farmers on daily wages. Wages are dependent on the amount of work done in a day. It requires calculations that depend on various variables, therefore, the scope of work and human errors increase subsequently.  

 

What are the Practical Use Cases of Agriculture Fleet Management Software?

 

Wondering how software aided agriculture can tackle above mentioned- problems with ease? Let’s find out! 

1. Real-time tracking of Farm Vehicles/Equipment

  • The most basic yet crucial benefit of GPS Tracking software in the agriculture sector is the live tracking of vehicles and equipment. Mostly the vehicles are rented out to other farmers, and they never stay in a designated area. It’s imperative to track the whereabouts of expensive assets from time to time

 

2. Cultivated area calculation through automation

  • Gone are the days when farm supervisors would take round and manually calculate the area. The scope of manual errors has been limited to negligible ever since the software has come into play. TrackoBit brings the concave hull method to use for accurately measuring the area. 

 

3. Automatic daily/weekly/monthly wage calculation 

  • Wages calculation is directly dependent on the amount of work done, which is further dependent on the area cultivated. Hence, automation negates the scope of error and prepares the wages of the farmworkers in real-time. 

 

4. Detailed reports on engine hours and idling hours 

  • A wise man has rightly said- you can not improve what you do not measure. Keep an eye out for every move and use of the farm equipment from anywhere, at any time. Keep a tight check on engine hours and engine idling to ensure optimum fuel usage. 

 

5. Geofence forbidden areas to prevent trespassing

  • Geofences are the best way to restrict vehicles from entering the forbidden areas such as grazing land, somebody else’s field, or already prepared farm. Every time the vehicle is about to enter the restricted land, the landowner or the farmer will receive an alert.

 

What are the features you get in Agriculture Fleet Management Software?

 

 

To cater to such a gigantic and demanding industry, such as agriculture, a handful of features will not do the complete job. The list of features is long and varied depending on the needs of different clients. Here, we are sharing some common and the most sought after features in a fleet management system for agriculture:

 

1. Detailed reports and history

  • You get a report and history storage of the last three-six months on the portal. You also get a playback option to re-monitor the movement of the vehicle anytime in the future. You get reports, such as travel summary reports, engine hours reports, area cultivated reports and many more. 

 

 

2. Real-time status and reading

  • You get odometer reading, the ignition on/off status, speed and many other readings of the vehicle activity in real-time. You can live-track the vehicle on the app and dashboard. 

 

3. Fuel and additional sensors

  • Any advanced GPS Tracking software for farming will be compatible with sensors and hardware devices of any protocol. Fuel sensors, angle-title sensors, load sensors, etc. are some of the popular sensors in the agriculture industry.  

 

4. Service and maintenance alerts

  • Just feed in the details of your vehicle, the permits, insurances and the licenses and get notified every time they are due for renewal. You get automatic alerts a couple of weeks in advance to renew. 

 

5. Vehicle and equipment safety

  • Features such as lock/unlock, parking alerts and battery safety alarm are some of the vehicle safety features that come with agriculture fleet management solutions software. Lock the vehicle from far away, or leave the tractor parked with parking mode on and enjoy a good night’s sleep. 

Agritech is one of the booming sectors for start-ups. Companies like TrackoBit have devised some credible and sophisticated software to tackle problems in the agriculture domain. To know more head to TrackoBit.