Spain is among the countries with the highest penetration of smartphones, in addition to an emerging country with great expectations in the field of apps development. The market and application development for mobile devices has spread to many areas of modern life associated mainly to predominantly urban environments targeting a segment of the population more familiar with new technologies.
No one doubts the potential of the mobile Internet in an increasingly interconnected world, with a wide range of mobile applications, targeted to individuals, professionals and businesses that have been introduced into our daily lives as work and entertainment tools. In contrast, the primary sector closely linked to rural areas, remains outside of these technologies. But as it is the case in urban environments, the use of satellite connection, of geolocation and augmented reality, could offer a range of possibilities and tools to improve work performance and save thousands of dollars to professionals in the Livestock Farming and fishing industries.
In vital industries to our country such as agriculture, livestock and fisheries, the implementation of the mobile Internet and the use of specialized applications, could be a way to improve productivity, streamline management with suppliers and consumers and optimize available resources. Although it should be noted that, unfortunately, the offer of professional oriented applications in agriculture, livestock and fishing is pretty scarce.
Among the pioneers in the development of rural-oriented apps, we can find the United States and United Kingdom, which have several applications for farmers that offer specific tools to improve production and facilitate contact with customers and consumers. Thanks to new technologies and the extension of the tools available, from urban to rural, farmers and ranchers can control the distribution of fertilizers on crops with Spray Guide from their mobiles, or they can access real-time fields information from a mobile device with Mobile Farm Manager. Moreover, Bayer UK has developed several apps such as Bayer Weed Spotter, for seed management and crops monitoring through mobile devices.
In the case of Spain, the offer of primary sector oriented applications is very scarce and we have a long way to go. We could only find Agroguía, an application created by a young team of developers to optimize fertilizer use and evenly distribution with the tractor.
Many of the applications we have in the city use satellite connections, GPS geolocation systems and augmented reality technologies to offer innovative and useful services to the citizens. Mobile devices could become a perfectly compatible tool in the rural world, given that in the Livestock Farming industry we find many older professionals unaccustomed to new technologies -PCs, tablets and laptops-, and that its scope of work is outdoor in the field.
The widespread use of mobile devices, together with the emerging interest of young generations in sustainability of rural and farming; represent an interesting opportunity for the development of apps related to the Livestock Farming and fishing industries.
Some practical applications of industry focused Apps could be: measurement and treatment of land with satellite information; obtaining climate data and weather forecasts at the touch of a screen; livestock geolocation via GPS; buying products from wholesalers and suppliers through mobile devices; veterinary management or control of the fertilizers; activation and consumption control of drip irrigation; real-time monitoring of the fluctuations of product prices at the market.
Important aspects in any business are the direct contact with customers and promoting products. Therefore, the use of social networks in rural areas is another pending subject that businessmen and professionals should incorporate to promote their sector.
The development of applications in this industry would reactivate this industry that has so far remained outside the advancement of information technology and communications. The year 2013 could be a good time to start introducing the concept of smart in rural areas and, who knows, maybe in a few years we could start talking about Smart Rural as a technological and intelligent environment applied to the field, complementary to the Smart City.
Source: Think Big
