Cisco helps make coffee plantations smarter with IoT

Coffee plantations in Tanzania are counting on Cisco’s help to make production more sustainable and capable of overcoming the challenges posed by climate change. The initiative is in partnership with the ConSenso Project, a coalition between the country’s coffee producers and Italian plant and technology researchers, and aims to use Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to “listen to the plants”.

Tanzania is among the 20 largest coffee producing countries in the world. So helping farmers to cope with challenging conditions is essential for the success of the farmers and the country. According to the project, the key is to guarantee suitable growing conditions, even when water is scarce, ensuring coffee with the right balance between sweetness and acidity.

“Due to climate change, coffee producers in Tanzania are facing a shorter rainy season. So they are irrigating to ensure that the plants flower at the right time and have time to ripen the beans. This means using a lot of water,” explains Dr Camilla Pandolfi of PNAT, a think tank of botanical scientists and technology designers based in Florence, Italy.

“In addition, many developing nations grow coffee, in Africa, South and Central America, South-East Asia and elsewhere. We would like to propose a solution for all parts of the world,” emphasises Massimo Battaglia, head of coffee research at the Accademia del Caffè Espresso in Florence, another partner in the ConSenso project.

To help farmers in Tanzania answer how much and when they need to irrigate their crops, a farm in the Utengule region was equipped with 65 solar-powered IoT sensors to capture data on soil conditions, climate, carbon, insects and plant energy fields. After a preliminary analysis of the site, data collected over six months was sent to Florence for further study, using Cisco network, security and cloud technologies.

“We’re facing many challenges, but also potential advantages, including water savings and soil preservation. However, just as important is helping producers to develop their businesses in a sustainable way, considering the social and economic aspects in a way that is highly relevant to the success of the project,” says Angelo Fienga, Cisco’s director of sustainable solutions for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Solution and search details

To collect large volumes of data and then transfer it continuously and securely over thousands of kilometres, Cisco’s LoRaWAN solutions were used for radio transmission with low power consumption. They help connect the sensors and, at the same time, make it possible to analyse the data locally and preliminarily. Cisco’s cloud and LTE technologies ensure the secure transfer of data to Florence and vice versa. And Cisco Webex enables secure, real-time collaboration between project members in Tanzania and Florence.

The research is also studying the ability of coffee trees to store carbon dioxide, preventing it from being emitted into the atmosphere. “We think that, together with other reforestation efforts around the world, coffee trees could have some positive impact on climate change,” emphasises Michele Festuccia, senior systems engineering manager at Cisco Italy. It is believed that coffee trees and carefully chosen shade trees could be particularly useful in capturing carbon, but more research is needed.

“We have coffee knowledge, we have economic support, we have sensor technology and we have Cisco with network and cloud solutions. And we all have conviction too. In the end, it’s a perfect marriage,” concludes Pandolfi.

And more technological resources are to come. The expectation is to add Artificial Intelligence resources, duly trained to extract insights from the data collected that were previously impossible to obtain, including from any type of plant, not just coffee trees.

Sensors against plant stress

On the other side of the world, researchers from the interdisciplinary group for agricultural precision of the alliance between MIT and Singapore (SMART) have developed nanosensors that can detect and distinguish a class of hormones (gibberellins) in plants that are important for growth. The novelty has already been tested in the field to monitor plant stress, providing precision agriculture with a valuable tool for plantation management.

These sensors use carbon nanotubes capable of detecting and distinguishing two plant hormones, GA3 and GA4, which play an important role in modulating various processes involved in plant growth and development.

According to the researchers, a more in-depth study of gibberellins could lead to new advances in agricultural science, with implications for food safety. They make it possible to study the dynamics of these hormones in living plants under salt stress at a very early stage, allowing early interventions to be made.

Currently, the methods for detecting GA3 and GA4 generally require analysis based on mass spectrometry, a time-consuming and destructive process. In contrast, the new sensors are highly selective in relation to the respective gibberellins and can be used for real-time in vivo monitoring in a wide range of plant species.

Investments in the United States

The US Department of Agriculture recently announced the availability of a historic $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2024 for investment in climate and environmental conservation solutions. Project proposals that help farmers, ranchers and forest owners adopt and expand conservation strategies to improve natural resources while addressing the climate crisis will be accepted until 2 July 2024. These projects can also save farmers money, generate new revenue streams and increase productivity.