Transforming Argentina's Rice Agriculture with IoT and LoRaWAN Innovations

Horatech is an Argentina-based firm specializing in IoT solutions. Using advanced technologies, they create efficient designs in collaboration with partners and providers. Their innovations include silobag sensors and cattle trackers. They have been working with several institutions like INTA Manantiales, INTECH Chascomús, and CESPI from the National University of La Plata to understand Argentina's agronomic needs.

Water management is a global issue, significantly impacting rice crops in Argentina due to the plant's high water demand. The complex task of properly distributing and managing water for agriculture has traditionally relied on manual measurement methods. This remains a key challenge for many companies and a fundamental limit to their rice production. By improving water usage efficiency, they can increase production while reducing their environmental impact.

Argentina

Network deployments of this kind require equipment that can adapt to varying contexts. In Argentina's rural areas, energy and network connectivity are far from guaranteed. This necessitated a new approach. LoRaWAN provides users with the flexibility to develop their own hardware, reducing costs on devices and components.

A device equipped with a sensor was constructed and placed inside a water buoy to measure the water height in each lot of the crop field.

A LoRaWAN gateway was installed in each field, covering around 15 km and supporting a density of 500 devices per gateway.

Additionally, a software layer was created to integrate sensor data with clients' existing software, allowing them to correlate this information with their water management tools.

For network deployment, WisGate Edge Max (RAK7249) gateways and the WisDM platform were used for easy and remote management of these deployments.

The WisBlock kit was used for prototyping in the product development stage, where an easy-to-build and configure device is essential. The modular approach of WisBlock significantly speeds up the process by enabling easy modifications.

LoRaWAN is particularly suitable for rural environments, offering extensive coverage and an exceptional network topology for working with data and technology deployments. RAKwireless gateways offer carrier-grade antennas that maximize LoRaWAN's range and scalability.

Using RAK products, Horatech was able to establish a LoRaWAN network much faster than their competitors. Importantly, it also provided them with the flexibility to deploy their own LoRaWAN solution on the software side and seamlessly integrate it with the hardware network.

This project was developed for rice fields in Corrientes province, Argentina, near the Parana River and the Paraguay border. Its success makes it adaptable for use in other regions as well. The combination of RAK hardware for network development, WisDM for remote monitoring, WisBlock for sensor building from prototype to mass production, and Horatech's expertise and data visualization platform, all customized for this specific use case, has proven highly effective.

The software division was able to supply real-time water level data, significantly reducing crop water depletion and boosting rice production. This led to earnings that greatly exceeded the project costs.