The idea to create a weather and soil sensor application struck him after Bayu observed the effects of climate change. Based on his research since the 1980s, many farmers faced planting and harvest failures.
By
Denty Piawai Nastitie
·5 minutes read
ARSIP PRIBADII
Bayu Dwi Apri Nugroho
With his weather and soil sensor application, Bayu Dwi Apri Nugroho, 41, helps farmers who are suffering from the impacts of climate change. This application is also useful for increasing agricultural production, including the reduction of fertilizer and water.
The idea to create a weather and soil sensor application struck him after Bayu observed the effects of climate change. Based on his research since the 1980s, many farmers faced planting and harvest failures. In addition, land productivity has declined as a result of climate and weather change.
“This prompted me to think about how to help farmers,” he said when contacted from Jakarta on Sunday (18/7/2021).
Bayu realized that information about climate change was mostly beyond the village level. Information from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and several weather applications, for instance, only reached the district level.
“In fact, weather is very dynamic. While it rains here, it’s not always the case in other locations 2 to 3 kilometers away,” said the agricultural engineering lecturer from Gadjah Mada University.
Therefore, he began to think about how to give real-time and accurate information to farmers. Then he designed a weather and soil sensor application called Automatic Weather Sensor (AWS). This sensor functions as a data gathering device, covering data on weather, rainfall, temperature, humidity, wind strength and directions of the compass.
From the data, Bayu developed an algorithm that could help translate data into information easily understood by farmers.
KOMPAS/HARIS FIRDAUS
Bayu Dwi Apri Nugroho
The recommendations offered, for example, concern whether farmers need to delay their fertilization plan if rain is predicted for the next day. It turns out that such information is very beneficial for farmers and can help them avoid planting and harvest failures.
“Farmers’ testimonials show that they can save fertilization by 50 percent. Before applying the technology, farmers used four sacks of fertilizer; now they only use two sacks,” he said.
The recommendation is formulated by taking into account not just the soil condition and weather changes, but Bayu also includes the habits of farmers in a certain region, such as the time they go to their farms, the types of fertilizer used, the dose of fertilizer used and the harvest times. As the habits of farmers are different, the recommendation for each farmer can be unique to them.
Bayu includes farmers’ habits in the algorithm because he once got their complaints after being regarded as trying to change their habits.
“Farmers protested that if I change their habits, will I be responsible when their harvests fail? I’ve learned here that local wisdom has an important role in agriculture,” he said.
The second is fitted under the soil surface to measure water content, trace elements and other things related to fertilization.
Two sensor instruments are used to give agricultural recommendations, with the first installed above the soil to gauge rainfall, temperature, wind speed and directions of the compass. The second is fitted under the soil surface to measure water content, trace elements and other things related to fertilization.
From the data collected, he initially gave a recommendation to a farmers group’s chairman by using the short message system (SMS). Later, he cooperated with young people, especially members of youth associations, to send recommendations to farmers.
Underestimated
Weather sensors, according to Bayu, have generally been used in advanced countries like Japan and Singapore. The difference lies in the data used as the material for recommendations for farmers.
ARSIP PRIBADI
Bayu Dwi Apri Nugroho checks the weather and soil sensors.
Bayu has improved the application several times after first developing it in 2008. He has also been using a domestically made sensor since 2018 so as not to depend on imported goods.
In developing this application, Bayu faced several challenges. Many people did not believe that the application would provide any advantages because not all farmers in Indonesia owned gadgets.
“Many people trivialized it. I was described as thinking too far ahead — unrealistic,” he revealed.
Apart from that, he had to strive hard to convince farmers to try the application.
“Farmers tend to demand proof first before trying. Besides, most of the farmers were then already above 50, so it was difficult to introduce to them a mobile application,” he said.
Responding to this, Bayu decided to involve youth association members. Farmers could also be guided by their children or smartphone-savvy nephews and nieces.
They could divide their time between farming and doing other activities effectively.
This way, Bayu also wanted to encourage youths to return to their farms by convincing them that as farmers, they don’t need to work from the very early morning to late afternoon. They could divide their time between farming and doing other activities effectively.
“As long as there’s technology, we can undertake agriculture in a modern way,” said Bayu.
Bayu did not deal with farmers individually. He collaborated with government and nongovernmental institutions to provide guidance for farmers’ groups. He also opened pilot farmland to enable farmers to watch the application’s operation directly on the plot, which was already fitted with sensor instruments. In this manner, farmers started utilizing his application in 2018. Today, 12,000 to 13,000 farmers all over Indonesia use Bayu’s application.
Not only in Indonesia, the application Bayu created is also welcomed abroad, such as in Singapore, China and India. Several foreign companies are interested in buying the sensors and algorithm, which are already patented.
Kompas/Haris Firdaus
Bayu Dwi Apri Nugroho.
Thanks to his initiative, Bayu received the 2020 Hermes Startup Award, worth 10,000 euros (US$11,801). The Jury evaluated Bayu’s efforts and decided he had succeeded in developing a concept that offers a solution to farmers in facing the challenge of climate change.
Bayu Dwi Apri Nugroho
Born:Yogyakarta, April 12, 1979
Occupation:Head of the Biophysics Technology Laboratory, Department Agricultural and Biosystem Engineering, School of Agricultural Engineering, Gajah Mada University
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