Agriculture 4.0 now more accessible in Italy thanks to tax benefits

The Italian company terraSmart designs and implements Agriculture 4.0 solutions, applying the most advanced and innovative technologies for crop monitoring and management. "We have designed several systems able to help the farmers during their routine cultivation operations. These solutions benefit from a tax credit 4.0, up to 50% of the investment. This measure has been extended until 2022. Other funds, moreover, could be on the way with the PNRR and the Digital Innovation in agriculture interventions. Finally, we are going in the right direction to encourage a new way of working the land, certainly more sustainable and efficient," said Michele Cortina, COO and founder of the aforementioned company specialized in Agriculture 4.0. operating throughout Italy.

Agri/Next monitoring system

"Agri/Next is our soil, plant and weather monitoring system, which can manage and optimize soil irrigation and fertilization using digital sensors of soil moisture, temperature and electrical conductivity, all connected via IoT technology. Agri/Next is available in 3G/2G version (SIM card) or in LoRa technology and LoRaWAN protocol, i.e., long distance radio connections, with great scalability and an excellent cost/benefit ratio."

The photo on the left features a leaf wetness sensor. On the right, the environmental temperature and humidity sensor.

"You can place one sensor at the plant's roots and one below the root level. In this way, you can monitor differences in moisture and electrical conductivity between the two depths and thus monitor the accumulation or loss of water and minerals in the soil."

"Moreover, with Agri/Next it is possible to prevent plant diseases. In fact, thanks to the air temperature, air humidity, leaf wetness and rain gauge sensors, one can implement and use our Plant Disease Risk Models. Some of the most common plant disease models, such as Downy mildew, scab, Alternaria and Powdery mildew, are already available for several crops".

Chart of the Risk Model for plant diseases

"terraSmart also provides the farmer with terra/Service. Our team constantly supervises the data monitored by the sensors and provides the customer with an analysis of the parameters detected and their possible effects on crops. terra/Service includes other important elements such as Meteo-Pack (weather forecast H24 for the next 7 days, alert for adverse conditions or intense weather phenomena), Brina-Pred (Alert for frost and/or freezing conditions, starting from 18h, for the next 12h), or Irri-Plan for the automatic calculation of the water balance from the data collected by the sensors. In this way, the farmer maximizes the benefits of the monitoring system".