Who needs Big Data?: data and information in precision agriculture

Abstract

This paper is based on the investigation of the performance of Precision Agriculture (PA) in an agro-business fair. Accompanying the team of a farm machinery concessionaire in their stand and, later, in their “control room”, we explore the gap between the expectation of an automated and intelligent electronic farming via Big Data, and the realization of the integration of information technologies in the management and automation of farming. Based on the vision of this team, experiences reported by professionals at the fair, and public online testimonials, we describe how an information relation has been established, in which the generation, circulation and massive processing of data promotes the optimization and expansion of agribusiness. With special interest in the ways technologies of PA are narrated and interpreted, we discuss the enchantment, trust, and need they imply.

Keywords:
Precision Agriculture; Data; Information; GPS; Productivity