Smart farming in Israel: harnessing the power of GPS tracking and IoT in agriculture

Farming in Israel has always been a challenging task, as farmers have to struggle with desert landscapes, extreme weather conditions, and high-water stress levels. Thanks to technology, Israel has managed to achieve remarkable success, ultimately emerging as a global leader in agriculture innovation and research. AI, drones, sensors, precise weather forecasting models, and autonomous vehicles are just a few examples of technologies revamping every aspect of the farming chain in the country.

Despite these advancements, low profits and rampant agriculture crime causing million-dollar losses remain persistent issues. And this is where the Internet of Things (IoT) and GPS tracking technologies come into play, offering farmers the tools to reduce operational costs by gaining full control over their crops, assets, and field workers.
A vivid example of how these technologies can be put into real action is the inspiring collaboration story of FarmManager, an Israeli IoT farming startup, and Ananas Global, a GPS tracking service provider in the Middle East.
FarmManager has developed an IoT-based agriculture monitoring system that gives farmers complete control over their crops, helping ensure compliance with food safety regulations and boost profitability.
The key challenge was connecting the IoT-based farming app to a GPS tracking platform to process data from devices installed on tractors and agricultural machinery.

Quest for a reliable GPS tracking device
Finding GPS tracking hardware for low-speed machinery like tractors is not an easy task. Most trackers in the market ignore values from low-speed machinery, leaving farmers with an incomplete picture of what’s happening in the field. Furthermore, as FarmManager planned to eventually enter the international market, they searched for devices and data transfer methods that would be universally accessible. The startup’s owners had spent six months testing devices by multiple manufacturers in Israel but with no luck.

That’s when they turned to Ananas Global for help. Together, they were determined to find hardware that would change the game. Ananas Global started with a search for the most suitable devices capable of tracking low speed machinery. They needed a solution that would combine accuracy and fine granular tracking for effective IoT-based farming. Some of the hardware manufacturers they considered were even willing to make modifications to their basic models, but unfortunately, this would normally lead to a lack of data precision.

After thorough research, Ananas Global found the perfect fit for FarmManager in the Queclink product range. The device provides high-accuracy tracking for low speeds and includes a complete set of customizable additional functions. Moreover, it can be easily transformed into a vehicle tracker, making the device ideal for all-round agriculture GPS tracking.

Empowering farmers with GPS tracking
With the hardware in place, FarmManager and Ananas Global turned to Wialon, the ultimate platform for GPS tracking and IoT and the partner of Ananas Global, to collect and process data from trackers. The Wialon API proved to be secure and reliable to connect services and transfer datasets of all sorts.
Powered by Wialon, the IoT-based agriculture monitoring system provides a comprehensive overview of field operations and offers a wide range of benefits to its users. It enables farmers to check the execution of working instructions, ensuring that all tasks are carried out efficiently. It automatically logs daily operations in the field and allows to track employees, subcontractors, and machinery during working hours. If any mistakes occur in the ongoing processes, the system can identify and correct them in real-time. Finally, by optimizing operations, FarmManager can help farmers reduce implementation costs, leading to greater profitability.
The IoT farming solution works with SIM cards that are used worldwide, making it well-suited for delivering multinational projects.

Award-winning and going global
The product has been actively used in the Israeli market for over two years now. The company is also implementing strategic plans for a global rollout.

In 2022, the FarmManager IoT farming solution received recognition as the best in the ‘Agriculture’ category in IoT project of the year, a global contest of telematics and IoT projects. It’s hosted by the team behind Wialon, the ultimate platform for GPS tracking and IoT with over 3.6 million vehicles and other assets connected worldwide. The competition aims to showcase the diversity of areas where IoT can be applied and appreciate the advantages of these technologies.
Already embraced by several major Israeli agro holdings, FarmManager is gradually entering other regions, with successful trials in Europe and the USA. And it’s not stopping there — the startup is currently taking the first steps in Australia, paving the way toward global expansion.